ComplaintsforBoulders Landscaping

• Initial Complaint

  07/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We hired ***** with Boulders Landscaping in the fall of 2020 to fix our existing pond (new retaining wall, liner, pump) and redo our sandstone patio. He left debris(chunks of concrete, pipe, soda cans) all over our yard, and ripped a branch off our apple tree. We had a waterfall that ended up half the original height, after we told him we wanted it to stay the same. When we questioned him he said "trust me you'll love it." We don't. He shrank the depth of the pond from 24" to 15" which is insufficient for koi to live through the winter. He fought us on the depth even though Aquascape (his supposed certification) clearly says the depth needs to be 24" min. He finally dug down so the pond is 20" deep. Still shallower than it was and should be. He convinced us to do polymer sand between our pavers, but didn't install it properly. It is only 1/8" thick, and the instructions clearly say 1" or the depth of the stone min. So it started cracking and peeling after only 6 months. He cut through a live electrical line during construction and told us he capped it. His idea of capping was wrapping the end of it in duct tape and shoving it into a wood wall. We found it months later charred - lucky our house didn't burn down. He broke 2 pavers, 2 sprinkler heads, and buried another sprinkler head under a boulder. Rocks are falling off the waterfall into the pond and 75% of the patio has failed. He gave us a 1 year warranty, but he refuses to fix any of his work or provide any refund. We have emailed and called several times and asked him to either fix the mistakes or refund our money. He now doesn't answer my calls.

  Business response

  07/27/2022

  
  July 24, 2022
  
  
  
  Better Business Bureau
  1120 *************, Suite 300
  ********, ** *****
  
  RE:  Complaint **: ********
  
  To Whom It May ****************** response to the letter received, Boulders Landscaping was hired to update the existing water feature on the property. According to the bid, the plan was to try and increase the size slightly if possible but due to space constraints and the fact that they didnt want to remove an existing tree that was in the middle of the feature it made it extremely difficult but we did increase the size. We even came back several times after the job was completed to do everything possible to make the pond what they wanted, including redoing it only to discover that there was a concrete slab under the pond which prevented us from making it deeper. 
  
  As far as the patio, it was extremely uneven as it was done by the previous home owners themselves. The bid called to remove the existing flagstone, regrade the base material and reset the flagstone plus add additional Flagstone as needed. When we removed the Flagstone we discovered the only base material was 3-6 of wash sand (very unstable) and no class 5 base material. Plus we discovered there was an existing concrete patio that was never removed under the flagstone with 1 sand in between flagstone and concrete. This was brought to the attention of the customers but they didnt want to incur the additional expense to remove the sand and concrete and add class 5. Thats why it is not holding up, its not the Polymeric sand failing. Its the sand shifting the flagstone. We did reset the flagstone to level as was the plan. When the homeowner contacted me regarding the patio, we discussed these concerns and the reasons for the issues.
  
  As far as us leaving trash in the yard, tree limb, broken sprinkler, broken pavers, this is news to me. We have always prided ourselves with leaving the site spotless every day and they never told us this the many times we came back to work on the water feature so I dont have an answer for that.  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  ***** Schroeder
  Project Manager
  

  
  

  Customer response

  08/04/2022

  The pond was leaking immediately after he completed construction. Yes, he came back several times to attempt to fix his own substandard work. He finally fixed the leak, but his solution only lasted a year - it is now leaking again. 
  
  **** did not rebut my complaint about the stones failing around the pond. Last year he agreed that was a warrantee issue and he would fix it, but he had family issues and he was out of town. We've never heard back from him and more stones continue to fall. 
  
  He also did not rebut my comment about the live electrical line he cut and shoved in a wood wall. This was a code violation and a serious safety issue. 
  
  His claim that they didn't know the substrate for the patio before hand is false. We discussed that there was sand below the pavers and a concrete slab beneath part of the patio. They never expressed concern that their solution would fail within 6 months or that they wouldn't warrantee their work. The previous patio built on the same base was done by the previous homeowner and had lasted at least 10 years. ****** solution is in worse shape now than before he started. All of that is immaterial to the fact that he did not install the polymeric sand properly. When it is only an 1/8" thick coating on top of sand it will always fail. The manufacturer and all best practices say the polymeric sand should be at least 1" thick. 
  
  *************************, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, MLA
  *******************
  ************

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