Submitted
by Casey Miller on 09/08/2023
1 Star Testimonial by Casey Miller
They talk big but have an excuse for everything and don’t hold themselves accountable.
I’ll start out with over 4 months ago we had a meeting with Brandon, Russ, and Chris. In that meeting we were told we could expect our job to be closed out by the next week along with receiving our check for overpayment. I have reached out multiple times over this time period and have only heard back one time telling me that they would hold a meeting and get back to me. That was three weeks ago. I have since been locked out and deactivated as an active user of the software that they want you to communicate through by Big Rock. This type of poor communication has been the case from the start of the project. I found out that additional work that I asked for an estimate on was added to my bill without my knowledge or even me seeing what the cost would be. I only found out when the office called asking me to pay a deposit on it. I didn’t have them do the additional work. The only time there was good communication was when they needed to collect money. Otherwise I would have to wait weeks for a response and constantly reach out. Nobody even came out to my house to walk through my project when it was done. I found the packet of instructions for plaster care laying in my yard the day it was done. One of our two project managers, both of whom quit during our project, told me that there was approval from the owner on a matter that Big Rock now won’t stand behind.
There has been poor workmanship on my pool that I guess they don’t want to cover under warranty. I say guess because now that we are pushing for the issues to be fixed they are silent. I have let them know about electrical issues and bad plaster. The plaster was acknowledged by the worker and said that they would deal with it this last spring. The foundation for our pavers was not done correctly and now the locking sand is falling through leaving gaps between pavers.
I could go on for a long time. The point is that I would not recommend using them.
We hired big rock in December of 2020.
We did a full design work up of landscaping plus hard scape. Here are the facts 4 years later.
- Most of limestone around our pool including coping and edges is crumbling like sandstone.
- They put silicone grout on top of the regular grout to hide mistakes and try to make it even. Instead it looks like an outdoor bathroom.
- The plaster in the pool and hot tub has cracked, is discolored, and has large white spots through out the pool.
- The jumping deck that was designed for our pool is still unfinished didn’t pass code. They put a large piece of plywood on top without a railing and felt like that was safe.
- Big rock changed designs several times without permission and was angry when we wanted them to redo it. Or wanted more money.
- Big rock painted black paint over the metal edges of the deck -that was not an outdoor paint -and has rusted all over the concrete and ruined the pool cover.
- They put a lien on our house for 150,000 when we had a remaining balance of 8,000 because we had major concerns that the limestone had started cracking and they said they wouldn’t warranty it. This started 4 months after install.
- They broke the hot tub coping and have remained unresponsive to calls and texts for the last 6 months in regards to fixing the stone.
- The limestone product they used was highly recommended by the owner of Big Rock and it is clearly a faulty product- each square piece is a different color with a different finish and texture.
- They dug up our mature trees and left them to die because they were working on multiple projects and they were unwilling to replace them.
- The quality of product and work was sub par at best.
- Every concern we had was blamed on someone else, and they never took responsibility for anything that went wrong.
- I would never in good conscience recommend them. Please read the fine print for their contract and payment schedule. And ask to see yards and talk to homeowners.
Submitted by Allyson Randle on 05/19/2024
This is an awesome company that stands by their work. 2 years ago we had over 1500 sq ft of porcelain pavers laid around our pool. When the snow melted this spring I noticed some cracks and looseness in the grout. I texted Brandon and got a very quick reply that they would take care of it. Peri contacted me and scheduled the work. I expected that they would come and do some basic cosmetic repair. These guys did it right. They ground out the old grout everywhere there was a crack or looseness and replaced it with brand new grout. We are very pleased with the repair. I would definitely recommend these guys to my best of friends. Thanks Brandon, Peri, and your professional hard working crew!
Submitted by Brad Murray on 05/08/2023
After hiring Big Rock in May 2021 to enhance our backyard, the lack of performance and unkept promises have left us beyond frustrated and seeking legal recourse. The straw that finally broke the camel's back was in December 2022 (over 18 months since signing the contract with them), we were told that the quarry that they were going to get the rocks to build the water feature and jumping platform into our pool no longer had the rocks and they were going to charge us $10,000 per rock to transport them from a quarry in Idaho. As outlined in their contract, we decided to scale back the project and settle up with Big Rock for the work had been started and eliminate any projects that had not been started on our job. They agreed that all unfinished work would be completed and that any warranty issues moving forward would be honored. We were told that an audit of all work would be done to finalize the estimate and any overpayment for work not started would be returned. Of course, then the holidays came and the excuse was made that their offices were closed and nothing could be done. On Jan 12, 2023 we met to resolve the outstanding issues. They started the meeting saying their understanding was we wanted to cancel the contract. We reiterated we had no intention of canceling the contract, just adjusting the estimate to the work that had already been started and removing all projects that had not yet been started. They then expressed a desire to finish the items on the estimate that we had removed and that surprisingly, rocks at the original quarry were now available. We were concerned about timing and the quality of their work on the remaining projects if we were to allow them to continue. We told them we would consider retaining them to finish the whole project if they could provide us with a definitive end date. Of course, they told us there were too many unknown variables to complete the project with a definitive end date. Therefore, we told them we weren't willing to move forward with the projects not yet started. We mutually agreed on the work that had been started and the items that had not been started and that after an audit was done on completed items, a return of overpaid money would be returned. Materials were audited and they promised we would get an audited estimate the following day and a return of funds would be processed. Subsequent to our meeting, It was communicated to us that the figure we had discussed in our face to face meeting (in excess of $125,000) was acknowledge and would be returned us, however, we have still never received a refund of over paid funds. After weeks of continually being put off and claiming their accounting and legal teams were working on resolution and determining an amount that should be returned to us, we approached Brandon Hatch, owner of Big Rock, about resolution, his response was he was no longer involved in those types of matters, but only worked on sales and design. After months of non-response and no indication of returning over $125K of overpaid funds, we reached out to him by going directly to their offices and were told by him that his attorney was dealing with our issues and condescendingly brushed my wife away with a wave of his hand. It was obvious he has no intention of any resolution of our issues.
Since then, many deficiencies have surfaced: pavers not installed on a climate acceptable base, no flue in the fireplace creating a lighting hazard and discoloring of exterior rocks, non-functioning water features, footprints in the plaster of the pool, just to name a few.
Although Big Rock claims they will address these issues, it has been over 30 days since these issues have been raised and we have never seen any communication or anyone come to fix these issues. We have received quotes from other contractors indicating it will cost over $50,000 to address the above issues.
Save yourself the pain, misery, heartache, frustration and money and never hire Big Rock to step on your property!
Submitted by Brad Jones on 03/13/2023
Working with Hannah and the design team at Big Rock has been a wonderful experience. They are easy to talk with and worked my dreams into reality. They are solution finding and educate you along the process. Finding a team that works hard on a very personal nature of your home is hard to find. We love Big Rocks Design team. They create heaven on earth. Loving the outdoors is going to be a blast this summer! Thank you Hannah and Design Team.
Submitted by Ann Anderson on 03/07/2023
We hired Big Rock to transform our backyard and quickly became frustrated. Our frustration was on 2 levels: 1 - The timing and lack of willingness to provide any timeline or end of project date 2 - Quality of Work. While the list is long, this is just a few small examples of what we have experienced.
We signed the contract with Big Rock in May of 2021 (over 19 months ago) and it was represented to us that we would have a completed pool by the summer of 2022. We were given a dig date of 9/21- the actually dig date was 2/22. The concrete was shot at the beginning of 3/22 and then it sat for 8 months. The pool was finally completed in 10/22 but as of today, there still is significant work to be done on our backyard.
When asked to provide milestone or updates these were examples of the responses we received:
"We don't do weekly updates."
"I understand you want a detailed timeline and like I personally have stated and so has Russ, its not possible"
We hired Big Rock to build a pool. The day that the hole for the pool was to be dug (February 15, 2022), we realized that no-one had come to survey for existing utilities (blue stakes). When I asked our project manager about this, his response was "I know blue stakes is ordered as part of your permit. I will follow up to make sure they actually came out.” I noticed several days later after the hole was already dug that the survey markers were just now showing up in our yard. I called the 411 Utah and asked them when they had been called. They were called on 2/15 - the day the pool was dug - and the request didn't become legal until 2/17 several days later all the while the pool was still being dug.
We also had Big Rock build us an outdoor fireplace. After having a fire in the fireplace 3 times, the interior firebrick started to fall out from the inside of the fireplace and cracks started to form on the outside grouted rocks (see pictures).
Three months after having the pavers grouted, the paver tile grout has cracked and tiles are loose. (See pictures)
A short time after water being in the pool, boot footprints became visible in the plaster and you can see exactly where the plaster workers stepped in the bottom of the pool. (See pictures)
An electrical box (Brand Square D) was installed for the spa, pool, fireplace water features, and electrical outlet. In the breaker box, both commerical and residential breakers of different brands other than the electrical box were installed (Siemens, GE). The cover plate on the box does not securly cover the breakers and 2 of the 3 breakers have blown since installation.
We have been told to communicate exculsively via a contractor software program, which we have done. As of last week, we were locked out of that software program. This left us no way to communicate with anyone from the company. We have not heard from Russ in nearly 3 weeks - which was of course via that software program.
The list of challenges and frustrations is too numerous to list in this review. And after our experience, we cannot in good conscience recommend Big Rock to anyone and strongly recommend anyone considering Big Rock to reconsider.
Submitted by Camille Jones on 01/30/2023
I've been very impressed with Big Rock through the design process. Brandon and Tyson have been out to my house a number of times to make sure they get the design stage right. Their passionate about what they do. They really care about the end result! Their customer service is excellent so far. Calls are answered and emails are responded to always within a timely manor. I'm excited for the work to begin in the next few weeks and will post a follow up review. These guys are great!
Submitted by Mike Powell on 05/30/2018
We hired Big Rock to install a two-acre property in Holladay when we built our new home. We learned quickly after the install that the quality of the work and the integrity of their word was very poor. We had many 7ft and taller pine trees that were left in the burlap when planted. Now, two years later, those trees are all dead and we are paying to have them removed and replaced. I had a third party arborist come inspect the trees. They provided me with a letter stating the trees were not only planted incorrectly, but often planted in places with little chance of survival. We waited for a year for Big Rock, who agreed to replace the trees but never did. We had to dig up our entire lawn, lay new drains, and replace all the sod due to faulty work by Big Rock. We are replacing all the metal planters Big Rock had custom made for us as they are rusting and leaking all over our patio after only two years. We had dozens and dozens (probably close to 60) plants left dead and unreplaced. If Big Rock did replace a dead plant, they would often do it with a different variety than the original. I took video of landscape crew members talking on their cell phones raking the same patch of dirt over and over again while we were being billed hourly. They laid $5k worth of mulch on our property without asking us and tried to tell us it was “owner approved” when we received the bill. You can see pictures of the quality of this mulch project, which they later agreed wasn’t approved and came and removed from our yard. Working with Big Rock was an incredibly frustrating experience. We were constantly promised high quality service and had discussions in which they agreed to do certain work, and yet we would have to make repeated requests for anything to be done correctly or fixed as promised. Since moving to a new landscape company, we have heard of numerous other unhappy customers, which is why I'm surprised to see the other positive reviews. I would never recommend this company.
Submitted by Mauri Love on 05/10/2017
In my experience, Big Rock cares about the wellbeing of its customers. All my interactions with them have been highly personal, and I felt like they truly listened and cared about my ideas and desires for projects. They have a great team and complete projects in a swift and orderly fashion, always keeping the customer in the loop. I would recommend Big Rock's team of professionals to anyone interested in quality work and a personal touch.
Submitted by Barrett Clement on 05/10/2017
