Yes. Our license number is 749557. You can check the status of any California Contractor License here.

Yes. We have a base crew of 10 men. We do most of our work in- house including: grading, drainage, lighting, irrigation, soil preparation, planting, ponds/waterfalls, flagstone, brick work, retaining walls, block walls, fencing, fire pits, etc.

We do the complete gamut - fireplaces, barbecues, outdoor kitchens, patio covers, pools and spas, ponds, waterfalls, flagstone, brick, stamped concrete, block walls, retaining walls, sports courts... and pretty much everything else you can put outdoors.

We design and oversee construction of pools and/or spas and related items. We draw up plans for city submittal and get the engineering completed. We use only experienced and licensed pool contractors who give us substantial discounts so that we can be very competitive.

This is hard to answer, of course, but...

Landscape only: 2-4 weeks
Landscape and hardscape: 3-6 weeks
Landscape, hardscape and pool: 8-12 weeks

They are specialty of ours! We build ponds, streams and “pondless streams”. All of our ponds have built-in filters and skimmers, underwater lighting, water plants and fish. Because the pump is submerged, you hear absolutely no motor noise, just the relaxing sound of a waterfall.

Not only do we design and install outdoor lighting, John D'Urso personallys goes out in the evening and adjusts the lighting on every job BEFORE the client sees it. We take lighting seriously around here. There are a lot of technical and aesthetic aspects to installing a lighting system and we would be more than glad to let you in on all the secrets. There's a lot more to it than you would think!

Nothing can create a mood like night lighting, when done right, it's magic.

Here is our standard contract warranty:

PLANTS:
Groundcover - 90 days
1 gallon to 15 gallon - 6 months
24" box and larger - 1 year
Seasonal color or transplanting - no guarantee
All plants are limited to a one-time replacement

It is the intention of this guarantee to provide healthy and suitable plants for your project, but we cannot cover the following: wind breakage, frost damage, abuse, vandalism or lack of basic care by owners. Please contact our office immediately if you notice plants performing poorly.

IRRIGATION:
Timers, valves and piping - 1 year

LIGHTING:
Transformers and fixtures - 1 year (no bulb warranty)

POOL/SPA:
Pool Plaster (against leaks) - 10 years
Pool Shell (against leaks) - 10 years
Pool Plumbing - 1 year
Pool Equipment Manufacturers Warranty - 3 years

CONCRETE:
Due to the nature of cementitious materials, there is no warranty against concrete/stucco/tile cracking, discoloring, scaling or settling. Furthermore, we cannot guarantee actual color of concrete etc. when compared to manufacturers' color samples or color charts. You may consider having concrete samples made (at an additional charge) before finalizing color selection.

We generally do charge for design work. We usually rebate some or all of the design fee upon being awarded the job. On certain jobs, we will give the client a preliminary bid and upon acceptance do the design for free. Our goal is to do the job and not really make money off the design only. We just know from experience that the more well thought out the job is, the better (and sometimes less expensive!) the job will be. To help clients even more, we also do 3D virtual Reality animations which takes visualizing the design to a whole new level. You can some of our 3D work here.

“If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.”

How many times have you bought the less expensive version of something only to have it disappoint you enough to go back and buy the higher quality one you should have gotten in the first place? We've all done this and in reality it costs you more in the long run because you ended up buying two of them!

If you ask most Professional Architects, Engineers, Project Managers etc., they'll usually tell you the mid-level bids are the ones to take. In fact, it's quite common to take the highest and lowest bid and throw them away and then compare what's left. A low bid, while looking like it will save you money, can sometimes be the most frustrating position to be in. If one Contractor is substantially lower than the rest, you need to ask yourself why. We have personally lost bids to lowball contractors and later called by the client to see if we could salvage the project. It has happened more than a few times! The old adage “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is” generally applies here.

We decided long ago that we'd rather not get the job than to sacrifice quality over price. The end result was ALWAYS disappointing to both us and the client. Most people forget how much it cost or how long it took. They only remember whether it was a good job and if the contractor treated them right.

We only use the highest quality craftsmen and a very select group of excellent sub-contractors. We personally oversee every detail of construction from the technical level as well as from an artistic level. We like it when prospective clients want to see our previous work. When they do go to job sites and compare our quality, they quickly realize that you get what you pay for. When you add it all up, we think we're actually a bargain!

Also remember that besides being licensed, we carry Workman's Compensation insurance, which is legally required. We also have a one million dollar liability insurance policy, though legally it is optional.

Below is a link to look up contractor status with the California Contractors State License Board. A few contractors claim Exempt for Workmen's Compensation. This means they are trying avoid carring Workman's Compensation insurance by stating they have no employees when, in reality, they do. This puts you and your assets at risk should one of those "non-employees" get hurt on your job. We've seen this a lot and it's an unfair way to undercut properly insured contractors. So please check the California Contractor's License status of any prospective contractor here. There you will also find links to their insurance and bond coverage.

With all that said, get other bids and actually go out to see the work of the contractors in consideration. If the lower price contractor does a great job and you're happy with what you see, use them and save the money. It really depends on what you want. If you want a complete job with every detail done properly then we recommend going into this with eyes wide open.

While we really don't have a minimum, we can sometimes be so busy that we may temporarily invoke minimum amounts for taking on new projects. This is a cyclical and seasonal business. We sometimes relish smaller jobs to keep the crews busy. Some of our crew members have been with us for over 17 years and we feel a real sense of loyalty to them and their families. There are other times when we are very busy but there may not be enough work for our own crews, while we wait for larger phases of our projects to be completed by specialty crews. We also NEVER say 'no' to either a past client or to a referral, which is our primary means of obtaining new projects-- regardless of job size.

Why would we use a company like yours?

You can always save money by doing things yourself. It really hinges on the scope of the project and the degree of complexity. Landscape Design isn't what it used to be. It's no longer just a big grass yard with some shrubs and maybe a barbecue. Think of a Landscape Contractor as a General Contractor for the outdoors. A Landscape Contractor is usually the best choice when a complete project needs to be done. In fact, the biggest Landscape Conractor in the world, Valley Crest, started out with a guy mowing lawns. They now do some of the most elaborate projects anywhere. The best scenario is when you have someone that will take ALL factors into account and help you use your budget wisely. You may want to read our tips article, The Key to an Effective Landscape, here.

Usually not, but we can alter the time to complete each phase to work with your budget.

We typically go from Thousand Oaks to Glendale and from West L.A. to Santa Clarita or Valencia. We have, however, been to known to go farther--if the conditions are right.

Absolutely! Just ask. We love giving them out!