Groundsmasters Landscape Services

Get penalites in the contract for failure to meet project deadlines and guarantee of plant and material satisfaction for two years and replacement at Brink's expense if any aspect fails to meet owner's expectations.  Specify in contract that all equipment installation shall be made in such a way that the equipment can perform as the manufacturer intended.

As noted in the other report, Brink is a good landscape architect. Of the landscapers we interviewed, his design philosophy resonated the most and his initial estimate was reasonable.

Positives:
- Very good design vision; very pragmatic but with a nice mix of interesting concepts as well
- The landscape crew were diligent and very respectful throughout the process (my wife was home alone so had most of the interactions with them)

Issues:
 - As mentioned previously, project management is a real issue. There would be long periods of radio silence, then sporadic work, etc.
- Responsiveness; Brink was very quick to respond to any reply regarding payment, but often would go days or more without responding to questions regarding timelines, key decisions, etc
- Quality. Brink estimates certain quantities of materials that are required, however if these are insufficient, there is very little done to correct the situation. In our case we had unfinished parts of our path and a gravel area in the back which went weeks without being unaddressed (we had to the be the ones constantly following up to get it addressed since the crews had not notified Brink and then we were quoted additional fees to finish the original job).
- Price. The difference between the cost we were initially quoted and the total cost was around 2x. In several instances Brink took liberties regarding decisions with significant financial implications without running them by my wife or I

Overall I would use Brink for design but would not consider him for any future landscape work

Brink is a good landscape architect with good design sense.   We like the plan.  His crews that do the actual work are clean and do good work.  Nearly all of his sub contractors do good work.   
He has big problems with project management.  Things move very sporadically.   There are a couple of days of work, then nothing for a week.   We travel a lot ad need to know in advance what decisions we will be needed to make.  After numerous requests as to what was the next decision required, most often, decision were left to the last minute and then the burden is on us to make quick decisions.  The project had a lot of inefficiencies.  There were parts that were done, then dug up for something else to be done.  There were last minute scrambles for parts after having been to locations/stores with those parts earlier in the project.  
At one point, he mis-filed a $5,000 payment I made to him and he charged me for it again.  
We are near the end of the project and I am having real problems with the sprinkler system sub contracted to Tropical Irrigation.  The system has over spray on my wood fence.  After numerous attempts to fix it, I was told that over spray is needed until the new plants get established.  I don't accept that the only new plants that need over spray are along my wood fence and the new plants along the garage and masonry fence don't require over spray.  This will lead to wood rot and premature failure of my fence. 

I would recommend him for a design, but can not recommend him for managing the project.