ARTISTIC LANDSCAPING

Do NOT hire this guy. Ray Martel is the most unprofessional and sleazy contractor we have ever dealt with. If he in fact does get back to you expect a run around for months until he actually shows up. When he finally came to do our driveway he completed only half the job and then claimed that it was all we discussed. When I asked him if he was going to do the rest of the driveway (fair question!) he immediately became belligerent and frightening. I had to close and lock the door and called my husband to come home. His quotes are also extremely high and he pads everything far more than other quotes we received. The work he did complete is a mess. My husband met him the next morning to give him a check for material cost for the shoddy work that was completed ( only so the loud brute and/or the scuzzy girl working with him wouldn't come to our home and scare our family further). He also became belligerent and angry and continued to hurl personal insults at my husband and myself although he was lucky we were paying him anything. The guy is a complete ******* and you will be sorry if you hire him.

Ray and Daughter are hard workers. Completed both areas quickly and with great attention to detail, Areas were left clean and other than a new and fresh look, the improvements looked very natural to existing landscape. Glad to have meet Ray and Daughter they are true Vermonters all the way!! I would recommend him to everyone.

We figured out there was a problem with the drains late in the year, and because it was raining a lot. The whole area was a muddy mess, which makes it very hard to work with heavy equipment. Ray dug out the muck, found and repaired the pipes, trenched it properly and filled the whole area with gravel to promote drainage. While digging we accidentally found out where the septic lines are (the sketchy records of this old house said they were elsewhere) and of course they got broken. Ray quickly repaired them, and now at least I know where they are! He had to wait a few days until the ground had dried somewhat, then he built retaining walls on either side.
Ray is cheerful, professional and a pleasure to work with. He has an excellent sense of design and of the mechanics of hardscaping. His work holds up very well over time. He often brings assistants (sometimes his adult children) all of whom have been competent and friendly. His work has held up well over the years and looks great.
Because this is an old house and full of little surprises (like the septic lines), I always work on a time-and-materials basis. Ray's bills are always quite reasonable for the work done and I am always satisfied with the results.