ComplaintsforGreensward LLC.

• Initial Complaint

  04/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We hired Greensward in 2020 to design and build the landscape for our lake house on Lake ***** ********. In contracts totaling over $125,000.00 Greensward was to build a seawall, beach, path and firepits. Three year Warranty on workmanship. ******************************* assured ** that he had built on the lake before and knew how to do it. He admitted that he was the among the most expensive, but assured ** that he was the best. Firstly, he built on Lake WITHOUT PERMITS from Dominion Power--which owns the lake--and Louisa County. We were told that "verbal permission" was given. In reality, no structural inspections were done during construction. Greensward's plan (with pics) was to dump tons of rock into the lake and create a volley ball court-sized beach where there was once water. It was beautiful! It was fabulous! But it was illegal. Dominion demanded that ALL the rock be removed from the lake. Greensward pulled the rock up on land and covered it with fabric and sand. ********** from watersports quickly destroyed that beach. Meanwhile, after one year, the seawall began to fall into the lake just as the boat house was about to be built by another firm. Greensward quickly came back to "repair" seawall with cement hand- poured by buckets on the base. Greensward promised kayak access which never happened. After year 2, the seawall again began to crack in the same areas where the repairs were done by Greensward on the top of the seawall. Meanwhile, the beach was a mess and rocks were appearing where there should have been fabric. Homeowner supplied 100 feet of 6x6 lumber for Greensward to try to make a beach and repair wall. Greensward agreed but didn't come back for 9 months. The waves quickly exposed that the fabric under the beach sand is not complete and boulders are exposed. dIn year 3, the final year of the warranty, the seawall is sinking. Greensward refused to come back. We need a refund to hire a new landscaper who knows what they are doing on water.

  Customer response

  04/19/2023

  I have attached one of the several separate contracts we have signed with Greensward.  This is the biggest one with all of the work that is being disputed. The date of the contract of course is not the date of project completion.  We still had a long wait for permits from ************** and Louisa ************* I also included a photo of Greensward staff removing the beach that was rejected by **************. I appreciate your help with this issue.  I am a special education teacher in Fairfax County so it is difficult to communicate during normal business hours.  My best phone number though is ************.

  ***********************
  

  Business response

  04/27/2023

  Greensward LLC is a Class A Building contractor and conducts work according to written agreements per state regulations governing contracting. Our contract with ********************* was ratified in Oct of 2019.  No one named ******************************* has ever worked for Greensward LLC.  Greensward LLC replaced an existing wall per the plan and the zoning permit issued by Louisa County.  While the beach did have to modified at the request of Dominion, the county approved of the work and the owner paid the contractor.  No Louisa County building permits were required for any of the work; only a letter of permission from Dominion and a Zoning Permit.  Both were obtained after the agencies said they were originally not required because we were replacing existing.  The County clarified wanting a zoning permit on the basis that the material was being switched from wood to segmented concrete.  

  One short section of wall was repaired after a small amount of settling occurred after a several significant storm events.  This work was within the warranty provided by Greensward LLC. Greensward LLC provided additional riprap armor to protect the sea wall at that time.  Greensward LLC also as a curtesy reapplied a small amount of beach sand several times and touched up polysand on the patio which is specifically excluded from warranty as it is a normal maintenance item. **************** has confused polysand erosion, a minor maintenance issue,  with "the patio sinking and walls falling into the lake".  **************** has demanded new sand be applied to his beach despite the clear explanation that beach sand application is a normal maintenance activity that our clients pay ** to do annually.  

  Further, ********************* have demanded the beach be modified after the county has approved the work and the contract has been fulfilled.  New work will require a new contract and possibly a new Zoning permit from the county.  Under no circumstances would Greensward LLC undertake a new contract with *********************.  

  Customer response

  04/27/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the offer and/or response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  [Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************
  
  
  
  
  

  Customer response

  05/03/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the offer and/or response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  Apologies for mispelling the name of the owner of company.  We did not see this person for the final two years of the three-year warranty period, thus the confusion.  We will use "greenward" in place of any person's name moving forward.

  The assertion that there was no permit needed from Dominion or ****** is not based on any facts we are aware of.  The simple fact is that ************** owns ***************** and a 50 foot ribbon of land around that lake.  Greensward applied for permits from both ****** and Dominion.  ****** always says, "Dominion owns the lake so they permit first, then ******."  Greensward did not wait for PRIOR APPROVAL for Dominion or ****** and went forth with the project on a Greensward timeframe.  When ********************* asked about permits, Greensward always said, "no news is good news."  Greensward dumped tons of rock into the lake to make a new beach and was eventually told by Dominion to remove it. It is illegal to attempt to change the shape of the lake to suit a landscaper's ideas. Only after Dominion approved the new beach, would ****** get involved with approving the seawall.  By then, the seawall was already built without any inspections. The assertion that an existing seawall was merely replaced so no permit was required is new and shocking to ** and of course we can disprove this photographic evidence known as "before" and "after" photos.

  **************** has never "demanded more sand be applied" as asserted.  Adding sand to a defective beach is, and never will be a solution to the problem.  Certainly, adding more sand will serve to cover up the actual problem and get the clients to make final payment on contracts.  The problem with the beach is the way it was constructed without permit, declared illegal, dug back up and reassembled on top of all the boulders which had to be pulled out of lake to comply with the law.  The beach is missing fabric in several places and will not hold sand.  Properly installed fabric is specifically mentioned in the Greensward contract and is specifically missing in the beach.

  Greensward's reply continues to confuse the facts.  The facts are:

  1. Beach and seawall were both built without permits from ****** and Dominion.  The permit process which was ignored by Greensward includes inspections of the building process at specific stages of construction.  None of these inspections took place as the wall and beach were being constructed.  The idea that there was an existing sea wall and no permits required is a brand new assertion by Greensward and is easily disproved with photographic evidence.  While there is no excuse for an experienced builder to build without permits, Greensward continues to produce excuses for doing just that.

  2. As a result of uninspected and presumed improperly built structures, both the sea wall and the beach began falling apart and underwent major repairs within the few months of construction.  In year two of warranty, the seawall developed major cracks in the same areas as year one and and large dip in the patio.  The beach had exposed rocks and actual lake water where there should have been landscape fabric to hold that sand.  No amount of replacement sand will ever stay where there is no fabric to hold it.

  3. Year three of the warranty was not honored as were the first two years.

  4. Greensward continues to address our concerns and problems with his company's performance by refusing to accept more money from the ****** in a new contract situation by stating that "under no circumstances" will Greensward do so.  ********************* have done their best to supply the project with additional material such as offering hundreds of feet of 6x6 pressure treated lumber to repair beach.  ********************* have never offered to give even more money to a company that does not stand by their work.

  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************
  
  
  
  

  
  

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