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"excellent work! Fast and good job!"

"In September 2024, I contracted with Scott C. McIntyre, the owner of Landscape Solutions to do landscaping work at my residence in Los Altos, Ca. The work consisted of replacing existing retaining walls and steps in my back yard and installing a new patio on an already flattened area on the hill in my back yard. Mr. McIntyre declared the work completed on November 4, 2024 although there remained issues with incomplete and substandard work and failure to adhere to rules imposed by the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB). I have filed a complaint (currently not resolved) with the CSLB. I paid Landscape Solutions $56,385.41 of a Total Contract Estimate cost of $58,790.00 (with a not to exceed clause of $60,000) with final payment to be made when the project was completed to my satisfaction. The project was never completed to my satisfaction with some (not all) of the outstanding issues described in this review. ISSUES WITH WORK QUALITY - NON-CODE COMPLIANT, SUBSTANDARD, NOT COMPLETE 1. The Guard Rail over the lower retaining wall is not building code compliant. The most serious issue with the work that Landscape Solutions did was that the guard rail built over a retaining wall does not meet building code and is not child safe. A picture of the guard rail is shown in the review I posted on Yelp (posted with a one star rating on January 20, 2025), but I am not able to show a picture on an Angi's List review. The guard rail is made up of vertical posts spaced approximately 45 inches apart and two horizontal rails between the vertical posts. The upper horizontal rail above the surface of the newly built patio forms the top of the guard rail. A second horizontal rail below it is halfway between surface of the patio and the top of the guard rail, leaving two large gaps between the horizontal rails, each gap approximately 19 inches wide. Code dictates the maximum gap in the guard rail is 4 inches. A child could easily fall through the large gap in the guard rail to the level below. A baby crawling on the patio could plunge head first off the patio to the lower level and be seriously injured. I emailed a picture of the completed retaining wall and guard rail to my city's Building Code Enforcement Division and inquired if it was building code compliant. A Code Enforcement Division representative replied with an email message (Client can provide the actual email message). Following text is from the email message: "The rail needs to be 42" high and there needs to be a maximum of 4" between the horizontal rails. The fence as shown does not meet the standards and intermediate rails need to be added." -----End of quote from email message sent by city's Code Enforcement Division------- NOTE: ALLOWING A CONTRACTOR WHO DOES NOT KNOW THE BUILDING CODES TO BE LICENSED PUTS THE PUBLIC IN DANGER. 2. Incomplete and substandard work i. There are areas with no pavers, just dirt, adjacent to the lower retaining wall. Contractor fixed some but not all areas along the newly built lower retaining wall. A picture showing an example of this issue is shown on my Yelp review but I am not able to show a picture on an Angi's List review. The picture shows where paving stones should have been installed next to the retaining wall. ii. Gate not installed in lower retaining wall. The retaining wall that was being replaced had a gate. I called this to Mr. McIntyre's attention in a reply message to his message that the project was complete. He replied in an email message that he would replace the gate. iii. In doing the work, Landscape Solutions workers moved items (e.g., wooden glider bench, other patio benches, chairs, patio table, an umbrella stand) from the flattened hill area to other parts of the back yard. I requested that the items be returned to their original locations. Mr. McIntyre, in an email message, agreed to do so. This was not done. Returning items moved to their original location should be a standard part of Landscape Solutions clean-up work upon completion of a project. ISSUES WITH NON-ADHERENCE TO CONTRACTORS STATE LICENSE BOARD REGULATIONS In items 3 and 4 below, quoted text is from Contractors State Licensing Board publication "Contracting for Success", which was downloaded from the CSLB website. 3. Contractor did not give buyer a copy of the signed contract as CSLB requires. "Before any work is started, the contractor must give the buyer a copy of the contract signed and dated by both the contractor and the buyer." 4. On the day work began, Contractor asked for payment of $15,000 along with the signed contract. "Except for a down payment, a contractor can't demand or accept payment for work or materials until the work is actually done or the materials are delivered. The down payment may not exceed $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract amount, whichever is less." Contractor gave following reason why he asked for $15000 at start of project. Quote is directly from an email message he sent client. Client can provide the actual email message. Text of email message from Mr. McIntyre, in quotes: "My son is out of state at college and it is very expensive. My cash flow and bank account funds do not allow me to pay for your materials before delivery and pay my payroll in advance of getting paid by you if this is what the CSLB requires." --------End of quote from email message sent by Mr. McIntyre-------------- 5. Contractor made additional changes not in contract without a change order being added to the contract. Contractor's office manager then billed client for the unauthorized work. The Contractors State Licensing Board publication "Terms of Agreement A Consumer Guide to Home Improvement Contracts" (downloaded from the CSLB website) states the following: "Extra Work and Change Orders become part of the contract once the order is prepared in writing and signed by the parties prior to the commencement of any work covered by the new change order.""

"Punctual. Informative. Friendly. Good work, excellent completion. Pleasing sight."

"Would not recommend them to anyone. We had the worst experience with these guys. Scope of project: kitchen complete remodel, replacing carpet flooring with vinyl tile flooring , redo electrical for kitchen area only cost: 100K+ what went to plan: - kitchen demo - made one nice dry wall - setting up and framing of the kitchen area what went wrong: - communication/scheduling : we would never be told ahead of time when work was being done. Sometimes there would be days stretches where no one showed up and then guys would show up randomly on a Sunday morning. At the start of the project we told them we were going to move into the back half of the house, so just have that clean. We moved into trash and debris everywhere. They also saw a vinyl strap , strapped to our tree, tied to our neighbor's fence (it was there keeping the fence up as the tree was leaning into the neighbors fence). In their brilliance, they decided to cut the strap and use it for themselves. How did we know? we found it on our roof, used to tie some electrical conduit. Who the heck does that?! We should've cut ties at that point, it was just the start...if we only knew. But we gave them the benefit of the doubt...but things kept going wrong. - Kitchen cabinet install was not leveled, we end up telling them to not bother coming back and we installed the whole kitchen ourselves (re-leveling the base cabinets, putting on the hardware, installing the cabinet doors. - broke several custom panels (to their credit, they did pay for the reorder) but we ended up installing it ourselves , which we were never offered refund the labor. - the kitchen counter was not leveled, we also had to redo it ourselves in order for the independent countertop guys to install it. - cut hole for electrical switch too big, huge gap now in our org Eichler panel that is not repairable unless we replace the whole wall. - cut hole in wood beam ceiling too big for ceiling vent even though they had the manufacturer's specifications. tried to fix it, but it looks terrible. - lied and said they had experience installing lux vinyl tile. They didn't. The flooring , which is supposed to be new, looks like flooring that has been there for years and hadn't been replaced. It was discolored, uneven, not leveled, and not even lined up. How can you mess up lining up squares? Our sales person Joe ,came and made excuses after excuses , telling us " no one can install it better than them" , that this is the "best" we'll get. I cannot believe he could look us in the face and say that. We ended up requesting 1500 back, though for us to reorder redo the tiles for the kitchen will be 3K+. - as a last F you to us, they gave us the bill for the permit fees which includes a 3% of project cost recycling deposit that is 100% refundable if they just do the paperwork and let the city know where they recycled the demolition material. Our kitchen project was 80K and so it was $2400. Guess what, they "never heard of this" and have no proof of where they recycled the material and so cannot get the refund. I have no idea where they dumped the material.....and we're out 2400. The best thing about this project is finishing and NEVER having to deal with them again."

"Kept in touch while I planned everything. Quick and efficient! Will be contacting them for projects in the future"

"Most smoothest work we’ve ever had done on our home! The team were very kind & respectful. I’ve had many negative experiences with other companies so at times, I’m hesitant to ask questions but the team always reassured me and continuously made sure my voice was heard. All workers are very respectful of start & end times making workday transitions flow effortlessly. We had our existing siding removed & replaced. We didn’t expect it to be completed so quickly but was happily surprised. They maintained organization & cleanliness not to mention staying within quoted price. Overall, we were very grateful to have received such great work. My family and I will definitely be going to them for any future work. We highly recommend you putting your trust in Elusive Construction. You will not be disappointed. Thank you for making my home look beautiful again!"

"Adding a new home office was something we had been planning for a while, and after meeting with several contractors, we decided on Green Planet Remodeling—and we couldn’t be happier! The entire team was efficient, professional, and highly skilled. They kept us updated at every stage, and the communication was outstanding. What impressed me the most was their attention to detail—they made sure everything was done perfectly, from the electrical work to the custom-built shelving. The whole project was completed in a timely manner with zero hassle, and the space turned out even better than we imagined. This company truly takes pride in their work, and it shows."

"This company remodel my bathroom and kitchen, the bathroom was not too bad apart from causing a leak and making a whole in the newly plastered kitchen ceiling and then tried to blame my gasman. The kitchen is a different story, after having the keys to my house for nearly 4 weeks when I wen to see the kitchen it was like a building site, the company have been back out 3 times and still a shambles, now refusing to answer any of my emails. The owner phoned and threatened to sue me. Avoid at all costs, I now have to go down legal route. Worst company I have ever dealt with. My advice stay away from this company."

"Shanne and his team are top notch. The follow up and customer service has been excellent. I highly recommend Solid Oak Construction for small or large scale projects."

"Ofer and his team were very responsive for our bath/shower replacement. The team was very tidy, clean, and respectful of the home as they worked for several days. My wife was nine months pregnant at the time and Ofer and his team were very thoughtful and prompt with the work to help us out. We were really satisfied with the work- finished on-time, in scope and in the quoted fair price. In general, really good customer service from Ofer and a very helpful team."