Mario at Creative Outdoors seems like a nice guy, but if you are looking for someone to get the job done, I'd recommend that you keep looking. Mario originally came to give me an estimate on a gate that needed to be replaced in July of 2014. While he was there I also asked him if he might give me a separate estimate on a long stretch of fencing that needed to be replaced. Almost two weeks later he e-mailed the estimate, $325 for the gate, 1,670.00 for one style with the fence, 1,780.00 for another style. Since the gate was (and still is) no longer functional leaving the back of the house exposed and money is tight, we decided to go ahead and get the gate done first. In the estimate he told us we would have to have an adjoining concrete block wall repaired first before he could proceed with the gate. I asked if he knew someone for that job, he recommended someone, another estimate for that, time passes, that wall is repaired and now it's November. We're ready to go, right? Wrong. I contact him and he says he's very busy and that just doing the gate alone will now require him to charge $400 because the opening that the gate will occupy is larger than the usual size. Uh, okay. Don't know why that wasn't stated in the original estimate, but okay. He also tells me that because the owner of the home (my sister) is out of state (something I told him in July) that he will require I pay that $400 up front, IN CASH, before he will even start the job. Uh, no. I can understand requesting half the money for materials prior to starting the job, but this is a business transaction, we will pay half with a check or credit card prior to the job, and half upon completion. Seems fair. Okay, let's get this done! Thanksgiving comes and goes. Christmas comes and goes. New Year's comes and goes. I leave phone messages and e-mail messages saying, "I understand you are very busy and if you don't want the job anymore, that's fine, please just let me know and I'll move on." No, he still wants the job and will schedule the job soon he says. I'm writing this review in April of 2015. He came to give me an estimate in July of 2014. Even after raising the price of the original job he gave me a written estimate for and telling me I needed to pay him in cash up front, the thing that annoys me the most is that I've wasted nine months waiting around for him to stop being busy enough to accept our money. If he can't be arsed to do our gate, what confidence would we have to hire him to do a larger job? As I say, he was always polite, but if you have a job that you want done quickly, professionally and honestly, I would say to look elsewhere. read more

I called Mario on a recommendation of a neighbor that said he did a great job. He was coming by to get me a quote and seemed very excited to help me out. Sadly he was a no show and never even called me back for a reschedule. It seems as though this is just in line with what the other people on Yelp say. I think that it is important to see peoples business practices throughout the entire process. I only write this to say, I am not an "angry customer" of theirs and they did come recommended. However, I will not chase them down due to these reviews and I think that it is fair to tell others about the business practice of Creative Outdoors. Companies who break promises, will inevitably break promises. Be conscious of the potential disaster you could find yourself in. read more

I religiously use Yelp on a daily basis for everything and this is one business/service that I can confidently say the Yelp reviewers that left negative feedback have got it wrong. Creative Outdoors finished installing our Redwood fence just last week and I can't express how flawless it came out! Our contractor Mario worked with me step by step throughout the entire process and not only did he do a quality job on the fence but he was very attentive to my needs/wants and provided me updates as the project progressed. Mario's work ethic is a complete reflection of his business in that he cares about his clients. The project lasted a little under 3 days and it was everything we hoped it would be. He even was the lowest quoted estimate among 3 other estimates I received from other vendors! Will definitely be working with Mario and using Creative Outdoors for any future renovations! read more

I used Creative Outdoors twice. The first time (on one side of my yard) the work was great, so I called Mario again for the other side. All seemed well until the fence started leaning ALOT within a year I believe it was. I contacted Mario multiple times, he finally told me straight out he wouldn't be able to come back and repair as he was busy with jobs further north. My neighbor and I had to contact another person to come fix Mario's faulty work (seems to be a cement issue) to the tune of $700 so far. Now the fence is leaning even further up! So another call is needed. I don't usually write bad reviews but the amount of time and money I have had to part with isn't fair - Mario should have guaranteed his work and he should have come out to see how his work was faulty. read more

Mario was FANTASTIC. He gave us an amazing fence and was very reasonable priced. Completely happy and would highly reccommend!!!

i have to agree with the other reviews. Once the job is finished, if there's a problem the follow thru is terrible. Good luck getting Mario to come back to fix anything. There's always an excuse. read more

Creative Outdoors and Basilio Mario Hinojosa were to built a fence down the propertyline at my home. He began construction on June 9th, 2011. I contacted Mario in October of 2011 to let him know that my fence and front & back gates were sagging. Mario came out to look, and told me I'd have to pay extra to fix these issues. That basically the fence he and his company constructed only 4 months previously was not going to stand unless I paid more money. I contacted Mario again on January 28th, 2012 to let him know that the fence was now sagging in 3 additional places down the property line. Mario came out again and met with me and my neighbor regarding the fence. He again told us that this was not his fault and we'd have to pay an additional $750 to fix it. I have had 2 other licensed contractors out to see my fence, and they have suggested I contact the Contractor's State Licensing Board to file a complaint (which I have as well). Both of these contractors have quoted me less than HALF of what Mario wants to repair the fence. Needless to say, he's taking advantage of me a second time!!! You cannot argue with facts; Mario built the fence, he chose 'how' to build the fence, it has not been able to stand properly since October 2011, only 4 months after he built it. He wants me to pay more money. Those are ACTUAL FACTS. His work is unsatisfactory and he's trying to take advantage of me by making me pay additional costs for his poor workmanship. I think anyone would agree that construction of a fence should last more than 4 months. Id pick up a guy from the Home Depot parking lot before I would EVER use this company again. read more

I needed a fence installed in my backyard due to the neighbors fence being obsolete and them also having an aggressive large dog. I reached out to 5 different companies. Mario got back to me quickly, we scheduled an appt for him to come out and take measurements. After the appt he sent the quote same day as he promised. I waited a few days and got back multiple bids from a few companies and Mario's price was the most competitive! He guaranteed the project to be complete within 2 days once started and he kept that promise. It was a pleasure working with him from start to finish. Very pleased with the final outcome and the complete process. Thanks so much Mario!! read more

Very unreliable. I spoke with Mario on the phone in early June. He told me he would call me back to schedule to come to my house and look at the project. After not hearing from him for 2 weeks, I called back and scheduled him to come by. We met and I was optimistic based on his ideas and ballpark pricing. He told me he would send me a quote. Well, that was about 3 weeks ago. I doubt I will ever hear back from him. It looks like the other reviews warning about how unreliable Mario is are correct. Given these experiences there is no way I would hire or recommend him or this company. read more

Mario and his team were excellent, they were on time, courteous and completed everything as quoted .... no surprises what a refreshing difference. Thanks Mario we'll be back for more. Oh yes and they were competitively priced ... I got 4 quotes and went with CO! read more

This company receives an A+ in my book. When I first started searching for someone to build our fence, I got slaughtered with high quotes, and people who clearly didn't care that came out to the house, and said "Pay right this second for this one time low price". When Mario came out to give the quote, there was no pressure. He was incredibly helpful, knowledgeable, and to my surprise, very low priced compared to others. His work lived up to that standard, and the final project is something we are VERY happy with. In short, stop looking at those others guys. This is your best choice for multiple reasons. read more

We had Mario do a rear fence / gate as well as a stylish horizontal fence for our front yard. In short, we could not be more pleased. We get complements all the time from friends and neighbors and we agree, the quality really shows and makes our home much more appealing. The process of doing an horizontal fence is tedious and requires painstaking effort. Mario made sure that he got everything just right. His attention to detail was really incredible and it really shows. Mario and his dad did all of the work on our fence and they were very professional, on-time. We did have a couple of minor issues as well as a few changes we made on the fly. Mario was attentive to all of these items and took care of them quickly. We've been recommending Mario without hesitation since our fence was installed nearly a year ago. read more

Mario completed a fence for me last week. It went without a hitch. When it rained, I got an email by 8:00AM telling me what the plan would be and when he would arrive, or how the rain would affect the days work. The job was done on time, and looks great. I asked Mario about a couple of these other reviews which he explained to my satisfaction, and at this point I hired him. I am pleased with the price, quality and outcome. read more

Mario and crew installed a fence and gate. From start to finish he did an outstanding job. He was timely and tidy and the results were exactly as expected. The fence and gate looks great. He is a professional. I highly recommend Creative Outdoors. He also did work for my mother in law and also did an outstanding job. read more

Things started out pretty good (when my job was a good size) but then later when I needed a small job done; suddenly it took weeks to get an email returned and Mario never returned my texts or calls. I was patient for a month or so as originally I was not in such a hurry but then he kept ignoring me and my small job. He suddenly remembered that I needed to have sprinklers moved (which he previously said wouldnt be a problem to work around) which postponed my job yet again. Its now May and we have been discussing my small job for 3 months now. Very very bummed that be blew me off and didnt give me the time of day to return my calls or emails. Not cool and i will never use him again (and I still have fencing needs) read more

I have to agree with everyone's opinion on here that he seems very nice. I totally got that vibe and I was all set on hiring him. I originally got his number from Home Advisors but then couldn't find his review page so I came on here and was slightly horrified that he had such bad reviews and they were as early as two months ago. He had a five star rating on his home advisor site. I think he prioritizes his jobs and that's why some of the people on yelp have been getting slighted and ignored over his other referrals. I found another company that was also on both of the websites and they had consistently great reviews which told me they treat ALL customers equal no matter from where they are coming. Also this other company's quote was way under Creative Outdoors who insisted on wanting a chance to match this price but it was clear that CO acts as though he will have to do all extra stuff which he has to charge extra for where this other company never even mentioned addt'l fees or extra work. Also , he wanted to get a percentage so I could "reserve him" for his wk to start later at an undecided time . The company I went with 1) came and left me a bid the same day 2) DIDNOT ASK FOR DEPOSIT OR %, nothing til completely done 3) started my job within 2 days of leaving my bid and finished within 2 days ! Email me and I can give you the company's name. They work throughout the LA area. read more

Verdor is a joke. I tried to get a quote and he (Mario) kept me at home for 3 days waiting for hime to provide me a quote. First he said he was going to come on Wednesday, then Thursday, finally on Friday. Never call on Friday to say he would not be able to mak it. Not profesional at all! read more

Mario did an excellent job with my fence topper project. It came out very nice and clean. My neighbors all have been commenting how nice the fence looks. He is very upfront with everything and makes sure the job is done right. Will definitely go with Mario for future projects. read more

We hired Mario to complete the third component of our exterior home renovation. We needed him to build and install two white vinyl gates (one with a fence extension) and he was able to schedule the job quickly and complete it in two days. He did a masterful and professional job, coming on time, giving a us wonderful bid, and making us feel very comfortable , knowing that he would do an excellent job. Our neighbors were all impressed, and one even hired him to build her a new gate. We so appreciated his "old school" ways of being a man of his word, and with his wonderful and pleasant customer service we couldn't be happier with his work. We were also honored to have Mario's father also work on the job, and it is obvious that they both take great pride in this family-owned business. We will always recommend Mario to anyone who has the need of his professional and efficient services. read more