Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!! Great Oaks to the rescue.
I'm really surprised to see the negative reviews for Great Oaks. I hope this review will be helpful for people who are looking for an exceptional landscape company to hire, no matter the size or nature of the job.
Great Oaks solved an issue for us that the original company we hired wouldn't remedy!
We will call them "the other company" out of courtesy.
A few years ago we had a major landscape construction project done by "the other company." It was very extensive and involved. We had paver decks and boulder retaining walls created for two backyard entrances as well as the walkout basement area and front courtyard. We also had major plantings done as well. The elevation of our backyard is high, so it required dozens of large boulders for the retaining walls that we were "supposed" to be able to hand select.
Needless to say it was expensive and time consuming...it took most of the summer and most of our savings, but were certain it would be worth it.
When the job was finished, we were mostly pleased with the way it looked, knowing that certain concessions need to be made with any large project. In hindsight, I wish we would have insisted on things "the other company" talked us out of. We were left feeling bullied and shorted of small things we wanted to tweak.
Within the first few months after completion, now leading into winter, our paver deck started sinking and sliding down the retaining wall. We called to have it fixed and they told us to wait till spring. Mistake. By spring is was worse from the freeze and thaw but figured the worst was done now because they told us it would "settle". They came to fix it but merely reset the pavers. Still under warranty, we asked if they could fix or reinforce the retaining wall, as that was the cause of the problem. They said it would cost more! WHAT!!!
We let it go, as it looked good and hoped it would be done "settling" as they called it.
WRONG! The same issue, the same remedy...over two more seasons. Then the warranty was finished, we couldn't get them to even come out to see it. We considered suing them but decided to call an expert to give us advice first.
This is where Great Oaks comes in. We had researched to find someone considered an expert in all aspects of Landscape, architecture, design and installation. Great Oaks kept surfacing, and they were also recommended by a few professionals in the building and construction industry that we know. They came right away to assess our problem. In fact Gary, the owner came out himself due to the nature of our inquiry.
He brought one of the engineers with him and they concluded that it was in fact an issue of improper installation.
The next question...how much do we have to spend to have it done properly? Gary told us that since the materials were already on site, that it would mostly be a labor cost and because they have a fleet of their own heavy equipment and machinery, that they would not have to rent them as most other companies do.
He gave us an estimate for the "fix" and said it might be less if the crew gets done in less than the quote.
We were surprised at how reasonable the quote was considering what the original job had cost. So we went ahead with the project.
The crew that came out was amazing. They arrived early each day and even worked the weekend. They were friendly and respectful and took the time to answer questions and concerns we posed to them without attitude or annoyance.
Also, they finished sooner than expected, so it cost less than what we agreed to.
Gary came out to the site during the work and when the job was done, he came to make sure we were satisfied. To top it off, he brought us a "gift" to plant in the tore up area in the landscape.
I can't explain how good it felt to have a company go to such great lengths to help solve our problem. I would recommend them to anyone - no matter the size of the job.
They are extremely qualified in every aspect of the industry.
Thanks Great Oaks!!! read more
