Waterloo Outdoor Design Build

We've had such an amazing experience with Waterloo that after we completed our first project with them we immediately reached out to them for a second project. I highly recommend reaching working with Waterloo for your project. Not only are they just pleasant to work with they are efficient, considerate, humble, talented and the value you get from what you spend is fantastic. We love our first project.

I would not recommend Waterloo to anyone. Waterloo has failed to assume responsibility for their failure to provide a design that fits within the scope established. While we did receive a design, the cost of installation was more than double what we told Marian our budget was. We were given the excuse "scope creep can get out of hand quickly." The scope of our project has minimal adjustments, certainly not enough to cause scope creep to account for the cost. What we asked to add was a single planter, a speaker and projector, minor additional lighting, and an additional 530 square feet of turf. Certainly not enough adjustments to account for an additional $30,000 in costs. Additionally, at no point in the design phase did Marian indicate to us that the scope of our project would not fit within the budget. Nor were we informed that the requested additions would result in us going out of budget. Marian and the team at waterloo are not taking any responsibility for their failure to provide a design that was within the scope/budget established at the begin of the project, nor for their responsibility to advise along the way that the asks (again, which were minor) were likely pushing our project beyond our budget. Marian communicated that "It is not possible for me to know the costs of a project as we work through ideas and options together." However, Marian is hired as an industry designer who should have a realistic understanding of what something should cost. After all, what is the purpose of providing a budget if it is not possible for you to know the costs and if your design will fit within that budget? While I certainly don't expect you to be able to know exactly what the cost will be, providing a design that is more than double the proposed budget is unacceptable for a professional. This company cannot be trusted to provide a design that is executable within your scope/budget, and they will refuse to take responsibility. Avoid at all costs, unless budget is not a factor.

I do not recommend hiring Waterloo Outdoor Design Build. Our experience with Marian (Owner) and the team was bad from start to finish. Their price point is high, so we expected a high-quality, accurate design output. We didn’t get it. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, their contract puts the financial risk completely on their client and offers no recourse for addressing low quality or inaccurate deliverables later (a lesson learned for us). They required payment for all services up front before their design work started and did not return phone calls when issues with their design were encountered later after install work started. After we made it clear that work had stopped because of the flawed design, they sent us their online calendar in email (instead of returning multiple voicemails) and said we could schedule a virtual meeting about one month out for a project recap. They took no responsibility for their error and were not willing to work with us to correct a problem resulting from their design. We have never been treated this poorly by a service provider. We spent several weeks working with Waterloo to master plan our site. They made a site visit to take numerous pictures and discuss our vision at the beginning. Unfortunately, after multiple design reviews, it didn’t seem that they used many of the pictures and rather relied on two-dimensional architecture plans which were outdated and didn’t take vertical space into consideration. We informed them of these discrepancies and confirmed what we wanted to see before their work started during the initial site visit. Evidently, they forgot because we had to remind them repeatedly throughout. We raised numerous concerns throughout the process because certain areas weren’t designed correctly. Despite our multiple requests to use the pictures and input we provided from the site visit to enhance their design and make it accurate, they seemed to ignore our feedback and deliver less than expected results at each touchpoint in the process. Supposedly they sent someone out again, but we never saw them, and we didn't see an improved design later. We had to repeat the same feedback multiple times at the different touchpoints, and they did not visit the site again to confirm anything they designed, despite our multiple requests to do so. Eventually we were exhausted by the process and had already paid them up front, so we felt that we had to accept what they gave us as a final design, which was not worth the money we paid in our opinion. In fairness, they finally addressed some of the feedback. Then, due to the winter storms in TX and related home repairs, we didn’t start working with an installer until a few months later and, when we did, ran into additional design flaws that ended up costing us and the installer additional rework time and expense to fix them (hardscapes and planter bed materials and labor). We reached out to Marian and they wouldn't and still haven't returned our phone calls.

It was really difficult to get a landscaping company to chat with me about my ideas for my yard because of the scope (small) of my project. Waterloo, however, did Zoom with me and explained to me options for my project. I really appreciate that Waterloo took the time to meet with me and give me options

We moved into our newly built home in Round Rock in 2017. Our son recommended Marian who did their landscaping in their backyard in 2018. We are so pleased we did! My Dad (95) lives with my husband and me. He moved here from San Diego and he missed his beautiful lush backyard. Above all... Marian was such a kind human. And a great listener. Dad has dementia and he was a bit confused about the plans. So what did Marian do? She bought software and designed 3D colored plans and printed them all out for my Daddy and to say he was delighted would be an understatement!! It was a GO!! Now 2 and a half years later we are enjoying sitting out in our beautiful limestone patio listening to our water feature... and looking at beautiful flowers, trees, shrubs, plants, vines, etc! And about once a month Dad will say “can you ask Marian what that plant is?” And so I text her! We adore her! She was very professional and on time, (as well as her crew.) I highly recommend Waterloo!

Great concept and execution. My backyard went from scrub to patio/barbecue area that completely suits my style. In the first stages of design I was given many options - many of which I hadn't thought of - and they worked with me throughout the whole process to make sure that I was happy with the finished product. And I am!

I recently moved to Austin and purchased a duplex (that needed lots of work) on the east side with the intention of fixing it up and renting out one of the units. After several months of working on my own and realizing I bit of way more than I could chew, Waterloo came to the rescue and saved my yard and my tired hands. I had a few ideas of what I wanted, which Marian and Christina were able to take and incorporate into an incredible design. The customer service was wonderful, with Christina even stopping by the house every other day or so to check on progress and making sure I was happy with the work. In the end our landscape and new fencing turned out beautifully and definitely added the extra boost of curb appeal I needed to rent out the unit. Thank you!

Waterloo Landscape Design Build did an excellent job with my property improvements from cradle to grave. As a frugal individual, I had difficulty choosing a business to do all the work I wanted done. After dealing with 7 different entities, I finally decided on Waterloo Landscape Design Build. They did not provide the least expensive quote, nor were they the most expensive, but they were the most professional by far. Marian, the organizer of all, coordinated all activities with the utmost efficiency. Excellent communication skills! She kept me in the loop when things were going ahead of schedule, and she also let me know when delays were expected…primarily due to inclement weather. Marian was great at listening to all of my wants, then helped me decide where to sacrifice some of those wants to get as much done as possible to keep within my budget. Even though I had to sacrifice a couple of the wants for now, I have a good foundation for the future work to occur. The lead designer, Christina, did an excellent job taking my feedback into consideration when putting together the graphical design of the project. Christina turned my outdoor space into an actual living space. I now have a trellis with hanging baskets with beautiful plants and succulents. One side of the trellis has lattice that provides a structure for the rose vine and provides additional privacy from my neighbors as well as provides shade from the sun as it sets in the West. My deck is absolutely wonderful! For my outdoor kitchen, the crew was able to take my existing stainless-steel grill and put in a converter kit for it to run off of natural gas instead of propane. Now I never have to get propane refills for my grill, which is marvelously incorporated into the granite countertop. Off the back of the deck, opposite the trellis, is my new sauna that they constructed of redwood and cedar. There is a path with limestone that was laid down to get me there safely. The additional drip irrigation that was put in around my house will keep my ground stable so I won’t have foundation problems since I asked for most of my yard to either be deck or zero-scaped with cactus and beautiful granite boulders. I can’t be happier with how it all turned out.

We really enjoyed working with Marian and her crew at Waterloo. They were professional and easy to work with from start to finish. After seeking estimates from several landscapers in the South Austin area, we decided to contract with Waterloo. We're very pleased with the result. Marian and her team were friendly, responsive, creative, on time and on budget. We didn't have a lot of money to shift from grass to Xeriscaping in our front yard, but the Waterloo team conceived of and executed an attractive, clean and functional design that met our budget and impressed our neighbors. They even followed-up with some replants of a couple of flowers/plants that didn't do so well initially. Highly recommended.

Working with the team at Waterloo Outdoor Design Build has been very streamline. We have developed processes together to ensure everything runs smoothly from start to finish on each project we have worked on together. From the owner to the team, they have all been great to work with. Thank you for your business!

Waterloo Outdoor Design Build just completed an amazing project for us! We just installed a pool, and Marian and her design team came in and mapped out a gorgeous Ipe deck, outdoor kitchen and Pergola cover to complete our space. We have a very contemporary, lush landscape with plantings that create our own little oasis and privacy in our backyard. Thank you, Waterloo! I highly recommend.

This Company really values customer service and has a team of professionals. We have been working with Waterloo for years now and highly recommend them, highly professional, and experienced and trusted. Give them a chance and you will not be disappointed.

Maryann and Waterloo did a wonderful and beautiful job for me. the pergola is gorgeous, the water feature is soothing and relaxing and the landscaping is out of this world,drop dead fantastic! they created an oasis that i enjoy daily and look forward to spending many hours with family and friends in peaceful relaxation and fun!

I have had the pleasure of working with the Waterloo team for years and have always been pleased with their level of passion, knowledge and professionalism. Their plant designs and plant choices are both fresh and appropriate for each clients special needs on the job. Communication and customer satisfaction are very important along with designing for the environment.

Marion and her crew were absolutely fantastic. Marion designed an extremely low maintenance landscaping plan and beautiful deck that we now practically live on. She really listened to what we wanted and came up with a great plan for us. The best part was that she didn't try to up sell us or overdo it in her design. She kept things simple and beautiful. The team was amazing and got the entire deck and landscaping done in a week, even working right after a hurricane! I highly recommend Waterloo. We couldn't be happier.