Harvey's Landscaping

Revdex.com Northeast California, We received an email from you regarding a complaint made from a previous client, Mrs [redacted] The contract was proposed on March 28th, (as stated in complaint) In reading her complaint, these are the issues as we understand them: irrigation upgrade incomplete and incorrectly done Insufficient amount of drain rock and fabric bark installed in future concrete area Cigarette butts and garbage left on site Project Background Mrs [redacted] and her husband had purchased this one acre (+/-) property several months prior to our initial contact, and was intending to repair/upgrade the property inside and outWe were referred by a general contractor who was working on siteIt was our understanding that the property had been vacant for quite some time prior to their purchase, and there were many issues inside the residence, and throughout the landscape Upon our first in person meeting with Mrs [redacted] , she walked me through the landscape areas and expressed concerns of stressed plants/lawn/trees due to lack or inadequate watering by her year (plus?) existing irrigation systemDuring our discussions, Mrs [redacted] showed me (and the general contractor which was present at this initial meeting) a landscape proposal from another landscape contractor totaling near $10,In reading the proposal, I told Mrs [redacted] that their price quoted was accurate, fair for the work they proposed, and was the “best case scenario” for revitalizing her irrigation system (our cost would have been more)At this point, Mrs [redacted] asked what alternative options there were to reduce this cost We proposed (just over $4,000) to “repair” the existing irrigation system, instead of replacing and re-trenching the irrigation piping which was outlined in the other landscape contractor’s proposalI explained to her that the work we proposed would be a “Band-Aid fix”, and that she would probably have issues down the road Soon after we repaired the irrigation system, Mrs [redacted] was going to host her father’s birthday party, and wanted us to “spruce” up the propertyWe proposed $6,to import tons of drain rock, yards of bark top dressing, and including all labor Our Response The irrigation system work was installed, completed, and paid in full per the contract We installed professional grade weed cloth under all areas where we installed the drain rock, and we did have enough rock to complete the project per our contract½ drain rock at inches thick is nearly rocks high, if the rock was heavily trafficked on or kicked around by animals, sure you might be able to see the weed cloth underneathRaking or moving the rock back in place would solve this issueOur contract stated under “Scope of Work”, bullet point #states “Install 1/2” drain rock (tons) in specific areas as outlined by owner” Mrs [redacted] ’s “future concrete area” was discussed prior to our proposal and contractOriginally, we suggested to use the same rock as the rest of the areas, but her concern at the time was spending that much money for rock when (at that conversation) it would need to be removed to pour concrete months laterMrs [redacted] decided to use the barkIn the contract under “Scope of Work”, bullet point #states “Install recycled black bark in all planter areas as specified by owner”Once again, we completed the contract, and paid in full I and one of our employees do smokeWhile we were on site there were others who smokedI was aware of her low tolerance of smoking, and thought that I and our employee had complied with her intoleranceMaybe I was the culprit sure, I’ll take the blame We always take before/during/after picturesPlease click on the drop box links below: Our Before Pictures [redacted] Our Installation Pictures [redacted] Our Completed Pictures [redacted] According to the following email from Mrs [redacted] , apparently “EVERYONE” at her father’s birthday party thought we did a great job [redacted] To Me Jun 17, ***, I hope you had a wonderful Father's Day surrounded by lots of fun! The party was a huge success, EVERYONE loved the yard, bark and rock, of course! It was an amazing day I have a request for a few items that hopefully you can finish for me from the bark and rock project We will need the drip line to the tree along the RV pad and the team forgot to dig out the plant stumps next to the concreteIt looked like they were gone until I banged my toes on one of them covered with barkPerhaps time ran out, but they really need to go as discussedThere is also red wire on the ground near the west gate, it looks like sprinkler wire, not sure what the plan was for that, can it be secured? The plums are ready to pick, bring your buckets if you like someMy daughter and I are heading north tomorrow, time to go back, I am returning mid September, but feel free to swing by when you are in town if you need to check on things Have a fabulous summer! Thanks, [redacted] Personal Note Despite our current differences, we enjoyed working for Mrs [redacted] and the property looked great! I personally checked up on the property at least times over the course of several months to check and adjust the irrigation system

I am rejecting this response because:
The property WAS not vacant prior to purchase
The second owners lived here for 18months
The time period prior to them living here, the home was under property managementThe overgrowth areas DID not have any effect on the sprinkler project*** told us he could repair the system "as new" and we would be happy since he specialized in large properties
*** promised he would return to fix the remaining issues after the party, see emails attachedThe pictures show the wires left hanging, the incorrect GFI outlet whether *** or ANC Customs installed it, to modify new sprinkler control valueThe modification WAS NOT TO CODE and the outlet showed signs of stress when the licensed electrician corrected the issueThe control value box wire really show his sloppy workmanship, he did not even use insulated wire caps
The river rock did not compact Brain, being the expert in landscaping understood I wanted a 3" depthThe rock size was 1.5", he chose the amount of rock to order, shorting landscape materials is on him as wellHe was told to have the team build up the dirt in low areas prior to installing fabric, they did not .Not cleaning up the dirt from river rock dump is also on him, a little hard to excuse that one
*** *** explained all the issues to us, showed us where the quality of work was not to code and failingSince they are experts as well, perhaps they can be consulted for more details
The contractor that was on site, ANC Customs', is not reputable, our CSLB complaint show CA code violations during the time they were on our propertyTheir word can not be counted as true. The contractor of record is *** ***, not *** ***, the father, who was present *** was referred to us by *** & *** ***. The other estimate was given reflecting all new work, not repair*** was hailed as the best, he promised to make our system "like new" not trueHe was also given the opportunity for several more years of works on the property, this was his first project to prove his valueHe did return to fix the issues left undone, my emails before and after his visit are proof, all he did was check a zone, talked with me for about an hour about his family problems and left promising to get it doneStill waiting
As for the smoking issue, I had clearly shown all employees and *** the designated smoking areaTolerance for smokers has nothing to do with it, leaving your nasty cigarette butts and personal waste in my yard is NOT acceptable, period
As for the system, I am as of this moment having zones repaired, #& 11, ones *** promised he would fix because the line was blocked or ? It is costing around $to fix
I am finished discussing this issue, attached are copies of all communications, please contact me in the future through the CSLB or my attorney
Thank you,
*** ***