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"We had a complete backyard remodel done by Artistic Landscapes, and it turned out fantastic! Robert is great, he talked us through the entire project, giving suggestions while working with our vision to create a wonderful space for us, and going above and beyond to really make our property shine. He and his crew were a pleasure to work with, and Bonifacio is an amazing craftsman. We are extremely pleased with our beautiful new patio, fence, and landscaping, and we look forward to continuing to work with Robert for maintenance and potential future projects!"

"The work went OK.  Several of the tasks were sub-let to other contractors — this was reasonable because removing the original mix of builder's rubble, clay and weeds and bringing in soil meant getting some big digging machinery into my back garden, and most landscapers don't have such machinery themselves.  Another example was the final addition of bark mulch, which was sub-ed to a company with a mulch blower.  The problems came because there was little supervision of the subs, so the man with the big digger broke a lot a pavers at the front of the house (which were not scheduled to be replaced) when he drove the digger over them, and the man with the mulch blower buried the bottom of my wooden fence.

My original expectation, which was that Burrell would carefully attend to all of the details, turned out to be wrong.  If I noticed and pointed out a shortcoming, Burrell would eventually fix, it, somewhat reluctantly.  For example, the initial Scope of Work required him to "Till and amend soil in future side yard planting areas" (plantings in the side yards were not included in the project). When we later went to add plants in these areas, we found that the soil had not been amended or tilled, but just covered with mulch.  Burrell did correct this, but only after we insisted.

At the end of the first winter, quite a number of the plants had died.  This may just be because it was a very hard winter, and because the plants were not installed until October and so did not have much time to get established before the bad weather.   In June Burrell and a small crew came back to replace the dead plants — a one year guarantee was part of the original contract. Some of the replacements were dead within four days; I'm still waiting for them to be replaced a second time.  

Overall, the garden looks good.   Some of the plants are thriving, and I'm enjoying using it this summer.  The patio, in particular, looks very good, and I have recommended Burrell to friends who have admired it.  However, every time I go out to do some work, I'm annoyed by something that wasn't done quite right.  Little things, mostly, which I can often fix myself, but which I don't feel I should have to fix, given the money that I spent on this project. Examples are correcting the grading around a pre-exitsting tree so that it isn't buried too deep, gluing down loose capstones, and un-burrying the fence.  I'm also concerned about the long-term durability of some of the hardscaping; one of the flagstones on the patio has cracked, and one side of the path at the East side of the house is now several inches lower than the other side; both of these point to insufficient excavation and compacting of the new sub-grade material.  

I'm amending this review because after he read it, Burrell 'phoned me to complain that I hadn't been fair to him, because I had mentioned shortcomings but not the good parts.  He had a good point there, and I've added more positive comments.  He was also upset because I mentioned problems that he fixed after I pointed them out.   I think that whether or not I've been fair on t his point depends on whose responsibility you think it is to supervise the work of the subcontractors and ensure quality: the homeowner or the contractor.  We clearly have a difference of opinion on this which I don't think will be resolved.      

Update (Sept 2012) after two years:  there were serious subsidence problems with a path at one side of the house. One side of the path had sunk about 4 inches relative to the other side, and the surface (compacted 1/4" minus gravel) was loose.   Burrell agreed to add more gravel and re-compact the path, even though he said that the work was out of warranty.  I also asked him to re-set a fence panel that had shifted;  I paid him for this, since the panel had originally been set by another contractor.   ProScape came and performed this work while I was out of town, and it seems to have been taken care of in a professional manner."

"We love, love, love our driveway and front patio/porch! It took long but well worth it, now looking at the outcome. The workers really made it happen, experienced and most agreeable to make our project happen beautifully! We wish however, that the contractor cared enough about the workers, by providing a Honey Bucket and modern methods like a mobile tractor for demo work."

"We hired Steller Construction and Remodeling LLC to build a deck/Catio in May 2024. Micha (the Owner) was straightforward to work with and reach throughout the process. We are retired and live on a set income. Even though we had some lower estimates from other companies, we felt so confident with Micha's (the owner) ideas that, after looking at other reviews/images of this company, we decided to go with Steller Construction. Micha's team was absolutely amazing !!! Ray, our project's lead employee/carpenter, was very knowledgeable, considerate, and had an unbelievable work ethic! The rest of the team did an awesome job as well. They communicated well throughout the whole job always checking in with us to make sure they were doing what we wanted. They were professional and very polite everyday. At the end of each they completely cleaned up the area. We have worked with one other construction company and a roofing company when we did some remodling on our last home and did not have a good experience with either company. We were very nervous about having to go through another bad experience. We were so pleasantly surprised that Steller Construction turned out to be a great decision! Our deck/catio is beautiful and we love it! If you have any construction/remodeling needs contact Micah at Steller ConstructionI you will not be disappointed!"

"Sunset Outdoor Living did a fantastic job on our outdoor kitchen and beautiful fire pit to match. They show up on time and do what they promise. I would highly recommend this company for all of your outdoor kitchen and fire pit needs."

"Jesus and his brother did a fantastic job completing our project."

"Jose Lopez, the owner of Luna Masonry, was very easy to work with. He responded to all questions and provided positive and creative solutions to any inquiries about materials, designs and function of the projects. He and his crew also worked long hours, including evenings and weekends. I would highly recommend this company for any Masonry work you need done!!"

"Bob and his crew did a terrific job. We are loving the patio."

"I cannot recommend Akeem and his crew highly enough. He was promptly available for the bid to construct a new 13x14 shed, open to modifications and very cost-effective. Akeem and his crew completed the build in the time frame promised, were very conscientious of my family and our neighbors as far as construction noise, and even though a full tear down of the existing shed was required, the worksite was always professionally in order. We are delighted with the design and quality of the new building, and very thankful that we found a company as attuned to our needs as Gryphon."

We take great pride in our experience, expertise, quality, and customer service that we provide to meet the consumer's needs. It is our mission to provide excellent workmanship and complete customer satisfaction from start to completion of a project. In order to understand the needs and expectations of our customers, we take great care to work and communicate with every customer in a professional manner. Our reputation is based on service, safety, and quality, regardless of how large or small the job.\n