Townescapes

I contacted Townscapes to tear out an existing paver patio and install a stamped concrete patio. I am pleased with the end result of the patio but I don't feel it should have been such a difficult process.

I received four quotes from various concrete companies.  Townscapes' estimate by Chris Shinkle was the second lowest and very close to the bottom bid.  I showed Chris a picture from their website and said this is exactly what I want, colors and stamp pattern, in the same shape as my current patio.  I signed the contract May 2nd with Townscapes.  Chris told me the patio would be installed by the 4th of July.  I contacted Chris may times and received explanations for the delays and assurances the project would begin soon.  They finally started September 29th.

I have a fenced in back yard so I was happy when Chris told me they wouldn't have to mess with the fence, they have motorized wheel barrels that would fit through my gate.  The crew shows up with a large machine.  They told me they weren't informed and needed to tear out my fence, but they would install new post and put the fence back together.  The fence crew came out and said they were having trouble installing the post because they didn't have the correct tools.  They weren't informed what the job entailed.  When the fence was reinstalled, the gate wouldn't close so they cut a chunk out of the picket to get the gate to close.  I had to take the fence apart, hang it properly and rearrange the pickets to hide the gouged picket behind a bush.  

When they pulled out the old patio stairs a lot of wood rot was found around my door so the project came to a halt.  Chris was able to find someone to do the repair quickly.  Thank you Chris for that.  Scott Studer from SDS Contracting did the repair quickly and for a reasonable price.  He also returned to fix the bump out, install decking steps and a new door.  He does very nice work and I would highly recommend him.

The crew forms my patio.  One side is not complete, turns out the angle did not match my old patio.  I state it looks bigger than my original patio.  I am given explanation for the shape and size change and told "it's on the house."  I didn't want a bigger patio my old patio was plenty big but the changes were not that different so I didn't argue.  Turns out because it wasn't the same shape some decorative timbers could not be reset.  AJ Tree Service had great ideas to fix this problem, was prompt, and cleaned up the mess.  AJ was great to work with and I would highly recommend him.

From day one there is a crew member that insists I need an 18 inch boarder.  I tell him repeatedly that I don't want that large of a boarder.  The stamp they bring out is not the stamp I requested from the picture.  He tells me this stamp goes better with an 18 inch boarder.  I did insist and receive the stamp from the picture with a 10 inch boarder, but I did not need this additional aggravation.

Chris Shinkle had told me I would receive a discount because of the long delay in getting started.  I received my final bill and it is for $1,100 more than the contract price.  The charge is for the larger patio.  I spoke with Thad stating I did not ask or want the larger patio and he did remove the charge.  I didn't receive the discount.

I am very please with the end result.  The stamp and stain is very nice.  Townscapes was given a picture from their website and the exact shape and size of the patio I wanted installed.  To me it seemed very straight forward.  I received a very nice looking patio that is very close to what was agreed to when I signed the contract.  I also paid the agreed price.  Everyone I worked with was very nice, my patio is very nice, but it was quite a struggle to get there.

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I honestly don't have the time or energy to go into everything that went wrong. But, in a nutshell, any concrete company that "forgets" to frame for footers, "forgets" to reinforce where our hot tub was being placed, cuts and digs up the electric lines that I paid to have done before the concrete was poured, even after my electrician met with them and they discussed this and where the lines would be, arrived four days after we were scheduled (with no phone call, email or explanation)....well I think you get it. The only reason they didn't get an F is because the final product looks great. But I am positive there are other companies out there that could have given me the same result with much less hassle and more professionalism during the process. Had we not "supervised" the project on our own, we would not have footers or reinforced concrete to support the hot tub. Those are both very serious omissions.

From beginning to end, it was a challenge. The initial meeting was good or else we wouldn't have hired Townescapes. We got bids from multiple providers. My husband and I made our selection based on reviews and face to face meetings. Townescapes fell middle to higher end of the pricing spectrum. We paid our deposit in March and asked for a tentative date for the install. We were told early to mid-April. That time came and went with zero communication from the sales person,Terry. Each time the date was delayed it was not discovered by a call placed to me by Terry, but rather a call from me to Terry. Each time I requested that if the new date would not be met, call me. I finally resorted to calling the owner of the company. This is a man who values his customers, right? Well if sarcasm and condescension equals valued, well then I was a valued customer. It took 15 days. The grade was too steep and steps were sloppy. It had to be done twice. I hope you have better luck.

It was mixed. The finished product looked good. I was unhappy with some of the things that happened along the way. Because of the experience, they should have anticipated some things. It was a good thing that I was actually there to answer questions and make modifications. They caused some damage and it took a long time to get the damage corrected.

We have had some maintenance issues. It has been 2 years and we are getting some quality issues with the finish on it. We are having issues contacting them. We had interviewed several companies and their price was average. The reason we went with them is they showed us what their work looked like. They had a good rating on Angie's list. They were awesome. They didn't tear everything up and they cleaned up well.

They were very good. They did excellent work. They were very helpful in working with them. They just seem to do a really good job. I had another company come out and they weren't doing a very good job so I left them and bought the other company in and they did a lot better work.

They provided a lot of different services. I'm planning to use his services to re-seal the patio around my pool and also do some spring cleaning, yard work and things of that nature.

Townescapes is one of most professional organizations I have encountered.  My services have only been confined to snow removal, but I plan to use them for yard maintenance and helping to reseal my pool area in Spring.  They take the time to manually clear the walkway up to the house and periodically ring the bell to ensure the service is done right.  The owner, Chris Bortz makes himself available and provides an added touch of assurance and customer support that I rarely see / expereinced before by other companies.  One case in point - I live on Old Taylor Mill Road.  It's a public street going through major renovations as a new interstate is being developed in close proximity.  Mr. Bortz recognized the city of Taylor Mill was not clearing the smaller punlic access street to my house and my neighbors and took the liberty of instructing his guys to clear it, without an additional cost, to ensure me and my wife can get out safely.

From the first meeting with Shane to the finished project, we were most impressed with the company's professionalism! While this can be a very "messy project" to undertake, they did everything possible to minimize the impact. Each of the crews were enjoyable to work with, especially Paul and Dave (brick and bubbler). They were all prompt, remained on target, and finished by the proposed date! We cannot say enough about how pleased we are with this company! We would give them an A+ if that were possible! The end result is absolutely beautiful, even nicer than we had anticipated! Duane and Kathleen Berwanger

Townescapes the experience was fine overall.  It's a little bit different, it's very, very itemized, a lot of it depends on our choices and stuff.  It's good from a flexibility standpoint.

They were very good.  I was very happy with it.

The crew was punctual, professional, and the end result is a high quality patio that we are very satisfied with.

It turned out pretty well. There was a bit of waiting involved but once they got to our home the work was provided quickly. They removed an old patio as well.

The work was great. The sealer did not take as it was very hot. They came back and redid the job with no problems. They are professional and they get back with you in a timely manner. They did our patio in 2008 and everyone was very professional and knew what they were doing. The street was a mess with the job so they powerwashed everything and cleaned up well after themselves.

The service was so good the first time that we had them come back for the pool and the patio. They did a great job. Shane did such a great job and they put rebar down even. They did all the work preparing the ground and he was just a pleasure to work with.

They are doing a job in two stages. The first service turned out very well. They were very professional and thorough. We are very happy with the service.

I am happy with the work. They did not clean up after themselves. They did good work however. They did the work on the hottest three days of the year. They were competitive on the work that they did. I tried to have them do seal work on the concrete and driveway and the cost quoted was very high.

Overall we are happy with the work. The work took longer to finish than we had hoped. They had to take care of some personal issues. They were very courteous and we love our patio.

These guys were fun to work with.  The do high quality work and were quick to respond to a couple of follow up items I noticed.  They hustled to get our business and did their best to deliver what we wanted.