EDWARDS GRADING Service INC

Jon Jon and Jonathan Edwards were both fantastic to work with. They showed up when they said they would and their work was top notch. I would never have guessed there's an art to piling up rocks, but it was obvious the pride these guys take in their work. We've received multiple compliments from boaters going by on the work they did. Would hire them again in a heartbeat.

Jonathan Edwards is a very knowledgeable when it comes to shoreline stabilization. His approach might not be the cheapest in town but the results are well worth the cost. He is very honest and trustworthy. It was refreshing to deal with a contractor that was prompt, courteous, professional and finished the project beyond our expectations. I would highly recommend his team.

Cannot say enough about the fantastic job they did. I had a driveway that needed repairs for 2 years, which left it looking like a bombed third-world country airport runway. Pothole and depressions everywhere on a REALLY long driveway in the country. Jonathan came out when promised, took a look, gave me a fair price, and once the deposit was made got things underway. He had to fit me in between other jobs, so I was thinking it would take a while to get to completion, but there were a couple of openings and he did not hesitate to plug our job into those gaps to get it done way earlier than my expectations. Sometimes it is difficult to find a straight shooter and professional, but happily Jonathan is just that. The quality of work makes me think I won't need to call him again, but if I ever have any other job of this sort, he would be the one I call.

The job was done very well and efficiently. The equipment was impressive and used carefully to protect the boathouse and dock. This company is highly recommended and we look forward to working with them again.

I could not be happier with the work that Mr. Edwards and crew did on my shoreline. They rebuilt the shoreline, installed 500 feet for riprap and thoroughly exceeded all my expectations. I would highly recommend them to all of my neighbors on Lake Wylie.

Jonathan was reliable, knowledgeable, and experienced. He did a fantastic job building our shoreline and wall. He also gave us great advice on our grading that was extensive. he saved us a lot of time and money to make sure not only his job was done right, but also the builders grade company and well as the one we hired to grade our property to build a house on. I would highly recommend Edwards Grading. I would not hire anyone else to do the work this man does. He does it right and does it with integrity!

I can't say enough about both Jonathan and his son Jon Jon....both of whom worked with us on our project. They did a great job at a fair price and we're extremely happy with the results of their job. They answered all of our many questions, graciously added onto the project after it was started per our request. And, they are both really great, honest people to boot. Can't recommend them high enough.

The project went perfectly. Jonathan Edwards, the owner, and his crew did exactly what was quoted and did the work very professionally. Rock was added to expand the existing sea wall to prevent erosion at the corner of our lakefront property. Additional rock was added to the rest of the sea wall to bolster it. Edwards Grading removed a number of dead trees and associated debris from the edge of the lake. The work was accomplished using a Caterpillar excavator mounted on a large barge. Mr. Edwards operated the excavator with amazing precision. Jonathan installed over half a barge-load of rock and removed approximately three trees in only four hours. Amazing! Whenever there was a question as to how to proceed, Jonathan made sure that we agreed on the plan and then executed it accordingly. My wife and I could not be happier with the services that his company provided!

Excellent, first class service.

I don't know much about it. I can just say he did good work but I can't give you anything else on that. It's been months. It was ongoing and it was just finished.

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All work was completed on time and on budget.   Mr. Edwards and his team were professional at all times, answered all questions, and provided excellent service.   I would highly recommended using this company.

Johnathan is the nicest, best guy to work with you could want.  We were all frustrated by the relentless rainy weather that slowed work, or stopped it, a lot of the time.  They had to clear an old driveway to access the waterfront and then repair it when finished.   Used heavy equipment to bring in all of the rock and fill dirt.  The "date of work" is the finish date.  We got started late in 2014, but the weather never gave us any breaks.  Make no mistake, this was a major piece of work--hundreds of tons of rip rap and fill dirt brought in by dump truck, then moved almost 300 feet by front loader and track-hoe. 

The finished product is wonderful, just what we were hoping for.  The entire waterfront is now protected from erosion from the ski boats, and is also completely accessible from the land side, right up to the riprap.  A major improvement. This is one case where we got what we were paying for--a first class job done by first class people.

When I decided that my shore line needed some additional rip-rap I did a search on Angie's list and found Edwards Grading with an excellent rating.  I contacted Jonathan Edwards to inquire about an estimate.  He came out the same day and we discussed several options of adding rip-rap.  I also had him look at my beach area which had lost a lot of sand and to my delight he was able to suggest an option for the repair of my beach as well.  He gave me a verbal quote and followed it up with a written quote via email later that week.  I discussed the estimate with Jonathan and he noted that he needed to have almost a full pond to get his barge of rip-rap in my area of the cove in Big Allison Creek.  I decided to go ahead with the work per his estimate and to complete the refacing of the rip-rap as soon as possible as the lake was below full pond and just perfect for the refacing work.  The refacing was completed in late Aug. 2014.  As it turned out, we didn't have a lake level to accommodate the barge until April, 2015.  Needless to say I was worried about erosion in the areas where the refacing created some holes and a drainage area around the beach.  Jonathan came out and added some geotextile material in the beach area to prevent erosion.   As a side note none of the areas ever suffered any erosion due to the refacing.  Jonathan called me when the lake level was finally high enough to bring in the new rip-rap on the barge, however, I was out of town at that time.  I really wanted to be there but we had to take advantage of the lake level.  When I returned home I was amazed at the job his crew did in my absence.  The beach repair and the shoreline looked wonderful. Jonathan came out after I returned to make sure that I was totally satisfied with the job.  I will definitely use Edwards Grading in the future.

This is probably the worst experience I have ever had with a residential contractor!
Key points, according to Duke Energy Lake Services' representative:
- Edwards Grading has been removed from Duke's list of approved contractors, because they do not adhere to Duke's rules for construction on the lake. Don't use them if your project is on Lake Wylie or other Duke lake!
- The type of seawall Edwards builds - an and quot;Aand quot; shaped wall of rip-rap with filter fabric and soil fill behind it - is not permitted by Duke on their lakes.

Chronology:
The contract was signed and 50% deposit check was given on 03.25.14 - and quot;to hold the price of the rock.and quot;
After several inquiries, on Saturday, 05.24.14 (week 8) I received a phone call out of the blue that a truck with the first load of rock would arrive in about 5 minutes. One or 2 truckloads per day of rock or dirt were delivered over a number of days..
On Tuesday, 06.04.14 (week 10) two men and a backhoe arrived (unannounced) to start the work. They worked half a day.
Work continued, 2 or 3 days a week typically for 2 to 4 hours a day, though 06.27.14 (week 13).
On Friday, 06.20.14, Mecklenburg Water Quality representatives arrived by boat and told Edwards' men to stop work because they did not have the required permits. On Monday, 06.23.14 (week 13), a Mecklenburg Water Quality representative came to my door to tell me that I could be required to do some $15,000 in remediation, since my shoreline was disturbed without permits. Edwards' men were working, even though they had been directed not to. Since they were here, I got them and the Water Quality man together and asked them to work out a solution that would not stop the work for a month or more (the time it takes to get the permits) and would not require the remediation. After an hour of phone calls back and forth, it was agreed that Edwards could finish their work, remediation would not be required, and Edwards would immediately apply for the permits.
On Monday, 06.23.14, Edwards said they would be finished on Friday 06.27.14 (week 13) and wanted the final check. I walked the job with the foreman on that Friday and pointed out several substantial areas that were not finished. On Saturday 06.28.14, I received a virulent, ranting voice message from Jonathan Edwards, to which I replied with a text message correcting his stated and quot;factsand quot; and objecting to the unprofessional attitude of his voice message. On Tuesday, 07.01.14 (week 14) Edwards called in a much more sane frame of mind and said they would finish the work the next day. They came and did a little work. I again noted the areas that were incomplete, but they insisted they would do no more work.
The rock seawall itself appears to be well built, but there are substantial deficiencies that remain:
- The soil used to fill behind the seawall is full of chunks of rock, many as large as softballs, that would severely damage a lawnmower blade. I spent one very hot day raking the areas to try to remove the worst of the rocks before seeding, but more keep floating to the surface.
- The and quot;finishand quot; grading is irregular, with several areas that pond, etc. The and quot;beforeand quot; grading sloped gradually down to the seawall. Now it slopes down and then back up to the seawall.
- The soil used is of such poor quality that grass will not grow in it After 6 weeks, the grass I had planted is less than 1/2 inch high, even with daily watering. My budget is depleted for now, but I hope to be able to have a layer of topsoil spread over the area, graded to the proper slopes.
- The north end of the seawall terminates at a beach. The seawall termination was to match that of my neighbor, which Edwards built many years ago. It doesn't.
An overriding problem with Edwards Grading is Jonathan Edwards' refusal to communicate with his customers. He has serious anger management issues. He completely failed to keep this client informed of what was going on - trucks, workers and equipment came and went at random times, and didn't showup for days on end. They said they would be finished and quot;tomorrowand quot; and then didn't show up for days. The standard excuse was always the weather, which was usually bogus. The workers were easy to get along with and seemed to know what they were doing, but I don't believe Jonathan Edwards has set foot on the property since we signed the contract. According to his reputation (and Angies' List reviews) he knows how to build seawalls, but I believe his motorsports business is his first priority. His slipshod management and unprofessional conduct make working with him frustratingly difficult.
On Thursday 08.21.14 (week 21), a representative of Duke Energy Lake Services showed up at my door, saying he was reviewing and quot;myand quot; permit application and needed to see the project. He showed me the application, which I had not seen before, and I noted that my signature had been forged twice. He said the project would not have been approved if Edwards had applied for the permit before construction, but since it was now complete, Duke would not require me to remove it. I told him that Edwards had refused to apply for the permit before starting, and now I knew why.
I am disappointed, to put it mildly, that this project turned out so badly in view of the all-A reviews on Angie's List. I note that the last review was almost 2 years ago, so I can only suppose that Mr. Edwards has run things into the ground over that time period.

Jonathan is a premiere provider, he always goes the extra mile and comes back to access and modify the job as required regularly

The project went well.
Jonathon came to my site and gave me three options with quotes for each option. Once I committed to the project he placed me on his schedule. The option I selected required some schedule flexibility on my part because I chose less than a full barge of rip rap. Jonathon communicated well.
The project required less than a full day to complete. They arrived on time. We reviewed the scope of work. The work was completed as promised.

We aren't finished yet but if how it has gone so far is any indication, I see no problems.

Overall it was the best experience I have ever had with a contractor.