Home Services reviews in Thousand Oaks, California

Ryan Albert and the Black Diamond team recently completed a backyard redo for me which involved removing old concrete and installing about 1100 square feet of pavers. During the initial consultation with Ryan, he offered up some outstanding recommendation that enhanced the overall project. Ryan communicated well prior to the start of the project to keep me appraised on the start date...which was very close to the date he estimated when I signed the contract. Ryan was on site during the concrete removal, ground prep, and paver installation. I was particularly concerned about proper drainage and Ryan and the Black Diamond team did great in that respect. I had other work ongoing in the area, and Ryan coordinated well with the other contractors to ensure things went smoothly. The final result looks great. Kudos to Ryan and the Black Diamond Team.

We had originally consulted with a local company about creating a patio and installing pavers for a walkway around our home. At first, they were all gung ho, with meetings for site evaluation, cost estimations and fancy layout ideas. Then for whatever reason, they absolutely dropped off the face of the earth. Not responding to emails or phone calls. Super disappointing. Then we connected with Mike Miller from Black Diamond Paver Stones & Landscape. Mike hit the ground running, like a house on fire. He got the project up and ready to go with his super foreman Lupe Constantino and his crew. Beautiful work! Check out the pictures. These guys do not mess around! What we thought was going to be weeks of work was done inside of 5 days! We were enjoying our new patio and pavers that following Saturday. We HIGHLY recommend Black Diamond Paver Stones & Landscape!

The Black diamond Paver crew was amazing! Our driveway and walkway are so beautiful now. We worked with Ray Ramirez and he was terrific. He kept us informed every step of the way. His communication was top notch. It took all the worry out of the process for us. I highly recommend this company and its crew. Thanks guys!!!

Black Diamond just completed the makeover of my backyard, and I couldn't be happier. The project was completed on time and on budget, and the crews did great work. Thanks to Sam Aranda for leading this effort!

David Brooks did an excellent job of walking us through the planning and execution of this home improvement project. We are very appreciative of his advisement and the team he brought to do the work. They were friendly and did high quality work. We are very happy with end product!

We couldn't be happier with our new patio, walkways and planters. Meeting with Ryan was pleasant and informative, he was very knowledgeable. The crew showed up on time and worked fast and hard. The project took 2 days and the crew was pleasant and they cleaned everything up before they left. We highly recommend Black Diamond, we will use them again.

We had a wonderful experience with Black Diamond Paver Stones and Landscape. The whole process was smooth and efficient. Our design specialist Jared Johnson was great - easy to work with, thorough, and diligent. Alfredo and the rest of the crew were great as well - they showed up every morning on time and did a fantastic job. Everyone was very professional. The pavers look great. We are very happy with the company and would highly recommend them! Thank you!

Want the Outdoor Kitchen of Your Dreams? Hire Black Diamond!

After interviewing several local kitchen designers who NEVER followed up with bids, let alone plans, my husband and I were very lucky to find on Nextdoor this amazing firm based in San Jose, CA, Black Diamond Paver Stones & Landscape, Inc. The local LA-based project manager with whom we worked, Jared Johnson, was top-notch. From the very first meeting which lasted a couple of hours, he took great care to understand our needs, measure our designated space and make recommendations about equipment, finishes, and countertops. He followed up immediately with a rendering of what our outdoor kitchen could look like….and we were delighted. While he had recommendations about equipment suppliers to use, he was totally amenable to us sourcing our own sink, BBQ, burners, drawers, etc. through Snyder Diamond’s Santa Monica showroom. When it came to creating the physical structure to hold the equipment, he brought in a great sub, Brad Stilkey, who, like Jared, was also very professional, thorough, and had excellent communication skills. Brad finished his end of the job in a very timely manner BUT was not satisfied with his efforts until WE were totally satisfied.

Bottom line: throughout the entire process, though, Jared was the glue that held this job together: due to pandemic-induced supply chain issues, it took seven months for the project to be completed. Yet, he kept on top of those issues with us, checking in with us frequently, and was very understanding of our timeline delays. When Snyder Diamond finally had everything in place, he immediately sprang into action to schedule the install with Brad…and within a few days, the actual creation began. And what a beautiful end product he oversaw!

We could not be happier with what he helped us realize for our backyard and with the support and professionalism that the Black Diamond company provided. For anyone considering adding a backyard kitchen to your property, do yourself the biggest favor and contact Black Diamond (and if you live in Southern California, ask for Jared!). You’ll be extremely happy you did.

Wow, the project created in my backyard is amazing. They know their craft and are the best. Will use them again every time. They are quick and high quality!! Shout out to Ray and his crew 💫💫💫💫💫 thank you !!!

We are very happy with the paver job completed with Black Diamond recently on our home. Ryan Albert was a pleasure to work with from start to finish, and managed the project closely and with care every step of the way. The crew was outstanding, hardest working and most helpful team, and the job was fast and on budget. We enlarged our driveway, added a walkway up our front lawn and leveled our front porch area, replacing all concrete and brick with pavers. The design was a collaborative effort and our requests and design elements were accommodated. I highly recommend and would use them again for additional work.

I could not be more thrilled with my new pavers. Black diamond pavers did a fabulous job on my back patio. Keith came over and explained the whole process from beginning to end. He was on the job daily making sure all the details were taken care of and my husband and I were happy throughout the whole process.I’m glad we chose Black Diamond Pavers vs another company. Their work was clean, thorough and professional. Keith was very helpful in designing the look for our space which made the process a whole lot easier. I would recommend them highly and use them again.

Sam Aranda at Black Diamond led us through an extensive re-design of our backyard and we couldn't be happier. Sam was with us from concept to cleanup, on-site every day managing the hardscape and landscape crews from demo to cleanup handling the inevitable questions/issues that came up real time. 9 days start to finish - ahead of schedule and right on budget. We highly recommend Sam and Black Diamond Landscape.

We worked with David Brook as our project manager for Black Diamond. Everything about this project from design to finish went smoothly, efficiently and to the highest standards. David supervised and coordinated from start to finish and his entire crew was punctual and professional. Project was on budget and completed faster than estimated. Great communications and they left our property spotless. Very pleased with the quality and price. Check out the before and afters.

David Brook managed our driveway and walkway paver project. He was professional, responsive and the job got done to our satisfaction much faster than expected. The work crew was on time, courteous and worked efficiently. They were very respectful of our space and we are happy with the result We would recommend Black Diamond to others.

We dreamed of our vision of a new front yard for some time. The time came to make it happen. After several bids we decided on Black Diamond. From start to Sam was there every day overlooking and keeping us informed what to expect. I only have a couple of before pics. I'm much more proud of the after look. Professionally done start to finish. Very happy.

Update as of June 20, 2024:

We had some more rocks for the front added and David and his crew were as efficient as ever.

Update to review as of Feb 8, 2024:

The back yard with the artificial turf still looks wonderful but the front yard with the desert landscape (rocks and a few succulents) is starting to become inundated with clover and other weeds along the edges (see photos) and even spread around the middle areas of rocks. We are hoping, per Black Diamond's suggestion, that the application of (organic) weed killer will remedy this but are disappointed that we have to go to this extra step as our understanding was that the plastic under the rocks would prevent the lawn from growing in again.

David Brook and his team at Black Diamond Paver Stones & Landscape, Inc. did a wonderful job on our draught-tolerant landscaping project. We had artificial turf in the back and rocks and succulents in the front and it looks great. David designed, supervised and oversaw every aspect of our project and filled us with confidence at every step. I really appreciated them keeping to deadlines and especially loved the fact that they cleaned up ALL the detritus, dust and stuff to make it all spic and span. Bravo!

I was referred to Black Diamond by my brother because they did a good job on his backyard. I talked to a number of other companies and Black Diamond was competitive (not lowest bid, but no where near the highest bid). What sold me on Black Diamond was my interactions with Sam Aranda. He is very personable and knowledgeable and helped us understand cost drivers and options. He developed a design for us and created various 2D and 3D renditions that helped us visualize what our new backyard would look like. Having a Black Diamond office / showroom near us helped us because the colors of paver samples that he brought by looked different than the pictures in the catalog. Seeing a few samples of each color paver. They also have samples of a variety of artificial turf - each one a little different. They allowed us to borrow a few samples to take home and keep for a day, so we could see them in different light and against our existing fences and walls. After a few iterations with Sam, we had a designs and colors we wanted. While they took a day longer than was originally expected, the Black Diamond crew, led by Chavez, did a great job of creating the gentle curves we wanted and laid these out so we could approve them before they started cutting pavers and turf. All in all, the end result speaks for itself - it transformed our yard from an eyesore that we tolerated since we moved in a year ago, to a beautiful show piece. Now we need to get more planting done to finish our new backyard paradise. I would highly recommend working with Sam and Black Diamond.

UPDATE: The CEO, William, has reached out to us to discuss our issues with our project and make matters right. Our conversation revolved around our experience with the project manager Ray, and William was apologetic for his behavior.

We are hopeful that when the project is complete, we are given a generous discount on the final price to alleviate our time, energy, and grievances with the project.

I will be updating this review appropriately.
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I would not recommend Black Diamond Pavers for any of your projects. Our backyard paver project was supposed to be completed in a little over a week, and is unfortunately now on its 6th week. We initially chose them because of the 27 year warranty on their work. However, the warranty is definitely not worth the frustrations we had/are still going through.

* The project start date was delayed.
* The first crew that was sent only worked one day and then did not show up the following day. We were later notified their employment was terminated due to them being deceitful to their supervisor and abandoning the project. This crew also left their trash in our backyard. Also, our backyard was left a safety hazard with sharp concrete and wood debris from the demolition while we waited for a new crew to finish the work.
* We were also not informed of a critical design change that had to be done due to safety reasons; however, the scale of the change was not communicated and approved with us at all, requiring it be redone. This lack of communication and lack of respect for our time further delayed our project.
* Pavers with very noticeable chipped corners were installed. There were also pavers that were damaged due to carelessness of the crew with their power tools. All of these had to be replaced.
* Some of the installed pavers are still not leveled and pose a potential tripping hazard.

The project was deemed “complete” a few times, even though there were numerous repairs that were yet to be resolved. We even had to go as far as reach out to the regional manager, David, in order to get the proper customer service as was advertised on their website. This led to a meeting with him and he listened and agreed with our concerns.

Unfortunately, we had to have a second meeting with David due to the ongoing mistakes made by the crew:
* Different colored pavers were installed and needed replacement.
* There were still areas of pavers not leveled.
* Chipped pavers were still present.
* Dried concrete present throughout the pavers.
* Two smaller width bullnose pavers had to be placed at the front of the step; however, these smaller pavers were placed adjacent to each other resulting in asymmetry of the step design.

Honestly, we feel as though our time is not being respected and that the project has become rushed, which has led to numerous preventable errors and the project being far past its expected completion date.

We decided to work with Black Diamond Pavers because their website advertised that they have "Best Prices for Highest Quality Work," "Honest & Trustworthy, 100% Committed to Customer Satisfaction." We believe that we have not been receiving any of these promises.

We are currently waiting to hear when the crew will return to complete the project. Not receiving proper updates from the project manager Ray Ramirez has made this process even more stressful and frustrating than it already is. There were multiple occasions we were notified to expect him and/or the crew, only for them to not show up, and this not being communicated with us.

The excitement we initially had for our backyard transformation has been eliminated by this unnecessarily stressful project. Instead, the excitement has now turned into anticipation of the project completing to get relief from this burden, recover the backyard for our family, and regain normalcy in our lives.

When I was finally ready to upgrade our backyard patio, I called Black Diamond pavers again after they did great job with my front driveway. Sam Aranda did an exceptional job and a pleasure to work with. He provided me with several design options and clear explanations on how the project is going to be executed. There was constant communication (texts, photos) that made things easy for me during my busy work week. His crew (Juan and team) worked very efficiently and paid very close attention to detail in their work and, most of all, did a great job in prep and clean up. Extremely happy with the results… again!

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First Review 2 years ago:

David worked with me closely on the detailed design, presented options, and explained everything very thoroughly. His installation team came on time, was very easy to work with, and, most of all, finished ahead of schedule! We are very happy with the outcome and thankful to David and team!

We chose Black Diamond to complete out backyard renovation and are extremely happy with the results. From our initial consultation with Steve Hess through the completion of the project we were happy with the experience. Steve was accessible for all of our questions and concerns throughout the process, allowing us to change our minds and tweak components without ever making us feel like we were a bother. He ensured that the project started and finished on time and that every detail was perfect before his team left. The team of workers were pleasant and professional and cleaned up meticulously at the end of each day. As promised, the job was completed in 3 days!
I highly recommend Black Diamond and Steve for anyone considering a backyard renovation!

We highly recommend Black Diamond Paver Stones & Landscape.

We did our asphalt driveway and replaced it with Belgard pavers with a nice border. The project manager/consultant, Ryan, did a fantastic job. The crew was great and worked really hard to get our project done in just two and a half days! A few small things to work out during the project (with sprinklers and steps); but they communicated with us and figured it all out; to our complete satisfaction.

We've already had neighbors stop by and tell us how much they like it. Some have taken the cards from the yard sign (which I will keep up for a while). Also, I will most likely have a second project for my side and backyard; and, I will use them again.