RLC Landscaping

Not so well...we were told it would take a week to finish the job. We did add on the trench work, but even with that it took 2 months to "finish". Rain was a factor, we did have more rain than usual and it did cause setbacks.. but even with the rain it should not have taken 2 months to do the job. We were paying top dollar for great soil, soil that was presented to us as the "best", "organic", and that the outcome would be the most amazing lawn we've ever had. We could roll around in it, walk on it with no shoes, and would be like a grass carpet. Since that was the picture painted for us that is what we expected. Safety was important also, we didn't want anything damaging in the topsoil, we wanted it to be as pure as possible. Our first problem was that after putting the soil down, we found glass, not just a little, a lot. Not tiny pieces, big pieces, shards of tile, and other little pieces of sharp objects. We thought it was screened, how did these big pieces get through the screen? Rob did extra raking to try to get it out, we agreed and allowed the extra raking but told him that we wanted to inspect it before seed and straw were put down. He agreed. After the extra raking was done, his crew put the seed and hay down. I called him because I thought we had an understanding that we would look firstand hellip; he said his men weren't supposed to seed or put hay down. That night my husband and I looked and found more glassand hellip; we just needed him to take it away. He agreed, but reminded us that there is no true definition of top soil, and later reminded us several more times that there is no true definition of top and that we'd lose in court if it came to that. We didn't want it to come to that, it didn't, we worked it out but it was a painful process to say the least. I found a top soil provider and got a sample, it was beautiful soil, so we asked Rob not to get more soil from where he got it, it was obviously contaminated and we didn't want to go through the same process and get the same results. He agreed and was very understanding, but when push came to shoveand hellip; it was hard. He couldn't get the old soil out due to finances. He couldn't rent a machine and his dump was broken. He had to order a new part for the dump, another week went by, in checking in we find out that he got the part for the dump but it was the wrong part. In the meantime, he could have been doing other things, (we think) but did not. A machine was promised several times and didn't show. He was missing a lot of the time, I would always have to follow up, chase him down, and send him an email asking him about his schedule, our scheduleand hellip; it was tiring. We tried to understand, but it was one problem after the next. One day he said a machine would be coming, then he told me that the truck bringing the machine broke down on the way. We paid per yard of soil and we paid per truck in delivery, that is how his estimate read, and in the end one less truck was delivered so we didn't think we should have to pay for that delivery, but he argued with us that we were wrong when it seemed clear to me that his estimate read per truck and per yard. We got through that by paying for and frac12; which we don't think we should have done. We wanted to keep the peace though so we did. We wanted him to come back and check on our lawn like he promised. He made a lot of promises and commitments; he always assured us that he would continue to come after seeding to make sure everything was growing as it should, ect. That is one of the reasons I wanted to keep the peace, because we knew we needed him to come back and look at things and advise us. Rob is very knowledgeable, no doubt, he definitely has a passion for lawn installations, but there are some things missing. Organization of his crew and equipment was not organized well. Working with customers, we didn't get the feeling that he was on our team. My husband wanted a swale in the back yard, Rob insisted we didn't need it. My husband wanted it though.. until the and ldquo;root system was establishedand rdquo; we needed a way to move the rain to the side yard and not down the driveway. In a few years we might not need a swale, but until the lawn is thick, we needed it. So my husband did it himself after he left. The stone work he did by our bilco doors is beautiful, we're very happy with that. The stonework he did under our steps came out great too. The last day he was here he rushed, so the side stonework hasn't held up. We had an understanding in the beginning and wanted to do a punch list at the end of the project. He was aware, but his last day here he wanted to leave with a check, and not come back for a punch list. So my husband didn't get to look it over before giving him his final check. He needed to leave with a check due to financial reasons (I was told details, which I don't this is very professional, but don't want to express those details here). Our experience overall wasn't good.. in the end, he promised to come back every week to check on the lawn to make sure it was growing as expected. He left here with his final payment and I bugged him every week to come back and there was always a reason he couldn't come. An entire month went by and he never came back, we had plans one day for him to come and he never showed, never called, never emailed. No doubt he tried hard when he was here, but it just wasn't enough. The job was a very big job and I think it was just too much. After a month I emailed him and told him he never had to come backand hellip; he offered to, but I couldn't take any more broken commitments or promises. We paid over 10K for the job and the one truckload we didn't think we should pay for was 600.00, and we met him and frac12; way so in the end we paid him everything but about 300.00. Communication was not good, organization was not good, knowledge of the topic was great, but he didn't execute the way we hoped he would.

Rob was very easy to work with. Prior to the job, he worked with me on the price, altering it slightly to keep the price down for me. Rob was prompt and, along with his helper, worked quickly and efficiently to complete the work. It so happened that I was going to be away when the new lawn would need its first waterings and he was very gracious, volunteering to come to get the initial watering done in my absence. This was done gratis after a price had been agreed upon. He guaranteed his work and came back a month later to do some patchwork fixups. I was very pleased and have since recommended him to friendthat had taken over