Angel Land Designs

They are a joke. I hired them to build a new deck. What I got was a disaster of a deck with crooked angles, missing supports, lack of concrete for the posts, and missing nails (when I asked for screws, specifically.) It's not built to code. After fighting them every day just to do the job the ""correct"" way, I finally fired them. Do not deal with these people. more

My husband and I hired this company to perform some landscaping and sodding to our yard. We obtained quotes from several companies. Although the quote was slightly higher, we were initially impressed with their design ideas and contracted with them. BIG MISTAKE!!!! We were initially advised that they booked projects 1 to 2 months in advance. However, we thought we had hit the jackpot when they said that due to some heavy rains that would prevent him from doing other projects, he could move us up on the list. Our first mistake was paying them in full for the job. Our second mistake was paying them another $750 over the quote because they ""miscalculated"" the amount of sod that was needed. Our project was pretty much sodding the yard, so I was disturbed that a landscaping professional would not have actually estimated to such an incredible extent. We really liked the work that they did, but therein lies the problem. They NEVER FINISHED our project. They failed to advise the workers correctly, and they did not finish off one of our large side beds per our agreement. It has now been over 3 1/2 months, and they hves yet to return to finish this ""simple"" sodding. We paid for him to prune all of our bushes and trees. He told us that he would have to come back to prune the crepe myrtles because it was too early in the season. Well, it sure as heck is winter now, and again, they have never shown up. Every time I call them, there is some new excuse. The best excuse so far has been that they are too busy working on another project to finish my project (even though we paid in full!!!). I am reporting them to the Better Business Bureau. more

My wife and I researched a few companies when we decided to renovate our back yard and chose Angel. The price was very competitive, but what sold us was Steve's foresight in the design of our yard. Also, once work started, his crew came on time and did a very thorough job while here. Half way through the project we decided to include a french drain in the front portion of our house and redo our walk way with stacked stone. The work turned out great and my wife and I could not be happier. Pros: Steve is very knowledgeable, work crew dis a great job Cons: - more

Steve is a very spectial guy. I have had costly & unexpected major renovation problems with my home that left me with little to work with. He made it happen. It is unusual to find this sort of dedication from beginning to end. No change orders, no suprizes. I love his work - very earthy and nurturing, just what my little home in the city needed. As a bonus, he hooked me up with a carpenter and electrician who were also wonderful to work with. In a nutshell, Angel Land Design is the real deal. Thank you Steve & Angela.\r Pros: Creative Design, Budget Oriented, Perfectly Executed more

We must respond to each part of the review posted on 6/14/2009 separately. We would normally do so through the CitySearch back office ""Respond to Review"", but it is currently not working. First, when we received your call about your sod, we explained that what had occurred with the sod is called “Winter-Kill”. Zoysia is particularly susceptible to Winter-Kill. This happens when we have an exceptionally hard freeze. We tell all of our customers that you must water in the sod and plants prior to a hard freeze to avoid this. We had a late freeze this year, and the Emerald Zoysia at our personal home died even though we watered it in because it had just woken up and was very susceptible to the cold. It is unfortunate, but it happens. We cannot warranty an Act of God. Our understanding from our last conversation with you is that all of the plants were fine. We offer a one year warranty on plants where we have installed an irrigation system and the plants were watered with this system. If you were unable to water them due to watering restrictions imposed by the state and local municipality, then that warranty is voided because we cannot control watering ordinances and plants must have water to survive. With regard to the “noxious plants”, we do not install the “guard” you are referring to, which is called landscaping fabric. First, it was not on the contract, nor was it ever discussed. The reason that we do not use it is because once you place mulch on top of the fabric, seeds are deposited by birds, animals and the wind, and these wild plants grow in the decaying organic matter created by the mulch. We cleared all of these wild/noxious plants when we did the work, but their seeds will be left in the soil. There is no way to get them out and, as stated above, landscaping fabric is not the answer. We explained to you, as we do with all of our customers, that you must put a pre-emergent out to keep the seeds from sprouting. You can either hire a company to take care of the chemical application and feeding of your landscape (we recommend Turf Pride for grass, plant and tree chemical care); or your must do it yourself. As with all of our jobs, we installed healthy plants and sod on your job. We would not have left, and I imagine that you would not have paid the final balance due, had you been unhappy with the final product. Maintaining that landscape falls into the hands of the owner once we complete the project. We truly wish there was something that could be done to make you happy again, but we cannot afford to warranty Acts of God or government imposed watering restrictions. more

Angel Land landscaped my front lawn 1 year ago. Many plants died and all the grass died. They were too lazy or too cheap to put a guard under the mulch so within 2 months everything was covered with noxious plants. Steve was difficult to work with. Serious time nanagement problems and did not do what he said he would do. I've had to re do almost everything and I had paid him a fortune of my hard earned money. Please think twice before using this lousy service. I wish I had. Cons: Shoddy, incompetent work. more

When we bought our home nearly 2 years ago, the yard was a complete mess. We got Steve's name from a neighbor who had used him before. Steve was responsive to our initial call, came out immediately, and had a vision for our yard that no other landscaper seemed to have. We hired Angle Land Designs to replace all of our sod, contour and grade our front and back yards, replace plants, remove trees, add a fence and sprinkler system, and add a flagstone retaining wall and patio. We were consistently pleased with the professionalism and follow-up of the team. Steve was knowledgeable, responsive, timely, and worked within our budgetary constraints. We are constantly complimented on our new yard and have spent more time outside than ever before. We would not hesitate to recommend Angel Land Designs for any of your outdoor and landscaping needs. more

After interviewing and even doing some projects with what seemed liked hundreds of landscape companies, we finally found a partner in ALD. We have a large yard needing many upgrades and we needed a partner who had the vision, and expertise to help us design a yard that was beautiful but would not break the bank. Steve is an expert and offers creative solutions to making the yard beautiful on a budget that is reasonable. We are doing a phased approach to our landscaping renovation project. Steve has been a great partner and has been great to work with through every step of the process. We still have several months of work left to go but so far things have been perfect. We highly recommend this company to offer solid suggestions and partner with you throughout the installation process. We have enjoyed working with them. Pros: Reliable, Expertise, Affordable, Friendly, Quality more

Before I get long winded let me say that Angel Land Design did an excellent job for a very reasonable price. We had been looking for a landscape company for a while to install a flagstone patio and retaining wall. I happened to pass an ALD truck on the interstate one day, copied down the phone number on the truck and immediately gave them a call. The owner came out a couple of days later to give us an estimate. He was very well versed in the business, professional and courteous. He offered us several options. We agreed on a tentative date and product. 2 days later we got another bid from a landscaping company we saw in an advertising flyer. Their bid was actually a couple of hundred dollars less, but we not the least bit impressed with their ""sales rep"". He did give us an idea which was to put a flagstone path/run next to the fence so the dogs wouldn't get so muddy. We called ALD and discussed this option and ended up making the patio a full foot less in width and adding a 3 foot wide flagstone path next to the fence. ALD was very accommodating about the change and we agreed on a new price over the phone. They installed our flagstone patio, retaining wall and path 2 weeks later. It took only 2 days. They cleaned up each day and left us with a clean yard and driveway and a very impressive patio, wall and path (no more muddy paws). They were polite, professional and very thorough. It was obvious they new how to do their job and that they took pride in their workmanship. We are very happy with our total experience with ALD and would recommend them very highly. Pros: quality workmanship and materials Cons: nothing worth mentioning more

Our yard is beautiful. more

My home was under construction when I called Angel Land Designs in to install a gate. That call opened the door for solving some serious problems my builder had created, as well as creating a yard I live in almost more than my house! They saw the possibilities in my yard that had never occurred to me! When they saw the small lake at my front door from the poor grading job the builder had done, they suggested that fixing the grade was more important than the gate. \r \r They fixed the grade, installed my driveway and turn-around and then proceeded to make my yard the envy of the neighborhood. They did what they said (and more) and the price was the price. I had much more done than I had planned, but the work was so beautiful and the process amazingly easy. \r \r I had a lot of work done:\r \r ? They installed a beautiful stone entry with four columns and fencing across the front of my property, with a solar operated wrought iron gate with keypad entry\r ? They designed beautiful bed lines around the house and entry, and chose plants that fit my home perfectly\r ? They created a multi-level terraced effect on one side to fix drainage issues. Instead of the textured blocks or timbers, they used natural stone and boulders. WOW! The steps are these HUGE slabs of stone and they made natural stone slab walkways ? all with no mortar! Everyone who sees this is amazed. Each terrace is unique ? with grass, plants and flower beds, and one with a patio made of giant pieces of stone with grass in between.\r ? All of this leads to the most natural looking waterfall I have ever seen. \r ? I also wanted an outdoor fireplace, but my budget was getting tight. For much less than the cost of a fireplace, they created an area for a fire pit. The fire pit is very natural looking, made with stacked stone, and they set huge boulders as ?seats?. \r ? I even had them do the stonework on my fireplace. The man the builder hired never showed up. Angel Land did the work and it turned out perfect!\r Pros: Amazing design, excellent workmanship, high level of quality control, very courteous Cons: None really - any time you are working with the landscape, there is dirt. The manager called is ""breaking eggs to make the cake""! more