P O. J. B.
1/5
In the Summer of 2012, we contracted with Rick Dassow of Ideal Landscaping to replace an existing retaining wall that was incorrectly installed and construct a properly installed retaining wall with new materials. The work was performed over budget and we ended owing an additional $720 more than the original bid due to not quoting an adequate amount of retaining wall blocks to complete the job. The work was performed by two college students not his full time crew and Rick did not stop over to supervise the project until one of the workers severed our septic system monitoring line.
In the Spring of 2013, less than a year, I called Rick because I noticed some minor shifting in the tallest of the four walls as well as significant settling of dirt/grading had occurred.
Rick did have a crew come out to fix the grade issues and re-glued wall caps that had come loose from the shifting wall, but he did not address the fact the retaining wall was moving and shifting which we had expressed concern about since he said the blocks he was using for this wall would ‘never move’ when he quoted the bid.
2016- 4 years after installation, it took several calls before we finally received a visit from Rick.
During that visit, he informed my wife that the tree behind the wall, a decorative pear, was the problem and it would have to be removed because it had an aggressive root system; he wouldn't do anything until the tree was taken down. We noticed no roots growing out between the now significant gaps between the retaining wall blocks.
The Summer of 2022 we called to have the tree removed. Spring of 2024 with a section of the wall ready to collapse, I reached out to Rick and he stopped by only to state, again, that the tree roots were causing the wall to collapse, and that he remembered recommending to us to remove the tree before the wall was built. The subject of removing the tree was never brought up when Rick bid on the retaining wall project. We also had another landscape contractor bid on the same project at that time, and they also never made mention that the tree would need to be removed before the wall could be constructed. Rick’s bid never included a quote to remove the tree before the work was done and there was no waiver that we were asked to sign stating that the tree would void any warranty or work that was done.
Because Rick insisted both the tree and root ball be removed before he would perform any work, we removed the tree root ball ourselves. Once we dug up the area around the wall, we discovered the #1 clear stone backfill along the retaining wall for the drainage tile had not been done as quoted in our bid. This meant that water pressure was building in the dirt directly behind the retaining wall and could not drain into the drain tile because the drain tile was choked off below three feet of dirt, silt, and crushed stone. The geogrid, which anchors the wall to the fill behind it, was not properly installed, it was sagging - perhaps due to dirt washing down and out of the large gaps in the retaining wall. The absence of the clear stone and proper drain tile installation was really what caused the retaining wall to fail. No tree roots were observed pushing against the wall in any location. In addition, the wall block was supposed to be constructed with a ‘locking’ mechanism that was to be installed in the grooves of each wall block to help hold the retaining wall blocks together and prevent shifting. These locking pieces were missing from the wall construction.
I texted photos of what I found to Rick with images of the contract we signed and he, again, doesn't respond. We haved called their office phone but rarely get an answer, or if we do get the office manager, they say they will give the message to Rick, but no response.
We have been very patient, but our patience has run out. We just want our retaining wall fixed. If you don't want to deal with these kind of hassles for a job incorretly done the first time, I do not recommend this company.
