Grounds One is the single worst contractor I have ever worked with--and that includes dozens of them. Please do not let them near your house.
I hired them to
-- clear 10 inches of sand out of my backyard -- it's on the lake, protected by a seawall, and the huge flood of 2018 had dumped a lot of sand. All that grew in there was tough nasty grass
-- to fill the bottom of the yard, by the seawall, with river rocks
-- to clear a concrete walkway and a small paved patio
--- replace the sand with soil and plant thyme across the yard. I made it clear I wanted coverage and was happy to pay for it.
-- plant two cherry trees and two plum trees in my front yard. Again, I made it clear I wanted them to fruit this year, so happy to pay for larger trees.
-- install a gate by the side of the house
So….
they sprayed the grass with something the grass really liked! but they did bring a machine and ripped out the top layer. Ok.
-- they cleared about two inches of sand, left eight of them, and added perhaps half an inch of soil. Tbf, the manager had told me they'd leave "a little bit of sand to mix with the soil, for drainage." It's a beach now.
-- they planted forty thyme plants (good looking! good nursery!), which covered about five percent of the area to be covered.
-- they planted two five foot cherry trees, neither of which bloomed
-- they planted one plum tree, with was full of blossoms - just lovely! but they couldn't find a pollinator for it. No plums, either.
-- they kinda did clear the walk way, though they only got to the edge of it on one side. But you can see it (or you could! stay posted for more). They cleared some of the patio but decided "good enough!" at some point and left the rest under (a lot of!) sand.
-- they brought river rocks. But they were so tiny they would have all dropped through the drain in the seawall. Bummer!-- the brilliant solution they settled on was to install a drain cover with tiny holes. The first east wind this spring, the tiny holes clogged with algae, and my yard is now three feet under water and rising. Because the water can't drain back into the lake. When I told the manager, she insisted that I hadn't paid for the drain cover so this wasn't their responsibility. In the meantime, every plant they planted and every plant I planted to make up for the plants they didn't plant is now underwater. But it's not their fault - because they didn't charge me for the drain cover, you see!
-- they did install the gate! at first, it was too low and got stuck. But after arguing with me, they relented, came back, and raised it. The gate is good!
In sum: my house on the lake is now my house in the lake. G1: fully committed to the idea that the customer is always wrong and that the customer's satisfaction is of absolutely zero interest. Please do not hire.
