Juan and his team did a fantastic job on my backyard renovation. I can't say enough good things about Juan and would highly recommend him for any landscaping work. Mine was a major backyard renovation. We live in the hills of Belmont, which means to even access our backyard, you had to climb up a steep hill from our side yard. Half of our backyard was made up of a large hill, leaving us with little usable space. We wanted to remove the hill in our backyard, put up a new retaining wall (the old retaining wall has been there since the 60s and contains toxic materials), and install artificial turf. We've gotten a handful of quotes before being referred to Juan. Some folks quoted us double the price Juan gave, some had no experience doing such major renovations, and others just flat-out refused to do such hard work. Juan was knowledgeable and responsive, did not illegally require half of the payment up-front just to get on his schedule, and we felt more comfortable given that he was referred to us by our gardener (we've heard plenty of horror stories where contractors took the money and left the project unfinished, so reliability is #1 for us). We were able to get on Juan's schedule the next week. Juan and his team worked really hard, Monday through Saturday. This was really some of the toughest work imaginable: They have to use jack hammers and various hand-held tools to remove a hill made out of stone, then chisel the remaining hill to make it straight and leveled for the new retaining wall. Because all the houses here are built so closely together, backhoes and dump trucks could not access our yard. Juan's team had to use wheelbarrows to haul out all the concrete and rocks out by going down our steep side yard hill. Likewise, all the heavy wooden posts, retaining wall planks, bags of cement, all had to be manually carried up our side yard hill. Juan did the job perfectly and finished in one month. He didn't cut any corners in order and continued working diligently until the job was fully finished. He really went above and beyond by removing as much of the hill as possible to give us the biggest backyard space we could get. Our yard is beautiful! I look forward to working with him again on our next project.
Mar 2021
Juan and his crew of 4-5 people did pavers, backyard gates, irrigation for areas all around our house in San Mateo, it was a fairly big landscaping project and we love the end result. We got several bids, and Juan's was very reasonable and came multiple times before signing the contract to scope out the details during our house remodel and giving us excellent suggestions we ended up using. They were super quick excavating the concrete all around the house. He was very responsive and handled all the little and big things during the process. We have high expectations and they were really accommodating when things needed to be redone, eg. changing the height of the side gate, adding more irrigation lines. We were skeptical when Juan suggested adding a short border wall to keep the dirt from flowing towards the house, but it ended up looking real nice and keeping the backyard much cleaner. Juan always gave his honest opinions and saved us the unnecessary cost for hiring a stucco guy for fixing up this one part of the wall.
Oct 2020
I am quite happy with the project Juan and his team did for me ending a few weeks ago. I got bids from about 6-7 companies for a large landscaping job which involved: demolition of a rotting deck and fence, demolition of old concrete and much rocky and clay ridden soil which need excavation and removal in order to be replaced and rebuilt. After meeting with Juan, we discussed all of these projects and it led to a new ideas. Juan told me that if I hired him to do the lawns (excavate to 8 inches, add gopher wire and sod), that he would give me a better deal on other parts of the job. He spoke of the beautiful fencing and deck he would build, the stamped concrete I wanted for the patio and leading to the deck. I told him I'd like the concrete to continue through the side of the house and include the driveway. Obviously this was more money but Juan was moderate, explaining that the more I hired him for in one whole project, the less he would charge - each project would be less if we took it all on at once. Made sense, team and tools on site. In the end, we chose to have Juan do the following: New large deck, new side fence, 6000 sq of excavation of unusable ground of rock and clay and replacement with sod. Irrigation systems everywhere with multiple units to control it, hauling away of all old concrete and debris, garden beds on 2 sides with stones of my choice, extraction of an existing fig tree and replanted with a gopher cage, deal to go together to the nursery to pick whatever plants I want planted (which I pay for but they plant). Juan also ensured he would build gates that match the design of the fencing. I met with Juan 3 times before starting the project. He was patient. It was a big project and I wanted to know the man. I was also nervous at the idea of such a big project and spending so much money with someone I didn't know. Juan inspired confidence and went out of his way to make sure I felt confident in the project. I decided to trust him, cautiously. He was flexible, communicative and honest. Moreover, he and his crew's workmanship is impeccable. One suggestion, be sure that every detail is discussed, written down and agreed upon by both parties. We had moments of miscommunication - some due to a language barrier and some because certain details didn't get written down. I truly believe that these were miscommunications rather than anything nefarious. Just be clear, write your own proposal with all discussed details and both sign it. I did this and still we encountered a needed discussion or two. We worked it out because everyone's hearts were in the right place. Clarity is key. No matter, I would still have to give a 5 star review and definitely recommend him and his crew for any and all landscaping, soft and hard, for your future project.
Juan and his team did a fantastic job on my backyard renovation. I can't say enough good things about Juan and would highly recommend him for any landscaping work. Mine was a major backyard renovation. We live in the hills of Belmont, which means to even access our backyard, you had to climb up a steep hill from our side yard. Half of our backyard was made up of a large hill, leaving us with little usable space. We wanted to remove the hill in our backyard, put up a new retaining wall (the old retaining wall has been there since the 60s and contains toxic materials), and install artificial turf. We've gotten a handful of quotes before being referred to Juan. Some folks quoted us double the price Juan gave, some had no experience doing such major renovations, and others just flat-out refused to do such hard work. Juan was knowledgeable and responsive, did not illegally require half of the payment up-front just to get on his schedule, and we felt more comfortable given that he was referred to us by our gardener (we've heard plenty of horror stories where contractors took the money and left the project unfinished, so reliability is #1 for us). We were able to get on Juan's schedule the next week. Juan and his team worked really hard, Monday through Saturday. This was really some of the toughest work imaginable: They have to use jack hammers and various hand-held tools to remove a hill made out of stone, then chisel the remaining hill to make it straight and leveled for the new retaining wall. Because all the houses here are built so closely together, backhoes and dump trucks could not access our yard. Juan's team had to use wheelbarrows to haul out all the concrete and rocks out by going down our steep side yard hill. Likewise, all the heavy wooden posts, retaining wall planks, bags of cement, all had to be manually carried up our side yard hill. Juan did the job perfectly and finished in one month. He didn't cut any corners in order and continued working diligently until the job was fully finished. He really went above and beyond by removing as much of the hill as possible to give us the biggest backyard space we could get. Our yard is beautiful! I look forward to working with him again on our next project.
Juan and his crew of 4-5 people did pavers, backyard gates, irrigation for areas all around our house in San Mateo, it was a fairly big landscaping project and we love the end result. We got several bids, and Juan's was very reasonable and came multiple times before signing the contract to scope out the details during our house remodel and giving us excellent suggestions we ended up using. They were super quick excavating the concrete all around the house. He was very responsive and handled all the little and big things during the process. We have high expectations and they were really accommodating when things needed to be redone, eg. changing the height of the side gate, adding more irrigation lines. We were skeptical when Juan suggested adding a short border wall to keep the dirt from flowing towards the house, but it ended up looking real nice and keeping the backyard much cleaner. Juan always gave his honest opinions and saved us the unnecessary cost for hiring a stucco guy for fixing up this one part of the wall.
I am quite happy with the project Juan and his team did for me ending a few weeks ago. I got bids from about 6-7 companies for a large landscaping job which involved: demolition of a rotting deck and fence, demolition of old concrete and much rocky and clay ridden soil which need excavation and removal in order to be replaced and rebuilt. After meeting with Juan, we discussed all of these projects and it led to a new ideas. Juan told me that if I hired him to do the lawns (excavate to 8 inches, add gopher wire and sod), that he would give me a better deal on other parts of the job. He spoke of the beautiful fencing and deck he would build, the stamped concrete I wanted for the patio and leading to the deck. I told him I'd like the concrete to continue through the side of the house and include the driveway. Obviously this was more money but Juan was moderate, explaining that the more I hired him for in one whole project, the less he would charge - each project would be less if we took it all on at once. Made sense, team and tools on site. In the end, we chose to have Juan do the following: New large deck, new side fence, 6000 sq of excavation of unusable ground of rock and clay and replacement with sod. Irrigation systems everywhere with multiple units to control it, hauling away of all old concrete and debris, garden beds on 2 sides with stones of my choice, extraction of an existing fig tree and replanted with a gopher cage, deal to go together to the nursery to pick whatever plants I want planted (which I pay for but they plant). Juan also ensured he would build gates that match the design of the fencing. I met with Juan 3 times before starting the project. He was patient. It was a big project and I wanted to know the man. I was also nervous at the idea of such a big project and spending so much money with someone I didn't know. Juan inspired confidence and went out of his way to make sure I felt confident in the project. I decided to trust him, cautiously. He was flexible, communicative and honest. Moreover, he and his crew's workmanship is impeccable. One suggestion, be sure that every detail is discussed, written down and agreed upon by both parties. We had moments of miscommunication - some due to a language barrier and some because certain details didn't get written down. I truly believe that these were miscommunications rather than anything nefarious. Just be clear, write your own proposal with all discussed details and both sign it. I did this and still we encountered a needed discussion or two. We worked it out because everyone's hearts were in the right place. Clarity is key. No matter, I would still have to give a 5 star review and definitely recommend him and his crew for any and all landscaping, soft and hard, for your future project.