Custom Creations Inc

I have nothing good to say about Custom Creations and would not recommend anyone use them for any work, ever. They were very unprofessional, never showing up when they said they would.  They left trash all over our backyard, smoked and left their cigarette butts everywhere, and we constantly had to retrieve garbage and nails, etc out of our pool.  Their workmanship was so poor that they had to install the putting green twice. The support beam for the shade structure was put in the wrong location and they had to jack hammer it out and re-do it also. The shade structure was installed so poorly that it leaked and poured rain into our house, which caused damage to the interior drywall, which had to be repaired.  They tore our roof off getting ready to attach the structure, then left it for weeks until it rained.  After they were done (which took months), the shade structure never worked properly and for $25,000 just for the structure alone, I expected it to last for many years. It was supposed to open/close to let light in and automatically close when it rained...it never worked.  The leaks were so bad that the painted beams filled with water, the paint pealed, got moldy and looked horrible. After several years of dealing with rain pouring into our house when we opened our back door and Custom Creations refusing to do anything to correct the mess, we hired someone to tear down the entire $25,000 structure and build a new pergola.  That work was done by Stout Construction, who completed the job quickly, professionally, and for a fifth of the price.  We now have an excellent structure that doesn't leak a drop.
I can't say a single positive thing about Custom Creations.  The low voltage lighting they installed didn't last one season, before the light fixtures broke (over half of them had to be removed) and the bulbs quit working. The irrigation work wasn't connected properly, so we had to have someone come in to rework it and fix the broken pipe they left us with.  The stone veneer for the most part looks good, but many of the stones have fallen off and we've had to glue them back on.  The first year after the work was completed, most of the plantings froze and they told us it wasn't part of the deal to replace them.  As professionals, we felt they should have put in heat and cold tolerant plants to withstand the cold and hot Redding weather.  They also filled the retaining walls with weed filled dirt, so it was a constant battle to keep the area weeded.  We've had to replace most of the plants and do some serious weed prevention work to keep the planters looking decent. 
The whole experience with Custom Creations was horrible and it was extremely frustrating that we spent so much money to have the job done by professionals and we expected to have it done right.  It's even more frustrating that we've had to re-do most of the work, hiring others for much of that work that we'd already paid for.  On a positive note, we met several other very professional contractors who we've been very happy with.  I don't know how Custom Creations can stay in business with their unprofessional behavior and poor workmanship, and that they don't stand behind anything they do.  My recommendation to anyone considering using Custom Creations is to run as fast and as far away from them as you can or you'll likely regret it.  Based on our experience, a more appropriate name for them would be Custom Disasters!

Custom Creations (CC) showed up promptly to do the work.   The first problem I noted was that rather than rototilling the existing sod the workmen simply scraped it off and piled it to the side.   A black soil was spread over the area and was lightly mixed with the surface clay soil.  There was no attempt to mix deeply. 
CC used the existing lawn valves rather than installing new.
CC used the most of the existing piping even though some of it was lightweight poly irrigation pipe.  
CC claimed that the east side drainage was plugged and I agreed to have them replace the pipe. 
CC dug a ditch from the back yard across the front yard and installed a pop-up drain next to the sidewalk so drain water could flow over the sidewalk.  CC did not use any measuring device such as a laser level to grade the new corrugated piping.

CC had changed my electric water controller set up and I inadvertently over-watered the new lawn area.  When this happened I discovered that CC had created a large pond along the north and east side of the lawn that could not be drained.  At this point there was no drain on the north side and the CC's new east drain did not work.  I complained about this and CC suggested that a drain into the greenbelt would fix the problem.  They built the drain and billed me.  I subsequently checked with the Redding Building Inspector about this installation and discovered that the code forbid this solution.

Rather than fix the problems CC told me that I would have to take them to arbitration and that they would make it "very expensive" for me.  I checked Shasta County court records and found that they are regulars at the court house.

I am working with another landscaping company to fix the drainage problems.  They fixed the west drain removed by CC last fall and the fix appears to work.  I plan to fix the east drain when I have money available.  This will cost an additional 5,885 when completed.

I have extensive photo documentation of the flooding and other problems available in PDF.