Pacific Stone Solutions

Review: We hired [redacted] in February of this year to do a job that he assured us would only take a few days and that they would begin the next day. In the past two months they have never spend one full day on this job. There were several times he notified us they would be by that day and never showed. He asked for part of his payment before that part of the job had been completed, assuring us he needed to by products for the job. He emailed us saying he was coming over and I immediately let him know that we were not home and he was not to come over until the following day. When we arrived home we found that not only was he on our property but that he had set off our alarm system. The [redacted]'s department came and we asked that they have [redacted] leave our property immediately. It was 9:00 PM, dark and he was still trying to work. This was not the first time throughout this job that he had been asked not to come over on a Sunday and he showed up anyway. We had hired [redacted] in the past for smaller jobs and he had done a good job and on time. We are awaiting him to come today 4/11/16 to apply a protective shield to our patio.Desired Settlement: [redacted] has told us that he will be here at 10:00 AM, 4/11/16; to put the protective shield on his work. If necessary we will hire someone to do the cleanup. We only want job completed, cleanup we will take care of.

Make sure that you check all contractors out with the State Contractors Licenses Board. We were very dissatisfied with [redacted], he's a great talker and gets you to believe that he knows what he's doing but makes excuses the whole time he works on your project about one thing or another. He told my husband that when he's done with our project to not tell anyone he's the one that did it because it wasn't going to turn out good. At that point we asked him to leave. Make sure you ask for his contractors licenses number upfront.

Gary M[redacted] is a nice guy, but has been very unprofessional. He started a job (that morphed into 3 jobs) for us at Thanksgiving of 2014, and worked until December 21 when he got sick. His illness has lasted until now (June 2015). We tried to be understanding and patient, but when one of his guys let it slip that he was doing other jobs, I was not happy. If he had been up front with us and said, "hey I know you've paid me half and it is not fair to ask more until the job is done, but I need to get back on my feet financially after this illness. I will be back on such and such a date" - I would have been patient. Instead I was ignored when I texted and called. I have had no choice but to fire him, eat the cost, and hire someone else.

I have mixed reviews on Gary Mitchell. I hired Gary to stain my drive way last fall. The finished product was beautiful and attracted a lot of positive feed back from neighbors. However I had two problems that needed to be resolved. The first I discovered on a very sunny day, Gary left several noticeable footprints, and the second and most serious problem revealed at first rain that my driveway had no slip resistance. The driveway was so unsafe to walk on that I had to entertain Halloween Trick or Treaters from curbside. Not only was footing unsafe, certain vehicle tires couldn't gather traction and left rubber burn marks on the surface. I called Gary to fix the problem and received several promises from him personally to make needed repairs. Gary returned my calls, texts, and emails. Chatted with me on several occasions and even came out to pressure wash the driveway and market a substance he intended to use to improve resistance. He did everything a good a boss would expect from an employee, except do the work. Gary has made every excuse from a sudden illness to dental appointment, split tire, and busted radiator. When he felt better, his helper was sick. Gary is a smart hard working man who seems to have a lot of luck getting out of work. He returned my call during the 4th quarter of the Superbowl, and showed up to do the work just before rain (What are the chances during four year drought). His excuses continue to pileup and delay me from work and vacation. As it stands I gave Gary until Tuesday (3/17/2015) to complete this simple project, otherwise I will exercise Civil Court options.

My advise if you intend to hire Gary Mitchell, is to use caution. Consider holding back full payment until all paint/stain/enamel has completely cured. And be sure to check the surface resistance under dry and wet conditions. Gary does not offer any expressed or written warranty. The only guarantee I could count on is an EXCUSE.

Review: In early June of 2015, we contracted with [redacted], owner of Pacific Stone Solutions, to remove all lawn from our back and side yards and lay a stamped concrete patio in back. In addition, he was to design, construct, and install a water feature. Also, move and reinstall an existing water fountain. The contract called for a completion time frame of 4-6 days for each of two phases. Total completion within 2 weeks from start date. The job was started on June 9, 2015. That same day [redacted] asked for and received from us a large deposit, him citing the need for special items for the water feature and other material. His crew worked 4 days that week. The following week, no one showed up on Monday. Thereafter, that was to become a pattern. Typically, one or two guys would be here pushing dirt from one place to another, digging but mainly looking and sounding lost because they didn't know quite what to do. They would communicate with [redacted] by phone but that wasn't enough. [redacted] RARELY showed up, with excuses ranging from his illness, his girlfriend's illness, trouble with his truck, his alarm, his phone, his crew, to his home being broken into. He ALWAYS had an excuse for EVERYTHING! We would sit down to meet with him about the job taking so long and him asking for more and more money from us without anything to show for it besides a deconstructed yard! [redacted] would promise, guarantee, and swear that he really wanted to complete our job. We relented, hoping that this time [redacted] would come through. He showed up and worked hard for 2 days, then disappeared. We drove to his home looking for him. Mid-day during the week, he's still in bed. He begged not to be fired and again we gave him one more chance. He again showed up for a few days, then a no-show, with more excuses for his absence. We endured [redacted] for over 2 months before firing him and feeling ROBBED! We've hired a licensed contractor to complete the job [redacted] was paid for and didn't do. [redacted] is totally unscrupulous and no one should ever hire him!Desired Settlement: We want our money back for anything that Gary cannot produce a receipt for. We're willing to pay for work done, materials installed, whatever is fair and just.