Constraction reviews in San Mateo, California

After my son used Black Diamond for a project in Pacifica. Seeing Black Diamond's result we used them for our patio in Sunnyvale. Very impressed with the PM Steve Turner. Our new patio is great, no complaints. The crew worked very hard. If I could give a 4.9 (not 5) it would be because the end of the work was rushed (steps, cleanup).

We worked with Steve and the Black Diamond team this past October to put in french drains around our house and a patio in our backyard, and we were so pleased with both the partnership they provided and their quality of work. Steve was extremely helpful and informative throughout each discussion we had with him, and he was happy to share his architectural knowledge with us. He genuinely had our best interests in mind for this project and never had an issue with our many questions and different scenarios we talked through. The team Steve brought in (led by Filberto) also did excellent work. They worked efficiently and clearly hold a very high bar themselves and the end result they provide. We're so pleased with our entire project and would absolutely work with Black Diamond again in the future.

These guys were the best! They are a professional Company and do and excellent job from beginning to End! They paid such attention to detail and all of the crew and David were so nice to work with, all so friendly and pleasant! I give them the highest rating as they are all that!

I can’t say enough good things about David and his entire crew. David gave me several estimates using different material for my front yard. He was always courteous and never rushed me. His entire crew, led mainly by Jose, showed up on time and worked long hours. I would definitely recommend this company and I would definitely use them again.

I used Ideal Landscape for a large front yard and back yard project. My goals were to create a more usable space, reduce watering waste through better irrigation, and improve the scenery from my windows so my garden could feel like a haven from the outside world. They delivered on all this and more.

Ideal Landscape replied to a request for bids that I posted on Nextdoor. I'm really glad they did because they provided me with a beautiful finished product. Their whole crew (landscape construction, designer, pavers, lighting) came with a lot of experience and good design sensibilities. This was critical because my backyard required a lot of grading and needed people who had the right knowledge and expertise. The work also required a lot of custom cutting of pavers and blocks to fit the space.

The process started with a discussion about what work needed to be done so they could give me a quote. They were efficient and honest in what could and couldn't be done based on my budget.

Once the project got started, we met every day to review the plans for that day and make sure we were in agreement on the details. This daily communication helped avoid surprises and allowed us to make decisions quickly about changes to the original design plans.

When we hit snags in the process, like a design plan that didn't quite fit the space or drainage locations that were challenging to implement, Ideal Landscape was great at problem solving and providing options and estimates.

The project took about 6weeks to complete. It involved ordering boulders, rocks, pebbles, artificial turf, pavers, wood, bark, plants, lighting, irrigation, and electrical materials. We had to make a lot of decisions everyday about what went where to be sure there were no mistakes.

The work unfolded in a very organized and systematic approach. This made it easy to get a feel for what decisions needed to be made when, to keep the project moving forward smoothly. At the end of every day, they also did a thorough job of cleaning up all work areas.

On top of the excellent quality of work, I also really enjoyed the company of Ideal Landscape's owner. Robert was pleasant, trustworthy, fair, took pride in his work, and was overall very engaging. I could see that he had experienced every design challenge we faced and felt comfortable with his recommendations.

My project ended up being bigger than planned and I didn't know what to expect. But seeing the finished product blew me away. It all came together so well and I love, love, love spending time in the backyard and looking at our front yard from inside the house.

For a project this size and scale, it couldn't have gone any better. I am recommending Ideal Landscape to all my friends and family and will definitely go back to them if I ever need more work done.

We used David and Ideal Engineering to repair an almost 100 year old brick wall that a portion had fallen over because of the storms. It was a complicated project that required a great deal of finesse. David and his crew did an excellent job and worked in between rain storms to get the wall repaired. We were kept informed every step of the way. The job was expertly finished and the communication was excellent.

David and the Ideal team were amazing, they quickly took our ugly driveway and rebuilt it into a wonderful and functional showcase to our house.

David also worked with the local town engineering and road department to make sure that our vision was realized without interfering with local restrictions and regulations. Definitely highly recommended!

Check out the before and after photos!

We had a very pleasant experience working with David and his team from Ideal Landscape&Concrete on our front yard project. We are extremely happy with the result and have received a lot of compliments from our walking by neighbors since the transformation.
Thank you David and your team!
To the readers who are considering a landscape project , we highly recommend the team and read on for details.

Project Management: 5-star
David is super organized and works very efficiently with the team. He had given us an overview of the process, from us getting ready the landscaping plan (which he doesn’t do) to having the city to come in to figure out some complication and to coordinating his team to proceed with the project. He worked very closely with our landscape designer to finalize the plan for quotation and arrange on-site supervision for hardscape pattern, plant layout and any complications coming up during the project. He also responded very efficiently to the rain delay and change of order we requested to include the sidewalk job. He used his creativity to arrange work that could be done in parallel or could be done whenever the weather allowed.

Timeline: 5-Star
We were happy with the timeline from the start to finish of the project. First of all, David provided very accurate estimate on the duration. And he and his team worked extremely hard and he maintained very active communication with us, to pull in the date so that the impact of weather, change of order and dependency on permit insurance and city inspection could be minimized. The project started at the beginning of November and was completed by the beginning of January. The team was able to hold on to the original proposed timeline, excluding the raining days when no work could be done. They completely redid my front yard and driveway (hardscape and landscape covering 1000+ sqft, plus the concrete work for the sidewalk and ramp).

Cost and Quality: 5-star
Ideal Landscape&Concrete’s charge was very reasonable. It is on par with a few other quotes I obtained. The quality is exceptional (I am attaching a few pictures at the end of the review), from the overall look down to details that showed the team’s craftsmanship. Jose on the team oversaw the work on site, took our requisition and made sure the job got properly done. And at the end, they conducted a walkthrough to ensure the work was completed to our satisfaction.

We are extremely happy that we chose Ideal Landscape for our complete back and side yard renovation. David, Jose, and their crew went above and beyond to ensure the end result was something we were completely in love with.

It was fairly difficult narrowing down and picking a landscaper as we didn’t have experience in renovating a backyard before. After reaching out and talking to several companies, we ultimately decided to go with Ideal Landscape because David was so responsive, experienced, and professional. He was also respectful and patient with listening to our ideas and even gave us lots of pointers and advice that we wouldn’t have thought of — better yet, he didn’t nickel and dime us for the additional improvements. It was like having a friend helping us with the whole process. He kept communication open with us and called each morning once construction started to let us know what we could expect that day and then either stopped by or called to check up on the progress and see if we had questions.

Our renovation included installing pavers, artificial turf, and lighting. Jose and his crew were so friendly and efficient and their quality of work was amazing. They made sure our rain gutter downspouts were connected under the pavers and properly into the drainage. They laid down low voltage wiring through the yard and connected it to a power source neatly in the garage so we wouldn’t have to have a big transformer attached to the side of the house on our patio. With the side lighting, they even went a step above and made sure you couldn’t see the wiring as it ran along the fence. We really appreciated all the extra touches to quality and detail.

Ideal Landscape kept on schedule with no surprises to the original quote and even went above and beyond to add additional improvements and details to ensure we had a yard we’d love without going over our budget. We highly recommend them to anyone and it will be a no brainer on who we’ll pick for our future landscaping needs.

We received a few quotes when searching for a front patio and backyard refresh. We wanted to get rid of the mulch, broken concrete, and railroad ties that were all over. We are extremely happy we chose the Ideal team. Everyone was excellent to work with, communicated throughout the process, and met the anticipated timeframe for completion.

David and his crew made suggestions throughout the project and we agreed on executing every one, and we are thrilled we did.

The pavers and artificial grass choices were excellent and it looks like a well manicured lawn now. We will absolutely reach out for any project that comes up in the future!

David and his crew were great to work with, their professionalism is second to none. David and his foreman were very responsive and did exactly what I expected them to do. The workers always showed up on time and were courteous to me and my neighbors which is important with everyone working from home. I highly recommend David and his company and will definitely use them on any other future project.

David and his team from Ideal Landscape did an amazing job transforming our mess of a backyard to a space that is sleek, beautiful, open, and far more functional. David was extremely responsive to any questions we had and continuously checked in throughout the process to make sure we were happy and content with how things were progressing. When necessary (mostly in regards to the layout of the pipes and drainage system) he stopped by to explain things in person, even being willing to come by at 6:30am to meet with my husband before work. He and his team were kind, professional, and personable. We were extremely pleased with their work ethic, attention to time and detail, and communicativeness. We would highly recommend them. Here are some before and after photos so you can see the transformation. We couldn’t be happier!

Needed a new garage floor poured, as mine was badly cracked and uneven. Owner David Alfaro came out and estimated the job himself. Price looked reasonable so I pulled the trigger. His crew was fantastic - clean and professional. And David is just a really good guy to deal with. Highly recommend Ideal for your concrete job!!

Five stars isn't enough for the incredible work David and his team completed at our home. We have worked with David multiple times before, and he continues to deliver beautiful work in a timely manner. David's team was cheerful, diligent, and paid attention to every detail. Changes and questions were all addressed with a positive attitude.

We widened our existing aggregate/brick driveway, installed a new front lawn, and replaced a 70 year old walkway - all of which looks amazing! Ideal Landscaping did a beautiful job matching new to the existing, with unique features. Clear communication, fair prices, and quality work - the best of everything !

We recently had our backyard completely redone by Ideal Landscape & Concrete, and we couldn't be happier with the results. Our project involved demoing the old yard and paving with beautiful pavers. Although the project faced some unexpected challenges, including a long wait for HOA approval and needing to reschedule due to a broken stump grinder, David and his team handled everything with professionalism and care.

David was incredibly knowledgeable and always had our best interests in mind. He offered several upgrades, such as irrigation lines, which have made a huge difference. Despite the delays, he kept everything on track and made sure the end result was exactly what we envisioned—our backyard looks amazing! We highly recommend Ideal Landscape & Concrete for their expertise, attention to detail, and commitment to client satisfaction. And their price is very reasonable.

That was a great experience!

I was super lucky to find David via yelp.com to install a French drain in my property. After reading all his reviews, I called David for a quote. He came to my property in the next day and gave me a quote which was reasonable for the work to be done. His quote was similar to the other quote that I had but my gut feeling worked very well this time.

Once I signed the agreement, he brought his heavy machinery along with his crew who did an amazing job. They were friendly, knowledgeable, fast and everything looks better than what I was expecting. My geotechnical engineer said that David did more than what he was expecting too and the way the French drain has been installed, will protect my foundation for decades to come.

David even used river rocks on top of the gravel to make it look nicer. That, I was not expecting at all and he didn’t charge any extra for the river rocks and for using the best and most expensive materials available in the market to protect my foundation.

I’ll be forever grateful to David and his crew.

Concrete construction is an involved and difficult job, and I was very pleased with how our work with Ideal turned out. They clearly did a quality job, exactly on budget, and David the proprietor was super responsive all days of the week. Unconditionally recommended.

We had Ideal Landscaping & Concrete work on all our yards (front, back and both side yards). Very knowledgeable, experienced, great problem solvers and professional. The price is comparable to other quotes we got, but the workmanship and quality is beyond what other companies do therefore you get top-notch services for the same price but a much better product . We know our yards were done correctly the first time, and all issues taken care of.
The Company is Family owned, and the owners- Robert (Father) and David (son) are on site with their long time Employees. And if any issues happen after the work is finished, Ideal Landscaping stands by their work and will come out and check on things.
Now we have the yard we wanted, and the Grandbabies love playing in the yard.
Highly recommend Ideal Landscaping, You will be very happy 😊

Ideal Engineering was fantastic to work with. David was incredibly responsive, and his crew went above and beyond to meet my requests and bring my vision to life. They worked quickly without sacrificing quality, and the craftsmanship shows. I highly recommend Ideal Engineering!

Ideal Landscape installed two levels of pavers and the artificial grass in our backyard earlier this year. We highly recommend them!

Service: one of the most professional, prompt, and easy companies we’ve worked with. Everyone on their team was courteous, thoughtful, and the foremen communicated very well. They asked us about everything that mattered to us, and did everything as we asked.

Scheduling / quotes: They were prompt at coming over for a quote. They started when they said they would, and finished the job within their time estimate. There were no hidden fees or changes to the quoted price.

Quality of work: We’re very happy with the attention to detail, even on areas that aren’t visible (like the wire/fabric underneath). All surfaces are holding up so far (8 months after).

In short, great company, great people, highly recommend!

Ideal Landscape and Concrete recently helped us totally redo our large front yard. It involved taking out the existing concrete driveway, brick walkways, lawn and plants and installing a paver driveway and walkways, a much smaller lawn area, drought tolerant plants, a new sprinkler system and new lighting. It is truly a family business that offers great customer service. Our initial contact was with David who gave us a fair estimate and was very good at communicating during the entire six week process. His brother, Fred supervised the demolition work and helped us with our lighting selection. HIs father, Robert supervised the installation of the whole project and kept us informed about what to expect, and made many helpful suggestions. There were some added expenses, but they always sought our approval before making any changes. The crews that work for them have been with them for a long time and were always friendly, courteous and hard working. They did a beautiful job with all the hardscape and planting. They truly are professionals and know what they’re doing and make great recommendations to solve problems. Ideal strongly recommends that you work with a landscape architect (Agnes Tung) to order the plants and supervise the placement of the plants. She was wonderful to work with and very helpful. The whole experience was very professional and we are very pleased with the outcome. We truly felt that they worked hard to make sure that we got the yard that we wanted. We can recommend Ideal Landscape and Concrete without reservation.