Falling Water Designs

Falling Waters has done an outstanding job servicing my large koi pond for the last several years.

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Rick's crew did a great job on cleaning -- I was surprised by how clear the water looked afterwards. They also replaced the waterfall pump -- the old one burned out after 20 years of service.

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He took my fee and I never heard from him again.  Not a phone call, email, or estimate.

In late April, I set up a consultation appointment with Rick Perry to discuss building a pond in our back yard. Rick explained the different types of ponds they could build (i.e. goldfish pond vs. koi pond). He explained the process and materials needed. He gave me a high-level idea of costs. Within roughly two weeks, he provided me with a detailed bid.
His team, led by Ken, started work on July 8th and finished the pond on July 14th. They installed a 10' by 15' pond with a 3 drop waterfall. I also got a UV sterilizer, bead filter, and various terrestrial and underwater lights. I had mentioned that I wanted the pond to not only not great from ground level, but I wanted it to look great from my house (second floor looking down). Ken regularly came into the house to check the view from inside, too. He also regularly checked in with my during the process to get my input. Ken and his team were absolutely great to work with.
Once the pond was finished, Ken did a comprehensive walk through with me to go over all the components and maintenance. I video-taped the walk-through so I would remember everything. They cleaned up very well at the end of the project.
A few days of the pond was finished, we visited Falling Water Gardens to purchase some tester kits and fish. Rick took plenty of time to work with us and make sure we had a good mix of fish (smaller and larger, koi and goldfish).
Overall, it was a very pleasant experience and I would definitely work with Falling Water Design again. And we absolutely LOVE our beautiful new pond!

unknown

Great, they worked quickly, efficiently, they were knowledgeable, helpful.  They were great.  They fit me in their very tight schedule in order to get it done in time for my daughter's birthday party.

I hired Falling Water Designs in the Summer of 2013 after booking an initial consultation for a leaking 14,000 gallon Koi Pond.  
Consultation Services:I had terminated another Seattle area competitor for poor results and having no plan or approach (rather than trial and error).  My first consultation with the owner of Falling Water Designs produced and INSTANT diagnosis of the problem and a detailed and definitive plan how to address the problem.  While the other competitor still had no plan or diagnosis after several paid visits, the Falling Water Designs consultant was very experienced and was able to explain in detail the basis for this diagnosis and plan forward.  
To stay within my budget, Falling Water Designs was agreeable to perform the consultation and retail of product, while I separately supervised my own labor (my friends and family) to accomplish the project).  This saved me quite a bit of money; however, I was not comfortable performing the landscaping portions of the project myself.  Falling Water Designs does offer free classes and even re-assured me that I was fully capable of performing these portions; however, I was more comfortable having professionals perform the "icing in the cake" (as I call it) to make the entire project look stunning.  
Landscaping:  Once I finished renovating my previously-leaking (and now functioning properly) Koi Pond, I then hired Falling Water Designs to come and landscape both the pond rim area of the pond itself, as well as the areas surrounding a 50 foot stream that feed the pond.  Per the consultation, I had purchased several tons of Bandera Granite which was a very attractive granite that naturally occurs without sharp edges (as not to puncture the pond) and when it breaks it crumbles (instead of producing sharp shards).  
The landscape crew from Falling Water Designs were polite, professional, and performed 1 full day and 2 half-days of landscaping at my request.  I did not have a vision of how the rocks were going to look and if I were to have done it myself, it would have looked like a pearl necklace and not naturally attractive.  They used a rock laying convention (for the life of me I cannot remember the term) that has Zen origins to give everything a naturally-occurring look.  They performed amble layering to give the yard a ample, nature, professional, and high quality look.  
In summary, I was very pleased with my experience with Falling Water Designs for landscaping and consultation.  After having experience with another local competitor, I found that Falling Water Designs was price competitive, while also being more knowledgeable, decisive, and succinct with their planning and services.  Even during their peak season, they found ways to schedule me in so that my requests could be addressed in reasonable time.  
I enjoyed my experience with Falling Water Designs so much that my wife and I have gone to their Falling Water Nursery location to purchase decorative yard benches, ground cover plants, aquatic life, and supplies.  I am also planning to purchase their services again this summer to perform additional projects as well.

We are so pleased with Falling Water Designs. Rick came out several times to work with us and our landscape designer (Corina, at Akina Designs, also an excellent company) to design the perfect water feature for our yard. We were pleasantly surprised to find that Falling Water's estimate was significantly less expensive than other bids we got for the same project. We visited their nursery to see an example of their work in person, and decided to work with them.
After we committed to the project we were given an approximate start date. Rick warned us that the date was not guaranteed, because they only work on one project at a time and do not leave until everyone is happy with the outcome. We did end up starting the project about 2 weeks after the original date, but that wasn't a problem for us.
Unfortunately, right after the project started we had unusually torrential rain (the first of the season). We discovered that our new house was getting a lot of runoff from further up the hill, and that a neighbor's landscaper had created a drain that diverted water to the top of our hillside. Luckily for us, Falling Water was on the job. With the neighbor's permission, they connected into the drain and diverted the water. The progress on the water feature was slowed by the weather, but we may have had half a rock wall slide down the hill had they not been there to identify and fix the problem. 
The project was just finished today, and it is perfect. We have been standing around looking at it and grinning like fools! The crew did a great job of cleaning up before they left (and were very tidy, hardworking, and polite the whole time they were here). They checked in with us many times throughout the project to make sure we liked the way it was coming together.  When the project was complete they showed us all the moving parts and let us know how to maintain it (and then sent a follow-up email with the same helpful information). We just received our final invoice and there were no surprises. We were not billed for the extra time the project took due to the weather, and we were not billed for the drain they installed. Falling Water Designs is a first class company. I would hire them again in a heartbeat (in fact, we are going to get estimates from them for other landscape projects we have coming up in the future).

It went very well. Rick explained how to keep the UV light maintained and also keep it from breaking again in the future. I never really knew how it worked, but now I do. We also talked about pump replacement options (I asked about it). I'm sure we'll hire this company when the time comes to replace our current pump with something more modern.

It went very well & we are about to have them come out to check it again & possibly do some more work.

Rick Perry is the contact person. It was a good experience. Rick said that if we could get pictures of the pond, approximate distances of the pond and also of the pond motor so that he could tell me what kind of motor would replace it and we did and he did that which cut off seventy-five dollars because for them to come out and estimate themselves would cost seventy-five dollars. He is also a green energy guy and he recommended a motor which was much less energy-intensive than the big one we had on that pump. It costs a lot less energy and it is working very well. I am very pleased with it.

He is very professional and very nice. I would recommend his services. He is actually going to be coming back and we use him an ongoing basis.

They did a good job. They told us what they were going to do, and they executed reasonably well.

Excellent experience. Rick did everything he said he would and the price he quoted, and we are extremely happy with the results. He and his staff were prompt, courteous, and worked extremely hard, even in the dark, to finish the job on time.

I had an idea of what I wanted in our backyard, but Rick turned it from a vague idea into a specific vision. We really like what he has done in our backyard. He put in a fountain, patio flagstones and abundant bushes and flowers. The lighting he installed is great. Best of all, there were no surprises. He provides a detailed accounting of his prices and delivered in a timely fashion.

We approached a number of companies to get bids. Rick Perry was very responsive, showed us pictures from past projects, provided a detailed engagement letter and was very clear in going over our options. He was very good about returning our calls and answering our questions. His bid was very detailed and broke out the costs for each part of the project. Plants are guaranteed for one year. We were thrilled with the results! The project came in on budget and pretty close to the estimated time (we had weather delays and the electrician was booked up). They had various crew members helping out at different times. Everyone was great to work with and very professional. They were very careful about cleaning up every day. The plants they got were in great shape. They do a top quality job and don't cut corners. Lots of topsoil, good quality soil and rocks, and excellent plants. They also have an excellent design sense for laying out water features, and capturing the gurgling sound we wanted.

We approached a number of companies to get bids. Rick Perry was very responsive, showed us pictures from past projects, provided a detailed engagement letter and was very clear in going over our options. He was very good about returning our calls and answering our questions. His bid was very detailed and broke out the costs for each part of the project. Plants are guaranteed for one year. We were thrilled with the results! The project came in on budget and pretty close to the estimated time (we had weather delays and the electrician was booked up). They had various crew members helping out at different times. Everyone was great to work with and very professional. They were very careful about cleaning up every day. The plants they got were in great shape. They do a top quality job and don't cut corners. Lots of topsoil, good quality soil and rocks, and excellent plants. They also have an excellent design sense for laying out water features, and capturing the gurgling sound we wanted.

Very very good. I would highly recommend.