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"If you want someone reliable to review a landscape lighting and audio design and implement a plan without delays, you have to call Jerod at Apex Landscape Lighting and Audio. He is not only knowledgeable, which is a key reason to work with Jerod, he is fair, hardworking, and flexible. The knowledge he brings to your project will be worth every cent in terms of savings over other options available in the market. He also knows where to buy components and pass along the savings gained from his contacts. Bottom line, you don't have to go anywhere else to implement, design, and supply your landscape lighting and audio systems."

"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.""

"Martin was great! He was reasonable and transparent about pricing, he responded quickly, and he was experienced and skilful enough to be able to identify our problem and repair it on the spot. Thank you!"

"Fantastic. I never thought my backyard would ever look so good."

"Very well. Excellent job."

"Natural Vibrations Inc. just completed our second project with them, conversion of a 1960s rumpus room into a junior ADU, including bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and dining space. It required thoughtful design, placement of lengthy sewer and water lines, extensive new electrical work, addition of a window, HVAC heat pump system, removal and replacement of new sheetrock, insulation, porcelain flooring, quartz countertops, appliances, fine carpentry including custom shelving, restoration of antique stained glass windows, tiling, and a versatile lighting system with spectrum-adjustable LED illumination. This was accomplished with minimal disruption and maximum attention to our input at every stage. We enjoyed their cheerful company and parted, once again, on the best of terms."

"I contacted Discover to ask for a quote in the morning and they responded with the best price and the shortest window to come over. They only had a one hour window as opposed to some other devices that have 4+ hours which they arrived as promised. Not only did a service tech arrive, but the manager as well. Both were extremely professional and assessed the problem before taking any action. They isolated it to the mainline and was able to run a commercial snake to have everything unclogged in less than an hour. Once everything was tested with the other water lines to make sure the problem was resolved they cleaned up the work area and hooked up the lines back to the washing machine. I can't express how much I would recommend this company for jobs big or small. I'll definitely be reaching out to them for service in the future."

"Excellent job! We contacted Geico Builders to renovate our Kitchen and two bathrooms - basically complete home remodel. The initial meeting was with Diane our project manager who upon meeting, felt like she was a great fit. She's very personable, straight forward, responsive, and always looked out in our best interest throughout the project. I can't say enough good things about her and Geico. The attention to detail is precise. They gave us the timeline for completing and kept me updated throughout the process. We're very happy with the work they have done and would not hesitate to go through Geico if we ever decide to have another remodel. We just love our new remodel bathrooms and kitchen."

"Very professional team. Was easy to schedule time for a walkthrough for a quote, and the quote was provided in a timely manner as well. Work was on time and well done. Will hire them again for future projects!"

"They did a excellent job and we were pleased with their service!"