Muscle Tree & Landscaping

On March 20, 2018 Muscle Tree & Landscaping (the Business) started a project at our house to repair three flagstone patios and one flagstone walkway. The repairs involved replacing dark gray polymeric sand in three patios with mortar of the same color, pouring a concrete base for the existing pathway, resetting the flagstone in the pathway, and mortaring the joints in the same dark gray color.

We were verbally assured the project would be completed by April 6. However, the Business not only failed to complete the project, but in the parts they did complete (roughly 25% of all the areas) the mortar was applied incorrectly (it's uneven, with deep "troughs," and has developed cracks), inconsistently (using different techniques by different workers and different mixes, having distinctly different texture even on the same patio), and with varying amounts of dye (it came out light gray and dark gray in adjacent areas on the same patio). Mortar drippings were allowed to dry on the flagstone in all areas, permanently staining the flagstone. Flagstones that came loose during the initial removal of the polymeric sand were not reset in concrete before mortaring. In addition, the Business broke and badly damaged a number of large flagstones. Finally, one of the Business' trucks broke in two places our contiguous concrete curb. The Business owner, Mr. Jared V, assured us that all damage would be repaired at the Business' expense and all work completed before April 20. However, despite multiple attempts via email and phone to set up a meeting to discuss the stalled project, the project was never completed, the damage never repaired, and Mr. V never showed up for a meeting and ultimately stopped responding to our phone calls and emails (we have not heard from him since April 19).

We have since obtained three estimates from three independent masons to repair the damage caused by the Business to our property and to complete the project. The cost of the patio repairs is $1,850 (this does not include the cost of the curb repairs), and the cost for the remainder of the work is $5,500.

In the Fall of 2016, my neighbor hired Muscle Tree to trim a large maple after they purchased the home that sits on the North boundary of my property. Muscle Tree performed the work in October 2016. In the process, the Muscle Tree crew entered my property, without notice or invitation to access the tree, felled limbs onto my property, and crushed the mature planting in my garden. My wife spoke with the crew at the time of the incident, and they provided her a copy of the insurance certificate for the work and assured her that Muscle Tree would replace what was lost. We agreed that we would wait until the Spring to see what had recovered.

I first contacted ***, owner of Muscle Tree, on July 27, 2017 by phone to confirm that several plants did not recover. He was very pleasant and confirmed that the plants would be replaced, and requested that I email him a receipt showing the amount. He provided his contact information by text message.

On August 2, I provided a detailed invoice from *** showing the original cost of $260.
One Dwarf Norway Spruce #5, $126
Two Hydrangea ‘***’, $67 each, $134
*** was agreeable to the price and the process, and even stated “the check is in the mail”.

When I received no check, I started emailing and calling ***. We spoke on several occasions over the ensuing weeks and he indicated on one occasion that he had run out of checks, and on another that he had forgotten. He ultimately agreed to pay by ***, but never did. *** now does not take my phone calls or return my emails.