E&J Construction Landscape Inc.

I definitely didn’t get brownie points with the hubby for this one! He asked me to help find someone to do a full renovation to the back yard. I call and spoke to Hugo on a Friday afternoon. We set up a time and he would be out with his son Josh that following Tuesday @ 4:30. Well, here it is Tuesday @ 5:40 and no Hugo or Josh! Called the office and left a message. No call letting me know that they are going to be late or just not even show up! If they have done one thing for me in this process it was… look at Unilocal reviews before you call and make an appointment! Thanks guys!!!

After reading these reviews I am so thankful I didn’t use them. Had them out years ago. Ivan was nice enough. Called to get the work done a week later and said they were doing new construction in San Diego. Tried calling a few more times leaving messages and no one called me back. Now I am happy they never did.

They did a top notch job on our front yard. Josh is easy to work with as we made many changes to the project along the way and he rolled with it. We are very happy with all aspects of this project and will use them in the future for sure!

If it’s possible to leave no stars I would as this company makes promises they can’t keep. They committed to finish the backyard 5 weeks ago yet still has a lot left to do. It’s almost July. We gave a sizable down payment last February. The posts has gaps, stains were uneven. Owner does not pick up when called. He asked to have pictures emailed to correct their shoddy job but even email kept bouncing back. Will not use this contractor again. Hoping this nightmare is over. Will contact the better business bureau and contractors licensing board. This company should have their license revoked

Contracted these guys to complete our backyard in February 2014.
Day 1 through 29 was horrible as no work was completed but a giant pile of base was left sitting in my driveway blocking all access to my garage and to the front door, had to use my front lawn as a walk way. I was told the driveway and access to my house would only be blocked for 1 week but that was were the broken promises began. I ultimately had to be on the phone everyday to start getting guys to start working and clear out my driveway. I was patient at first but when calls go unreturned and broken promises start mounting up before real work began, I knew I was going to be in for a long ride.
Once work began it did move fairly quickly on the days that people showed up. But due to E&J not providing bathroom facilities (I.e. Portapotties) I noticed a stench of urine coming from one corner of my property and when I brought up, the next day a portapotty showed up at my house.
Timeline for completion went over schedule, not by much though but that I assume was largely due to me hounding them to get finished everyday as things were not on schedule.
Very poor communication from all parties of the business. Calls wouldn’t be returned for days on end, scheduled meet times would be pushed back without even notice wasting my time as I would sit and wait.
Even the owner Hugo was suppose to meet me for a warranty check up one day and we set up a meet time and I have since never heard back from him or any of his staff even though I have left numerous messages.
Very disappointed in the lack of professionalism. Make sure you have time to take on a second job of magazine ur own construction if u hire these guys as if u don’t, nothing will get done.
Very high priced but final turn out was good overall, minus some warranty issues which I ended up having to hire a new contractor to fix as Hugo never contacted me back.
Anyone that hires these guys, beware and good luck.

I would highly recommend using a different company. E&J proved to be unreliable and unprofessional on our project, as well as our neighbors. Our job took 5 months longer than expected, we never knew when workers were coming and they demanded final payment before the job was completed. We had to continuously reach out to Josh to find out if anyone was coming to work and most of the time, no response. And, like another reviewer mentioned, we had to do all the research on plants ourselves. Overall, this was a very unpleasant experience, and we aren’t even happy with our yard. Very disappointed, to say the least.

Guy came out to the site, said he would have the estimate ready in 2 days, never heard from him again.

Josh did an excellent job. Finished ahead of schedule. Quality was outstanding. Will use him again in the future and will recommend to friends and family.
Thanks! Kerwin and Darla Burns

We contracted with E&J to plan and complete a walkway in the front of our house. The estimate was a little high, however it seemed reasonable to us considering the amount of work that was required. Josh told us that they would be able to complete the entire project within three weeks.
At times there were no workers on the site, however they progressed through the job at a reasonable pace. We gave them a set timeline that everything must have been completed and they came through for 99% of the work. The only slight hang-​up was the landscaper who had to Finnish his portion. However that delay was only one day.
Their work was outstanding and they were neat and clean, leaving the site clean for the next day.
Their design work was great and they handled all of the homeowners requirements in a professional and expedited manner.
Josh returned all of our phone calls within one day, and never refused our changes and questions.
I would highly recommend them for any hardscape and softscape work in the future.

I hired E&J to renovate our backyard (patio cover, built-​in bbq, stamped concrete, wrought iron fencing, and lighting). Here are the main points of the job:
Time frame — from start to finish the job to roughly 3 months during the peak time of work in the summer of 2014. The job ran roughly 2 – 3 weeks longer than anticipated, which in my experience with construction and remodels, is about average.
Frequency of work — when the workers showed up, things happened relatively quickly and I was impressed they could get so much done with only 2 – 3 guys. The problem was that we hired during peak time and workers were frequently sent to other jobs, leaving us with days where our backyard just sat there.
Quality of work — very good. I have no complaints whatsoever and we are happy with our product. Everything looks and functions as we expected it to, and we continue to receive compliments on our yard.
Communication — this was the issue which I communicated to Josh in a face-​to-​face conversation. There were several days where no workers would show, and I wanted answers as to why/​why not. I received no calls, texts, nor emails. I explained that lack of communication is what is giving them bad reviews here, NOT quality of work. After I got my point across, things seemed to improve greatly. As a means to make things right at the end of the job, they comped an iron gate that was improperly installed (and they fixed it), as well as gave me a free 24 gal. magnolia tree which looks beautiful.
Price — about average. I don’t feel like we got a «deal» but I don’t feel as though we were ripped off either. I walk away with a good feeling that we got what we paid for.
We have zero issues with anything that was installed. We are very happy with our yard and would recommend E&J in the future. There isn’t a business that I have ever dealt this where there were NO headaches. But it is all about the end result. Sure there were some hiccups along the way, but a good business will remedy their faults and make things right in the end, which is what E&J did.
I can’t speak to the 1-​star reviews here, but I feel that they received a bad wrap here on Unilocal,and that some (not all) of their so-​called clients were not really clients at all, but friends of competing businesses trying to slander their name (which is now very common here). I personally vouch for their business, and would be happy to speak with anyone regarding quality issues, communication, or otherwise.

Unfortunately I used E & J’s services several years ago and it is has been a headache ever since. I ran across them in Unilocal and see by the reviews not much has changed. They did not complete the work they were paid to do, took shortcuts, and overcharged me. Hugo also hung up on me when I attempted to call and resolve things. Completely unprofessional although his son Ivan was considerate enough to return one of the calls. I had to have another company come in to fix the sprinkler system they installed-​it would not stop running, they did not extend the sprinklers to a planter area that was discussed which had sprinklers prior to their work and now has to be manually watered, they broke the corner off of an existing block planter wall, and the drainage problem I had which was the main reason I had work done, including regrading the backyard, was made worse by them. Little to no water runs to the drains they installed. Lastly, the sprinkler coverage is lacking so some areas have to manually watered too… oh well, at least I’m already out there watering the planter. But Hugo’s unprofessionalism was over the top! This is the first time I’ve posted a review, anywhere. It made that kind of impression and I work with contractors in the construction industry.

Although, I’ve not used there services, my neighbors have. This company is most inconsiderate of the neighbors of those effected from their work. They’ve left dirt, debris, dust and trash in my yard, my cars have been in constant need of washing and detailing because of them. Calls have been placed to the owner in regards to this, yet no return calls are made to show any concern. The work that they’ve done, has extended beyond the time planned, and work was began even before ever getting the required formal approval from the home association and neighbors. I’m not negating this companies skills or capabilities, but I am questioning their promptness, conscientiousness of the neighbors that are effected by their work, and considerations of those in the neighboring area.

It took E and J Landscape 7 MONTHS to put in a 13×20 pool, stamped concrete, planter walls and a BBQ. Not a very big pool and not a very big yard; but when their employees only came 1 or 2 times a week, it took 7 MONTHS. They promised that things would get done on a certain day, but that never happened. They hired an incompetent person to seal my pool coping and it looks like someone spilled oil drops all over the coping. They said they would fix it — they never did. I was suppose to have a bubbler on my water feature — they never did it. I foolishly paid them IN FULL before the job was completed, because I thought they were a competent, honest, professional company. They walked off the job before finishing it; never did a final walk thru, never made sure I was happy with the workmanship, NOTHING. I feel they stole from me because I paid for the complete job, but they did not finish the job. I would NEVER recommend E and J Landscape to anyone. I have never experienced such unprofessionalism from a company or contractor before. My pool/​backyard was to be in memory of my husband who passed away; they ruined that experience.
Lisa F.

My backyard oasis is complete! I am very happy with the work that was done by E&J Construction. I highly recommend E&J Construction for any of your outdoor construction needs! This company is prompt, courteous and very knowledgable. They have never tried to hard sell or push anything our pool didn’t need; however, they did recommend the best products and always explained why it may or may not be the best selection. E&J is family owned and operated by the Hernandez family. I had the pleasure of working, mostly, with Hugo (Dad) and Joshua (Son).
I reached out to E&J via email when I was shopping around for a construction company to build our pool/​patio (the company was on the «recommended» list for our subdivision). E&J promptly responded to my request and arrived at my home the next day. I had contacted two other companies but, E&J had a quote and printed layout back to me before the other companies even called me back! I know that E&J’s pricing is fair because I know others in my neighborhood who have hired other competitors and paid the same price as I did but, received a lot less. E&J came in on budget and the work done is simply stunning! No need to go on vacation with this yard!
This was the first time I had ever built a pool so, I trusted Josh and Hugo to make a many of the decisions for me and I am so proud of the outcome. They are not only contractor’s but, exterior designer’s! The job was completed promptly while still maintaining high standards and quality of work. The crew that worked on my home was friendly, professional, and knowledgeable. Hugo is a master landscape designer and Josh is an exceptional communicator. Hugo chose all the right plants to give our yard a tropical feel and to provide privacy from the neighbors. Josh consistently updated my husband and I as to what was happening and when.

I guess this company doesn’t need business or money. I had them come out to give me a quote on a complete backyard remodel (pool resurfacing, landscaping, rock staining, etc.) The guy told me he’d get back to me in 3 to 4 days. It has now been over 3 WEEKS, and still no quote. Not only that, but I called yesterday to find out why they hadn’t gottwn back to me and the lady at the office told me to give her a few minutes to check on it and she’d call me back, and I never got a call. I guess they just don’t need the business. Their loss will be someone else’s gain. I would not recommend this company at all. Horrible customer service.

I totally agree with the other reviewer. I do feel like they lack creativity in design but some of the people that are working for them have some good skills. Hugo is the worst communicator ever. Hugo and his children who he has working for him will even hang up when you call. He told me that my yard would be done in 3 weeks it was an easy job 3 months later it still wasn’t done. I had to hound them everyday about getting stuff done then half the stuff wasn’t even done right. They no nothing about plants. I had to do all my own research and they would just make up stuff as they went. I was very disappointed in the way they selected plants. They told me they would rototiller my yard which they never did so the old grass and trees are starting to grow back. Then my grass is supposed to be guaranteed for a year all I need it a invoice number from them. I’ve been calling non stop but they still wont give it to me.
It is so not worth your time and effort. I would go with someone else.