TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
SUBJECT:Recommendation of Andrew Bleyhl and Dexperts
We do not hesitate to recommend Andrew and Dexperts. He has now completed two projects for us and we are more than satisfied. In both instances, he not only helped us determine the most cost-effective solutions, but Andrew has a great design aesthetic, and his solutions, particularly in one instance, were quite elegant.
We live on a steep slope in a two-story house. Outside the lower level, on the side of the house facing the uphill slope, there is a large area with a deck/driveway above it. Half the area below is outside walking areas to access utilities and outdoor tools; the other half was bare-dirt hillside. Under all of that decking, there were utility pipes and exposed electrical, making any installation challenging. We received three proposals, and Andrew’s not only created aesthetic solutions we – and the other contractors – never considered, but he saved us thousands of dollars. We now have an under-deck water catchment system to prevent rainwater from falling on the path at all, so there is a dry area now, and captured rainwater is directed into French drains. The new “ceiling” is attractive, in addition to being functional. But what we particularly appreciated was that Andrew recommended, to prevent erosion of the hillside, rather than a similar under-deck system, we simply cover the exposed concrete footings and dirt with landscape fabric, and install plantings conducive to the climate and lack of light. (He is also a master gardener, so he recommended the plants to use.) The result in that area is a system that prevents soil wash at a fraction of the cost and turned an area that was an eyesore into a plant grotto, enhancing the value of our home.
Subsequently, we hired Andrew again to “fix” a poor tree installation in the front of our house, in a steep terraced garden area. We relied on his design aesthetic again for tree placement, and he achieved exactly the look we wanted, while also stabilizing the hillside and repairing damage to the irrigation system done by the original tree installers.
In the not-too-distant future, we must replace the retaining walls on the front of the house, and there is no one else we will consider hiring. In addition to finding the most cost-effective and attractive solutions to difficult problems, he has always been prompt and on-schedule, and he is just plain fun to work with. Probably the greatest testament, though, is that since Andrew completed the under-deck project, several contractors – painting, carpentry, etc. – have seen that area, and to a person, they’ve all commented on how impressive the work is, wanted to know who did it, and the general response is, “Oh, yes, Dexperts. They’re really good.”
Andrew has our permission to bring prospective clients to our home to show them the solutions he came up with and the quality of his work.