They did a great job with our driveway. They don't cut corners and they adjust to any reasonable request. Highly recommended. read more

Competitive estimate, professional plan documents with price sheet. Friendly consultations with material specifications and planning details. The construction crew was very courteous and hard working, and the team responded immediately to issues and made adjustments and corrections. This was a big job! read more

I rarely write reviews. However, for Christopher and the rest of the team at First Impression I wanted to make an exception. I have never had a better experience with a contractor. From the initial quote through the completion of the project they were punctual, creative, and thoughtful. If you are considering building a patio or a deck, I highly recommend speaking with this company. read more

I'm late with my review. First Impressions put in a new front walkway and front porch and steps for us last summer. Dustin was our main point of contact and was extremely responsive and helpful. We had very specific stone we wanted used and a design pattern in mind and provided First Impressions with an exact example of what we wanted to replicate from a specific house just a block away from our home. Dustin's estimate for the work was in the middle range of 3 estimates we received and was exactly what we ended up paying for the job. There were several communication glitches along the way between our original discussion and agreement with Dustin and the apparent understanding of the crew that showed up to do the work. The initial delivery of materials contained a different stone than the one we wanted. The issue was quickly remedied by the crew foreman who returned relatively quickly the same day with a truckload of the correct stone. Then, once the crew began to lay the walkway, they put down a pattern different from the one we had specifically designated to Dustin. Luckily, we were watching their work at regular intervals and caught the mistake before any stones had begun to set. Communicating with the crew was difficult since their English was very limited. After a period of time, we did manage to contact a foreman who came to the job and we explained to him what we wanted and had requested in our original agreement. He seemed to know nothing of our original plan, but once he understood what we wanted, he communicated that to the crew and they dutifully started over to cut and lay stone to meet our request. So there were definite glitches in communication between Dustin and the crew. The glitches concerned issues that were central to the job and therefore were quite disconcerting. If we hadn't been home due to the pandemic and able to keep a close eye on things, the resulting problems could have been quite serious. That said, once the issues were brought to the attention of Dustin, the foreman, and the crew, they remedied the problems immediately and without question or hesitation. Most importantly, the work they did was superb. We have a lovely walkway, front porch, and new steps that we're extremely happy with. We've gotten numerous compliments about it and inquiries on what company did the work. We gladly refer them to First Impressions. A really first-class job of hardscaping. The crew was incredibly hard working, diligent and completed the job on time. Very good clean up as well. One other issue that arose and that I didn't notice as the job was being done. I had just assumed that in ripping up my old concrete walkway and installing the new one, the crew would ensure the new walkway would be level with my front lawn -- as the old one was. Instead, the new walkway is a few inches raised above the lawn, therefore necessitating a relatively extensive landscaping job that I still need to contract for. I can't now recall if Dustin ever raised this issue with me at the time of the estimate as a potential problem to consider. If he did, he definitely didn't emphasize it as something that I might need to remedy separately for another thousand dollars or more for the cost of raising and regrading my entire front lawn. By the time I did notice it, the walkway was done and it was too late. I didn't subsequently register this particular concern with First Impressions, but I'm doing so here. On issues of responsiveness, quality of work, value proposition, quickly correcting errors, customer service, etc., First Impressions did a 5-star job for us. The only reason I'm downgrading to 4 stars is my concern about the breakdowns in communication we experienced on a couple of critical issues between the front office and crew that I've described above. But they were quickly remedied, without delay or argument. As for the issue of the walkway being a few inches higher than expected, perhaps I should have been a bit more aware about seeking information on it while the estimate was being done. But perhaps First Impressions can also ensure that it's an issue they systematically point out and highlight to their prospective clients at the time jobs similar to mine are being discussed. It could be a way to avoid unnecessary disappointments with a job that in just about every other respect was wonderfully done. read more

I met with Mike on January 9, 2016 to discuss our project. He took pictures, made notes and said he would get back to me with some ideas and a plan. I told him we wanted to start our project in March. On January 29th, I emailed him because I had not heard anything since our meeting on the 9th and asked for an update. After mentioning some excuse about his mother, the snow, etc he promised to get back to me within a week. I have not heard anything since (today is February 23rd) so I emailed and asked him not to bother. Thanks for wasting a lot of my time Mike from First Impression Hardscapes! read more

We hired First Impressions to install a permeable paver driveway and walkway at our home in Takoma Park. Their price was competitive. Dustin Roath was the person in charge of our project. He was very friendly, professional and thorough, discussing all of our options and explaining the process in detail. I also liked that he made himself available by email and phone. The team showed up on time and completed the whole job in only 3 days. Dustin then followed up to make sure we were pleased with the result and was happy to make any tweaks necessary. The quality if the work was top notch. The only small issue was that the pavers installed were not quite the ones featured on the paver website, but that was not a big deal because what we got looks very nice also. When a "difficult" neighbor tried to complain to the city that the pavers were not installed according to city guidelines, Dustin promptly prepared a very nice diagram showing the installation process at no extra cost. From what I understand, all workers are full-time employees, well trained and well compensated. I was very impressed with First Impressions and Dustin in particular. Highly recommended. read more

We had Mike Walters' team install a patio in our backyard, the pavers look great and have stayed in place for a few years which is great. They cut corners on one of the two drainage pop-ups they put in running it to a ditch instead of leveling the slope they were putting it in or to the edge of the property location which was on the initial design diagrams. The biggest problem though was that mike told us they had plenty of experience with working around HVAC compressors and that they could move it while the patio was put in, however 3 days after they finished our compressor I had put in 2 years earlier completely seized up. I had our HVAC engineer that initially installed it come out to fix it quickly since it was the middle of the summer; he said the coils were covered in a thick gray dust that was probably from the stones being cut while the unit was on; we had to replace the compressor. After 6 months of emails from Mike about their insurance being slow with claims he just stopped responding to my emails asking for Hardscapes to cover just the compressor part costs about $3K read more

This is a terribly unprofessional company. They are working on my neighbor's house right now, and the workers block our alley and carriage house access for more than 11 hours per day. They have called me and other neighbors names like "perra loca" and other horrible insults, make tick-tick noise cat calls, laugh when people tell them to move their truck out of the alley, and are making a total mess of our newly bricked road. The company has not responded to many calls by neighbors. They have not paid the $200/day required by DC to get permits to close an alley space, and appear to not even have permits to do any work at all. This is a shameful business. read more

First Impressions is absolutely first rate. We hired them to build a large paver patio and retaining wall in our backyard, along with a hardcore water management system to address standing water. I can't say enough about their speediness, professionalism, and work product. They tuned our crappy backyard into useful, beautiful place to entertain, hangout, and play with the kids. I want to give a special shoutout to Mike who was incredibly responsive, flexible, and friendly. He's the best. read more

My experience was the same as Michael H had about a year ago: couldn't get a timely quote after waiting nearly two and a half months! The contractor visited our property on January 30 for a quote. After I didn't hear back for a few weeks, I followed up and was told that he would like to meet in person to go over options. We met February 15. After not receiving the quote for a few weeks after this meeting, I followed up again and was promised a quote by March 15. As of March 26, about 2 and half months since I initiated contact, I still haven't received a quote. This is for a $15 - 20K job. I suspect this is a good contractor but the poor communications are worrisome. read more

We used this company to do a driveway and repoint our brickwork. They showed up on time, early, even, were very professional and neat, and appear to have done an excellent job. They even helped me mediate a issue that came up with my neighbor regarding the job (which was not their fault). I have rarely had a home improvement project go so smoothly. read more

Had a great experience with First Impression Hardscapes. We hired them to resurface our patio with permeable pavers. Their price was a little higher than the other estimates we got but they seemed to know what they were doing and be used to working on Capitol Hill townhomes with no access to the back except through the front. It took a while to get the estimate (a few weeks I think) and to schedule the job because they are very busy. We got lucky when another job developed a glitch and they asked to come the next day. My husband was out of town and they moved everything off the patio for me. The crew were very polite and cleaned up extremely well after themselves even on the first day when they were coming back. They even helped load furniture onto the truck of a person who was taking my old patio furniture. The project manager was a real perfectionist. The final product was just beautiful. I'm extremely happy with it. read more

We had two paver walkways installed bythis company in May, 2011. Although the pavers are lovely, the follow up service was not! John Morgado, the owner, told us that he would have to come back to seal the walkways in six months. When I called him in November 2011 he said the sealing would have to be done when the nighttime temperatures did not fall below 50 degrees. We have called and left messages for him FOUR times this spring and have not heard back from him. We finally hired someone else to do the job to the tune of $600.00! read more