fred in Markham

Living in a rear-lane community, the front landscaping of most homes is neglected. Mine was no exception. It was embarrassing. I had already built a deck in the back yard but I had no intention of doing any stone work in the front myself. It was not a DIY that I was willing to tackle. The front landscaping was a huge investment and focal point so I wanted to make sure that it was professionally done. I’ve never hired a company to do any sort of home renovation before so I relied on recommendations from my neighbours who had work done on their rear-lane driveways. I met with four different companies. Since these companies were recommended by my neighbours, I had the opportunity to see their work in person. I decided to go with TARCAN for a number of reasons. I met with Curtis during the interview process and he was able to take the vision I had in my head and describe back to me in detail what was required to achieve my concept. Each part of the job was broken down into detail as well as price. We had a number of options and decided to go ahead with the following: - Garden beds / curved style - @ approx. 45 linear ft. in length @ 3 stacks high - Interlocking from veranda right to the street curb @ approx. 70 sqft - Steps from the Veranda to the street curb (3 steps) - Side of house Interlock @ approx. 200 sqft - Re-sod @ approx. 600 sqft My neighbour whose backyard connects with mine also hired TARCAN for their backyard project. We all agreed on a start date and Curtis showed up with his crew on time and as promised. The calculated timeline to complete both projects was 7 days. Of course, as with most outdoor projects, Mother Nature usually has her say as well. The first two days were spent prepping as the ground was extremely hard due to the relentless dry weather. We sent the crew home the following two days as I couldn’t imagine them working with the temperature reaching 45+ with the humidity. The weather co-operated the following days and things began to roll. We made some alterations to the design which added about another half days work but Curtis and his crew was very accommodating. My front yard project was completed in 8 days. I know the big question is price. TARCAN was the third company we interviewed. The previous two provided less expensive quotes but they were also using the more common stones and only two stacks for the garden wall. With all things being equal, I can honestly say that TARCAN was slightly more expensive by approximately $400 but the service and quality really is superior. I don’t mind paying that extra for peace of mind. Curtis, Andrew, Roger, and Don were extremely respectful, knowledgeable, and accommodating. Their attention to detail is exceptional and their work surpassed my expectations. I could go on and on but it is difficult to describe their work without me sounding like a groupie. I’ll let my photo’s do the talking instead. I am compiling some before and after photo’s that I would be more than happy to share with those who request them. Please feel free to contact me through my profile if you would like to see some photos.