Personal Gardens Ltd

I hired Personal Gardens to build me a front and back deck. They did some good work for my neighbors, and their previous quotes were mid-range. So we opted to hire them due to good precedent.. At the time of quoting, we agreed to:
- construction drawings so my none-handy wife can understand
- construction style of similar to my neighbors' decks

We opted not to penny pinch this project and pay to our expectations (of a job well done with no shortcuts, and good clarity).. What we got was a haphazard bunch of The-Morning-Of project decisions, and random deviations that was not anywhere close to what we had discussed in the quote.. It was not fun being put on the spot with project decisions that had already been agreed to with the manager, yet the trades were oblivious to..

By the time the project was mostly done, we were less than satisfied, but didn't feel so dissatisfied we'd gut the project and get ugly fighting.. When we voiced our feedback; wanting more VISIBILITY and control of the final portions of the project (and exercised our final holdback), WE WERE THREATENED WITH LEGAL ACTION.. We got the manager to cool down by saying we intend to pay the majority but are dissatisfied to date, and will hold back the final portion until the final portion is done to our satisfaction..

All in all, I would say these guys do sound work, but are not great listeners or documenters.. What's promised in quoting is all verbal, very minimal detail in the quote, and you must have your vision IN WRITING and IN DRAWING before you make your first payment to them.. Once the job starts, the project becomes an exercise in artistry and how many ways the wheel can be reinvented..

SOUND WORK- BUT HOME OWNERS NEED _LOTS_ of DOCUMENTATION TO COVER YOUR BEHIND.. They will be as verbal and as vague as they want to be.. I wasn't expecting this kind of cheap trades behavior from someone who quoted on the upper-mid range and I didn't penny pinch them..