Island Associates

I was very satisfied with the quality of work, the professionalism and follow-up. One of the few contractors you can rely on and who will pick up the phone after the work was done and payment has been made.

It went really well.  They gave us a great price and did great work.

We were very excited to begin our plans with Doug, he was personable and a very good salesman. He seemed honest and despite one bad rating on Better Business, we decided to hire him. What a mistake. Our job began November of 2013. It took a  year before all issues were resolved. First, they installed the wrong color patio. I was told that, that was the color  I had picked. I knew it wasn't so I went back to the store and sure enough, I was correct. They had installed the wrong color choice. I was told that they would come first thing in the spring to replace the entire patio. After the first big rain storm we had a leak in our basement caused by the construction. That too, would be fixed when they came back in the spring. Doug had drawn up a beautiful plan for our landscaping. We agreed to the planting. When the plants were dropped off, not one was what we agreed on. All plants were returned and we were told they would plant in the spring, do the lawn, and fix the patio. Meanwhile, they used the wrong glue on the stoop so the stoop had to be redone. Well spring came, and we were not first on the list as promised. Upon removing the frame around the concrete slab for the hot tub they broke off a corner. I was not happy because it was right in the front. I was told not to worry the hot tub would cover the missing chunk. I said no, I wanted it fixed. Well, what were they supposed to do? I was told, they would have to break up the whole slab for a 4 in chunk. So Doug said that they would patch it. Needless to say, the hot tub doesn't cover it and it looks awful, also they didn't square the frame. So now the hot tub, which was delayed for months because of the masonry problems, looks crooked on the slab and the patched concrete is right in front! Finally they came in the spring. They did fix the leak and installed the correct color patio. Once again, every plant they planted was not one on the original plan except for hydrangeas. We were too exhausted to complain again and it looked nice so we didn't say anything. They put the sprinkler heads in the wrong place so several of the plantings died. The grass was planted and came up with nothing but weeds. We are still trying to get it to look right and had to hire another landscaper to fix it. The front yard was destroyed by the equipment going to the backyard, they reseeded, which also grew nothing but weeds. This summer a worker  from the company came to clean the stoop by accident. He was sent to the wrong address. We had never called to request a cleaning. He ruined the stoop with some kind of oil. Doug came and said they would replace the ruined bricks. They tried acid or some kind of cleaner and ruined a few more. We have pictures to attest to this. They came back six times now, each time something else was wrong. First, they installed bricks that had stains all over, so they installed new ones again. Then one of the bricks was dark black and the others gray. They came back and tried another brick, which was also a different color and they used the wrong glue again so it was loose. Then they came again installed a different brick, but got spots of  the white glue they chipped out, on the patio. In addition, the newest brick is higher than the others and the wrong color with striped stains going horizontally across.  We issued Dough an ultimatum. Either fix it right this last time or we will hire a new contractor and bill him. We were sick and tired of this incompetence. Doug is the nicest guy in the world. He always returns phone calls. He always comes back to fix things but they never get fixed. If you know what you are doing there shouldn't be so many problems.  Finally new bricks were dropped off. We were told to go through the bricks to make sure they were acceptable. Out of about 30 bricks we found 17 to be acceptable. Most had chunks out of the edges or big stains. We needed 18 bricks. We were hoping they could use pieces of the chipped ones for the ends. I don't know how Nicolock stays in business if so many bricks are of second quality. Maybe Doug just buys seconds and hopes for the best. The stoop was finally fixed. Thank God I was home because the worker cracked two of the base bricks and was going to leave them like that. He said he would just turn them around. I made him replace the two broken bricks. We are just sick of complaining. The stoop is not really acceptable. One brick has a small chunk out of it and two others have some kind of a smudge that doesn't come off, but we didn't say anything. They didn't put enough sand in the spaces so now there are many cracks between the bricks that are empty. We just gave up. If it's quality work you want, I think you should go elsewhere. The problem is, that Doug isn't there when the guys are working. He only comes back if there is a problem. He promises things and doesn't follow through with them until you remind him. Finally a year later everything is done and looks nice, but it was a rough year.

Excellent as noted in my overview.

They seemed extremely nice, and the sales people were wonderful, but I was disappointed when something broke, they wanted to charge me to fix it. They told me that I caused the problem. I have a pole when you walk up the steps, and the aluminum was coming off. The sales people were wonderful, and the owner was wonderful. The aluminum kept coming off, and I didn't call them because they were so good, but in the end, it just kept coming off. There was a dent in it ,and they came out and said that it was my fault because it was dented, so the charge was $200, but because I was a customer, they would charge me $150. I was very disappointed after spending $18000 with them.

Overall, the project results are fantastic.
The design consultation, to the work, to the follow up were all handled exceeding my expectations.
I originally received 4 estimates for having my driveway completed. Island was by far the most thorough. The initial consultation (Matt) included drawings of my new driveway and stoop. Other contractors just came and did a once over measurement and gave me a price. This was one of the driving points for me.
Overall I am quite pleased with the work. I would recommend you at least give them an opportunity to bid on your project. I will update in the future with pictures.

Doug owner and company were very professional. The sales team had some great ideas to solve the problems i was coming up against and in some cases it was cheaper then my original ideas. This made me feel comfortable that they were really just interested in doing the job right.Once work commenced they stayed true to the time schedule as It coincided with the payment schedule. The project area was always kept clean and the crew treaded lightly in the non project areas. Not only was I impressed but my neighbors commented on how nice the job came out and how quickly it was completed. I would use ISLAND ASSOCIATES AGAIN!

They were dishonest from the start.  The first day cutting trees down was done all wrong leaving damage to our property.  The first and most important step in the process was not done and we now have an unlevel, unsafe backyard.  They kept assuring us everything would work out in the end and that was not the case.  We started with a pretty level backyard. we now have a steep drop off coming off one side of our court due to the mis estimation of the grade of our property. They did not spec the property with an engineer so they could save money and the cover ups for the mistakes steamrolled out of control the entire 2 months.  In the end. we have an eysore of a yard and the costs to make it presentable are in excess of $20k.  We have cement splattered all over our house, dead plantings, we have to re-do our driveway from all of the heavy trucks that came delivering to cover up their mistakes.  They were completely unprofessional with most of their work needing to be re-done.  Even our sprinkler company had to come to repair their work.  so as far as we are concerned...they are not competent to perform any scope of the work they advertise. They were not even capable of installing the net without consulting people over the phone for 4 plus hours. 
There workers were seen urinating in our yard.  They also crashed a truck into our driveway basketball net.  All along promising that everything would be fine and we wouldnt notice what we had been complaining about all along.  We have not set foot on our court until another professional comes to do a safety review of the equipment that is there.  Their work is so sloppy!!!!  It is mind blowing how wrong this project went! 

We contracted Island Associated through Sport Court s th local dealer to install our backyard court. Island Associated, by their own admission didnt follow the necessary steps on day one to coplete our project in the manner in which was discussed at length with them on multiple occasions. We were assured by the owner the entire time that everything would be fine and we wouldnt notice the HUGE dropoff their work created to our seemingly level beautiful yard. They not only left us with a complete eyesore, but dangerous conditions. Not to mention the cement splattered all over my house, our broken driveway, dead plantings and damage... plus they also crashed into an existing basketball nes which they never repaired. They were seen urinating in our backyard as well. The french drains that were installed were so messy and crooked they needed to be re-done. Almost every aspect of their work was a disaster thst needs fixing.

Initally I was satisfied. Since then I've had two major leaks, a notice from the local water company that the intial job was done completely wrong, and a less than optimal and quot;re-doand quot;.

Our experience with Island Associates was wonderful, we were impressed from the start. Meeting with Bryce helped us confirm that this was the company we wanted to use. My husband and I had done a tremendous amount of research before we started this large undertaking and were pleased that Island Associates would be able to handle our needs. All of the men who worked on the job site were pleasant and approachable as well as being professional and masters of their individual skills. Our property was kept neat even during construction and 100% was put into their work at all times, they spent long hours and didn't leave at the end of the day until they were satisfied with what they had accomplished. The receptionists gave prompt messages and our calls were returned in a speedy manner. Our needs were heard and met without any grieve, nothing seemed to be a problem. Island Associates took every piece of grass and replaced it with one of their own. They took our old, rundown property and transformed it into a park. We were and still are completely amazed at how it all turned out. We would highly recommend Island Associates to our friends and family without any hesitation. It has been a pleasure to work with a company that delivers on all that they promised!

This was a very large project from the start. We interviewed 6 contractors and chose Island Associates. Bryce was the only contractor who listened to what we wanted and got it right the very first time. When my wife and I saw his design at our second meeting, we could not believe that he had everything we asked for and more. All the other contractors missed the mark and had to come back for a third meeting/presentation and even then it did not compare to Island Associates design. I proceeded to check references and all came back very good. The first day for their portion of construction, they showed up on time and in force and began as planned. I met the owner and project manager at that time. We were very impressed with all the employees and their professionalism, they ALL were wearing an Island Associates uniform (no sub contractors) and all were extremely nice to my family and I. During this construction, a lot of coordination between contractors had to made and all I can say is, Island Associates was the only one that I had NO issues with!
As you can imagine, with any large project of this size, as it is being installed there were questions we had with how things looked in relation to the design drawing. For example after one patio was installed, my wife felt it wasn't big enough. I called Doug the owner, he came by and discussed options with me and wanted only to make us happy with the end result.
Their quality of workmanship and dedication to customer service far exceeds most contractors.
I am planning a major renovation to the front of our home and I would not even consider another contractor.
All this said, they as a company are an excellent contractor and I would HIGHLY recommend them to anyone!

The owner was on site every day of the project and helped me understand exactly what they were doing, when they would be doing it and how it would happen... I couldn't have asked for a better company to do the work... I can't wait to do the front of my house - the driveway and walkway are next on my list.

I'm sure this report, being the only and quot;less than stellarand quot; rating, has attracted your attention, and it gives me no pleasure to be the first disgruntled customer that had work done, but that's what Angie's list is all about, to read honest accounts of experiences with companies. I found Island Associates (I.A) here on Angies List. My sales consultant (I'll refrain from identifying him here, this is not about names) was brought directly to the patio area and shown the remains of a tree stump (I had lost a large Maple tree last year and the stump was ground up level to the ground)and after telling him that I knew there were issues (an old EMT pipe that was buried near tree stump, that had fed an old outlet years ago), he dismissed it as nothing they haven't seen before, their machines can and quot;cut through bouldersand quot;. I'A.'s estimate was the same as two other companies that I tried and I liked this man so I went with them. I asked for some details about their guarantees and intentions, in writing, and will never forget that his response was and quot;you have better than that, you have my wordand quot;.
After a and quot;truck broke downand quot; on the scheduled start day, they started two days later. Two hours after the excavation had begun, my doorbell rang and I was told by their project manager that the stump was much more imposing than originally thought and they would need to do more than expected, at MY extra expense, to remove the roots. I expressed my displeasure, quoted my sales consultant's assurances and informed him that I would not foot that extra expense. I asked him if we were talking around $100, or $1000, let me put this in perspective. His response was that and quot;well we certainly are talking more than $100and quot;. He politely told me to give him time to see what would need to be done.
I'll just add right here that I then called my sales consultant, left a calm message that there was a problem, and I did not feel comfortable quoting his and quot;wordand quot; to others, I'd appreciate a callback so that he could personally either back me up or dispute what I was thinking.
No callback.
The next day, after waiting well past 9 AM for him to get his desk in order before returning my call, I realized I wasn't getting a callback today either, I called again, voicemail again,and politely asked that he return my call.
No callback.
I mentioned to subsequent associates about no callback from this salesman so I won't accept that he never got my messages.
Finally the project manager got back to me and told me it would be around $300, and just because this man was polite and professional, I offered to split the cost, let's just get the project moving again.
In all fairness, and because I might forget to add this before I submit this report, they put in a step from my old patio up to my new patio at no expense to me, and ultimately did not ask for the half of the $300 either. This was nice but did not make up for the days at a time that they left me stewing between problems about which I've already written, and problems I've yet to describe.
They finished a few days later, I knew they were done because the cars and trucks in front of the house were gone. I would have tipped the guys as I always do, but there was no communication, things like and quot;Good morning, we're here to continueand quot;, or and quot;Good evening, we're done for the dayand quot;. I know, I live in another world. Anyway, there was a mild rain coming down and my patio was sparkling and shiny and looked gorgeous! I called the project manager and told him I was happy and come and get his balance when convenient.
The next day, the sun came out and I received my first lesson in EFFLORESCENCE. Google it. The two pathways were just like the stones that I picked out, but the main 12 X 16 patio was made up of washed out, cloudy stones,that looked defective. I called for someone to come down and have a look-see,and was left to wonder what that was all about for three more days, thinking that they might have to rip it up again, or give me my money back or who knows what? Since then, I've read up about the phenomenon and wonder why it isn't in their normal procedures to explain to customers what they should expect. When I saw the condition of my dry patio, of course I tried to clean it myself. I used Murphy Soap Oil, a common cleaner. When I told Island Associates' project manager that it didn't work, he told me I should NEVER use an oil based soap on my patio. My reply was that now is a pretty poor time to notify me of that fact too! Imagine using soap to wash something!
Just as annoying was the concrete splashes that have hardened and look like they'll be with me for a long time. I will take pictures of these conditions today, a month after the patio was installed and two weeks after they came back to wash the stones for me. I was told that if I wasn't happy with the results of the first washing, they will come back for a second washing. I won't call them back, I'll just wait for the efflorescence to wash out by itself, experts say between two weeks and two years. Wonderful.
I don't blame Island Associates for efflorescence, I blame them for not thinking a customer would want to know about it immediately. I blame them for their sales consultant ignoring my calls after the first bump in the road (no pun intended). I blame them for allowing days to go by before dealing with issues. I blame them for all the little concrete splashes that I'll look at for who knows how long. They tried to make good by coming and washing my patio but when I think about it, it really is the LEAST they could have done.

From the start and all the way through completion the process was great. I called the office and spoke to their secretary, we set up an appointment that was convenient for me. A day before the appointment, I received a call to confirm the appointment. The appointment went well and on the appointment the design consultant showed me information about the company and the paving stones and the process that they use. The crew came out and worked very hard and did a great job... I can't wait to re-do the entire landscape in the future...

Island Associates replaced my front stoop and walkway. They did a fabulous job, and the crew was very respectful of my house. I met first with the owner, Douglas, and he told me what was needed and provided the price. His crew did the job on time and on budget and they were a great company to work with. I love the work they did, and have received compliments from the neighbors. Thanks, Douglas!