I have used HomeStars for my roof and siding and have had wonderful results. So when I needed a landscaper for my small walkway project, New Look Landscapes appeared decent. Ryan and New Look Landscapes was reasonably priced and the walkway I requested looks very good. However, it has been a pain repairing and cleaning up after he and his helpers left.
I did everything I could to make his job easier. I created a to-scale site plan of what I wanted, showing buried irrigation and electrical lines that he would encounter before I got the quote. I spray-painted the sidewalk limits and the electrical line on the grass before he even showed up.
#1: I get it, they are not an irrigation company and where I requested my walkway went right through my irrigation lines. I fully understand that after the first couple of shovels we realized the lines would have to come out and be re-routed at a later date. But after a quick call by me to Ace Irrigation (who were amazing by the way), I passed on the information to Ryan that anything coming out needed to be taped off (to prevent dirt inside) and an idea of where they came from so I can piece it back together later. Instead, I ended up chasing after them, taping off the lines myself that they chopped with their shovels, cleaning out the dirt from the pipe, trying to figure out what they pulled up after the fact. Several sprinkler heads were left orphaned with no pipe ends and had to be completely retrenched. There was no thought or respect beyond their immediate scope of work.
#2: Fully marked and discussed NMWU 14/2 underground cable. His helper drove an edging spike through the line. This shorted out the receptacle and forced me to spend additional money and a weekend of my time replacing the outlet and trenching a new electrical line. Even though it wasn’t in their scope, Ace Irrigation carefully hand-exposed the line to find out why I had lost power before proceeding with any work, which is how I discovered the spike.
If you’re looking for quick and cheap, Ryan and New Look Landscapes will work. But if you’re looking for respect to your property, look elsewhere.