Landmark Custom Landscape

We hired Landmark Custom Landscape to complete our front and backyard landscape and hardscape, including a jacuzzi and barbecue. The project took about 10 weeks to complete. We met with several other contractors prior to making a decision. We decided on hiring Landmark because they could do the jacuzzi and barbecue we wanted — along with everything else. They definitely are a custom landscape company because they build what you envision! They are also a one-​stop shop, which is nice because Tom Chung, the owner, uses his own crews for all the work. Tom met with us several times to develop the drawings that he eventually submitted to our association for approval, as well as the City for permits. He also provided us with a conceptual video of what the final product would look like. The video was a nice touch because it not only gave us a great visual representation of the finished job, but it also helped us make some changes that we would not have seen without the video. Speaking of changes, we had a few along the way! After all, this was a custom front and rear yard we wanted! Tom’s hardscape crew, with Lute as the Foreman, were more than accommodating for these change orders. It was evident that Lute wanted to make sure we were happy with the final job. He takes his work seriously. When we did have changes, Tom was fair in pricing. He also returned our calls promptly and made efforts to meet with us every week. We did feel like the communication waned slightly towards the end of the project when his landscape crew took over. It also took a little too long for Tom to finish our small touch-​up items, so we are deducting one star for that. Overall, however, we are very pleased with the final product and are enjoying our jacuzzi and barbecue almost daily. Therefore, we would definitely recommend Tom and his crews to anyone looking to build a custom yard for their home.

Before we started on our backyard makeover, we researched several companies. We received 3 separate bids and while Landmark was by far the highest, we liked Tom and believed he would do a quality job. We just finished and we were not disappointed. Everything looks beautiful and is what we wanted. Tom is easy to work with, pretty flexible on changes within reason, and does top quality work. You get what you pay for, and Landmark is definitely top notch. Have already recommended him to others!

The project is done! Landmark Custom Landscapes is overall a good company to use for large projects. Tom, the owner is a nice guy. He wasn’t very involved in this second project. Thinking back, I could see why. The hard scape crew led by Vincent, was fantastic. The guys were punctual, organized and clean. This crew was made up of hard working guys. The demolition was quick and clean. The pavers, including the large winding walkways look beautiful. The large planter and block walls look great. Vincent repaired anything that he nicked or damaged in any way. Unfortunately, the problems began with the soft scape crew. With my previous project, I had decided not to use Landmark but my own gardening service. This was the best decision I could have made. My back yard looks beautiful. The sprinkler system works great. My 80 trees are alive and well. My hedges are also healthy. Everything is working the way it should. Landmarks soft scape guys were making hours. They truly looked as if they were taking as long as possible to do anything. It took them a month to repair and reroute my existing sprinkler lines and plant some large trees. The trees were in by the second day. I thought, great this will be a 2 week job. I was so wrong. They had to replace some grass that was damaged when the 18 wheeler truck drove onto my lawn to drop the trees in the hole. Oh yes, I supposedly paid for a huge crane that was going to hoist the trees from the street to the holes. That obviously didn’t happen. This was a crew of 7 or 8 guys! I was going to hire Landmark to plant a completely new, water wise landscape but not anymore. Dealing with this crew reminded me of my teenage kids. You had to point out every obvious thing that they needed to fix. Sometimes, you had to tell them a few times to make sure you had it done. You certainly don’t expect this when you pay for quality and reliability. Very disappointing experience. Here we are first day of rain and my yard is flooded. I certainly didn’t have that issue before. The DG walking path was supposed to be as hard as concrete, according to Tom. It’s hard only in a few spots. This walkway is more like beach sand. Toms crew killed a couple tiny tower trees and replaced one with a tall Italian cypress. I have a big hole in the middle of my yard where did broke a cover to a sewer line and never replaced it. I spoke to to before the holidays and walked our property, looked at everything and said that he would make it right for us. We are still waiting. Oh, yes I ended up hiring my own contractor to purchase and install the precast and stucco all the block walls, pilasters and large planter.

We were referred to Tom by a friend who used him for their landscaping. I was very impressed with Tom’s work for them. We had no idea how we want the yard to look except for wanting to put in a built in BBQ & a firepit. He came over, took a look and took measurements. The next time we met, he had not only a 3-​D pictures of the new landscape, there was also a video of how our landscape will look like when it’s done! He did not charge us for the design. Other companies only did a 5 minute, rough sketch & I would have to pay them for drawing up the plans (which I may not even like). It really helps to be able to see it in 3-​D. He was not inexpensive but you get what you pay for. The materials he used were top grade. He even showed up to the HOA architectural review meetings to answer any questions they have & took care of all the paperwork. Once the job got started, it went pretty quickly. He also had a crew of 7 – 8 guys coming to work everyday. It took about 8 weeks to complete the whole job. We had our whole yard redone including the driveway to the garage. The only thing that bothered me was that when they finished the hardscape & was supposed to start the softscape, there were a few days the workers did not show up as expected. I understand that he has many projects going at the same time & has to juggle where to send the workers. I just like to know exactly which days the workers are coming. There were a few minor things we agreed on verbally (not written in the contract) that I had to remind him but he honored everything we asked. He even has a plant specialist who works with you to pick out the plants. We love every part of our landscape! All our neighbors & friends love it too. I would highly recommend using him if you have a large project. The only downside is that you cannot use him if you only have a small project.

I had my landscape done by Landmark this year and it just finished one month ago.
I’m happy with the end result but it did take quite a bit of work.
We had to do extensive research to make sure we got what we wanted.
The quality of the work is good, Tom is responsive to issues and support after job completed is wonderful. I didn’t get such support with other landscapers before.

I recently had my house landscaped by Landmark Custom Landscape and I am very pleased with how things turned out. From start of construction till the end, the workers showed up every single day and worked hard to finish the job on time as promised; they didn’t miss a single day. The build quality is top notch also.
One thing that makes Landmark Custom Landscape stand out among other landscapers is that Landmark has more than enough man power to handle medium to large projects. They have specialists in hardscape, softscape, material and plants. They work in harmony so that the project goes smooth. If you want a landscaper who can design to your specification and finish on time with quality, I highly recommend Landmark Custom Landscape.

We just had Landmark do our front and back yards here in Huntington Beach. I can’t say enough great things about these guys. We have had two previous homes landscaped by other landscape companies and neither compare to the quality of craftsmanship we got from landmark. These guys are all about long lasting quality, their crews were incredible. They are very knowledgeable and do everything it takes to ensure their clients happiness. One of the workers that stood out to us was a guy named Jesus. He always kept us informed, answered all of our questions and was very respectful. The crews showed up everyday Monday thru Saturday on time and worked very hard. I would recommend these guys to everyone, they never cut a corner and the outcome was fantastic. They are not the cheapest company out there but you get what you pay for in the landscape world. Tom is the head guy and the main designer, he is incredibly talented and always available. He always return texts and phone calls and was on top of everything.
We are so pleased by the finished result, it is beautiful.

Awful company. Found online for free consult and design and got an email from office assistant Esther to call back. I called back and she was very unprofessional and after asking our budget, which I said ideally would be up to 20k but depending on design we could go up to 50k, she said oh that’s too small for us and we don’t come out unless our project is at least 40k! We don’t even know exactly what we want for our front and back yard and she’s already saying no to the consult! I told her she should put it on their website that a free design and consult is only if you think you’ll be spending over 40k! They could have had a big job from us and now they are getting nothing but a bad review and no referrals from us!

Last fall, we were looking to update our backyard, which included our pool, barbeque area, patio gazebo and reducing our lawn area with drought tolerant plants. After contacting other companies who were not good with follow up, we came across Landmark Custom Landscape after reviewing Unilocal.We emailed Landmark on a Saturday and Tom called the very same day! After meeting with Tom, and discussing our ideas, we decided to go with his company, and were very happy we did. Our backyard took about 4 months, but the transformation is incredible. Tom’s creativity and desire to meet our requests was supported by a great crew. The guys showed up regularly, on time, and worked as a team. The lead, Vincent, was communicative with us to confirm any questions his team had along the way with regards to our project goals, so we had no surprises. We were so satisfied with our backyard results that we hired Tom and his team to redo our front yard. A smaller project, but the results still notable. Numerous neighbors, walking or driving by our corner home, are commenting favorably on our new look and complimenting Landmark’s work. And what we appreciate is Tom’s commitment to warranty his work whether it’s in our hard scape or soft scape. Tom and his team are good, kind, people and that is important to us when going through this type of «disruption» at our home.

My review is not around their work but is focused around the customer service when trying to obtain a quote. On their website they offer a «Contact us for a complimentary design and estimate!». When I contacted them and they called me back they asked me a few questions on what I was trying to do to my yard. I answered their questions on what I wanted done at my residence. They also asked what my budget was on my project. At the moment I do not have a budget since I don’t know how much my ideas are going to cost. I explained that this was why I was contacting them, to get a quote and find out how much my ideas were going to cost. She then informed me that they only do medium to large projects with at least $ 50,000 in services. If the services were less than $ 50k then I could purchase the design for $ 1500.
Apparently «complimentary design and estimate» is not complimentary unless you meet certain conditions and if you use their services which is definitely not listed on their web site.
I was willing to obtain a design and even purchase it from a reputable source, but in my opinion since they don’t list their conditions on their site, I would not call them reputable.
Update 3÷19÷2015 — The owner of Landmark contacted me and tried to follow up to offer a design due to my Unilocal review apparently. I appreciate the follow up but have already made the decision not to use Landmark due to the initial contact was not a pleasant experience. Added a star due to the follow up but beware of their bait and switch service.

Alberto Cardenas from Landmark Custom Landscape is exceptional. He is the most knowledgeable construction professional we have ever met. He oversaw our project from beginning to end and was a pleasure to work with. We cannot say enough about Alberto.

Landmark Custom Landscape did an amazing job on our backyard. My husband and I were looking to re-​do our backyard for over a year. We received quotes from at least 4 different companies, but we always compared those companies to Landmark. We narrowed our decision down to two companies, Landmark being one of them. When we called Tom back out for another quote, he came out with his original designs (which he designed for free) and told us he would honor the same quote from over a year ago. The other company was reasonably cheaper, but Tom’s knowledge in landscaping, his professionalism, and his attentiveness to us made us decide to go with Landmark. He even sent out people 3 months after the job completion to fix our A. C unit (which ended up not being their fault) and sprinklers.
We have no regrets in our decision to use Landmark. The workers were very professional and came Mon-​Sat from 7am-​4pm. They never stepped foot into our house or bothered us. If they have any questions or concerns, they contacted Tom and he would then contact us. Tom provided a porto-​potty (some might think that’s gross) for his workers to use, so they didn’t need to come into our house for any reason. The potty was cleaned on a weekly basis and if for some reason I or my neighbors, smelled the slightest smell, Tom would have it cleaned that day or the next at the latest. We appreciated the workers so much, we bought two Disneyland tickets and raffled them off to the workers as a thank you.
Our backyard looks amazing. We have received so many complements on the look, functionality and layout of our backyard. We spend many evenings back there with our family and entertain more often because we have a great space for a large group of people.

Landmark Custom Landscape just completed a major makeover of our back yard. The project turned out even nicer than we had envisioned. They built a new patio cover, which consisted of a covered area and an open beamed area. The cement decking was replaced with pavers. The swimming pool was completely refurbished with new pebble stone, tile and stonewalls.
They also upgraded our soft-​scape with plants and scrubs that more appropriately fit with our yard. We now have an abundance of flowers that bloom the year around in addition to some very attractive tropical plants. Our grass was replaced with artificial turf that looks spectacular and eliminates the gardeners bringing equipment into our back yard.
Another thing that impressed us about Landmark was how the crews cleaned up the site after every workday.
AS with most projects of this type, don’t expect the job to be finished on the projected time schedule. With the changes your most likely to make and the delays of the cities inspections you should allow a longer timetable. As we have also learned, on any project like this, you can count on some increases in your overall costs.
We would not hesitate to use Landmark again should the need arise.
Herb & Shirley Hoebel

I LOVE OUR BACKYARD! Wow, Tom is great! Both my father and step father are general contractors so I am very familiar with how construction works and I was VERY impressed with Landmarks work! Tom the owner does FREE design estimates. I messaged him on a Sunday and he was out the very next day Monday to look at our yard and measure everything to come up with a free design. He returned a week later with a full color architectural drawing. I loved it. He had really listened to everything we wanted in our yard and had put it all on paper. His price estimates are all very clear too; the prices were all very detailed –Flooring $x, Fire pit $x, Plants $x, Demo $x, Lighting $x etc… It made it really easy when we decided to change a couple little things as we could just cross them off the list. We decided to have them do our yard and they broke ground that same week on Friday — talk about speedy!
I was also impressed that we were NOT nickled and dimed. There were a couple little things we changed like adding a little curb to our planter beds, extending the BBQ etc and he was great about not charging for the little things. We did upgrade a few things as well and of course we were charged for those but they were large items like adding iphone controls for our pool etc.
Tom is a one stop shop, hes got the entire crew for very little detail and you will only have to deal with him which is great. He was good at getting back to me quickly with text and email. His crew was great. Ive never seen so many hard workers on a job site. They would work straight through from 7am-​4pm and you could always see progress at the end of the day. The crew was also great about tidying up at the end of the day with putting all their tools in one area, sweeping the driveway and walk ways, using tarps to cover materials and cones at the end of the driveway.
Our yard took about 8 weeks to finish and its a great outdoor living space. Everyone who comes over is amazed at how our yard seems to have doubled in size. I’d highlly recommend Landmark! Thanks Tom!
side note– there was another unfavorable review on here and I did message that user asking about her experience and she said her yard had turned out great. She should really update her review :)

My husband and I had been wanting to redo our back patio area for quite awhile and when we met with Tom we knew he was our guy. We had already scheduled our granddaughter’s birthday party in July and Tom and his crew worked 6 days a week to get it done for us. We had a lot of ideas and Tom was able to pull everything together. He always listened to what we had to say. That was a huge selling point in addition to seeing some of his beautiful work. He came by almost every day and we could always get a hold of him, even when he was on vacation! When we were on vacation we were in constant contact with him and he sent us pictures of the progress. His crew was on time and always did a good job of cleaning up at the end of the day.
Our outdoor living space is exactly was we envisioned and more. We love it and have had so many compliments from our family and friends.
We highly recommend Landmark Custom Landscape.
Thanks Tom!