California Coast Contracting

Working with California Coast Contracting has been an unmitigated disaster and we have retained attorneys to take legal proceedings against this company, both owners, and the license holder.  We have also submitted a complaint to the Contractors State Licensing Board, plus submitted a claim against the company's bond (and was told we're not the only ones doing so).Having purchased a new house on a bare dirt lot, we selected California Coast Contracting (CCC) to do our landscaping.  We worked with Chris Cox on the overall design and once we received city permits and HOA approval of our plans, CCC started work.  Some work was done by their in-house crew, some by subcontractors brought in by CCC.Although things seemed to go well at first, mistakes started to be made by their in-house crew.  There seemed to be a general lack of supervision, so a number of tasks would need to be redone.  Then work done by the in-house crew failed a city inspection and work stopped for a couple of months.  Eventually, the other owner (Tom Sanford) personally took over.  He had his crew re-do a small amount of the work, just for it to fail city inspection a second time.  CCC's crew then collected their tools and totally abandoned our project.  After twelve months our back yard looks like a war zone, with a partially built pool, unusable outdoor kitchen, building materials and trash where a lawn should have been.Then we had worse news.  Although we had been paying CCC's progress invoices on time and in full,  several of their suppliers and sub-contractors contacted us to say they had not been paid by CCC and were now coming after us for payment.  One even put a mechanics lien on our house.  Between what the sub-contractors and suppliers are owed, plus what we'll need to pay another contractor to re-do CCC's inspection-failing work, we've lost over $125,000.  This is money that we had already paid to CCC, but now we have to pay it a second time (thus the lawsuit and other legal actions we're having to take).
Apr 25th, 2022

I strongly do not recommend this company because they installed our cement throughout our backyard and scratched it all up by their workers dragging hoses and power washers over our cement before it was dried.  We told the owner numerous times to come look at it and that it was ruined and he refused to come see it.  We called for two months for it to be fixed and then told us there was now a new owner Tom.  We had to beg him to do it and we wanted our money back plus demo for needing to re do it.  After he realized we weren't going away he wanted to redo the job, but we did not want someone who did such a poor job in the first place.  Tom the new owner said he was would fix our electrical that stopped working and never did.  They broke our $450 dollar handle on our gate and never replaced.  They left our new white stucco sides of our house muddy and dirty and never cleaned it.  We asked them to return our money and in Chris' words, he told me if he wanted he could tell me to go pound sand (I have it in writing on my text).  We asked them to address it by last Friday but we heard nothing so we are given no other choice to proceed legally.  Beware!!!
Apr 10th, 2022

Calif Coast Contracting did an outstanding job on a custom design concrete project we had . We needed a concrete pad done for an outdoor bbq tiki island being delivered . We needed a gas line and electrical ran under the pad . We had the design . We needed it executed . They did exactly what we had on paper . Sean was always personable and caring . He often helped me with my disabled mother when I needed to meet with him. He stopped by the entire time to make sure the job was going as planned . He addressed every concern . He got the right colored concrete we used before . He even referred us to the rock materials yard to get the rock we wanted as a border . He then picked it up after it was selected and the install was perfect . Even months after the job was done , Sean asked how I was doing and how my mother was getting along . He was also kind to my dogs who wanted to see what was going on . I have zero regrets using Sean and his crew .
Sep 8th, 2020

We used California Coast to put a new Concrete patio in our backyard. Around 700 sq. ft. They worked when they said they would, and they were always on time and committed. It was refreshing compared to typical contractors who start a project and then take forever to complete it. On top of that, they were extremely responsive, courteous, and professional. The crew that came to our house each day were great. Not only did they work hard, but their work was exemplary. We love the new patio, and are very glad we chose California Coast.
Sep 3rd, 2020

We read a funny review that said if you were looking at yelp for recommendations on a backyard contractor/landscaper, you didn't get any good recommendations from your friends and family. In our case, this was partially true. We got around 3-4 quotes from qualified contractors/landscapers, and a recommendation from family. The 3-4 quotes from qualified contractors/landscapers were a joke; one quoted something like 60% above the verbal estimate, the other stopped responding when we had a few snowball questions on the estimate, and one literally told us to put plants on top of a concrete foundation. I think what he meant was to let some weeds grow in between the pavers. Lastly, the worst was the family recommendation, which you'd think would not be the case. Not all was lost, however, since some design ideas from discussing with the first few contractors filtered into our final design for our backyard, which I would recommend if you are the DIY type on coming up with a landscape design.We made an appointment with Will to come by to discuss. He was prompt, courteous and made a real effort to get to know us and hear out our ideas/plans while making some light recommendations of his own. It also helped that their bid was within our budget and very competitive. When we were close to pulling the trigger on selecting CCC, we noticed a discrepancy on licensing that we needed clarified. Will did no hesitate to put us in touch with Chris, the owner, who clarified what we noticed immediately, and appreciated the forthrightness. We were put on the list to begin 3-4 weeks after signing and making the deposit payment.Sean was assigned as our PM and we were glad we got him. Not only was he on top of every aspect of the project, but he steered us into making some better decisions, and ultimately, save us a little money in the process. Texts, emails, etc were all returned very fast, and I didn't ever feel like I was chasing Sean or CCC to get anything done (which seems to be a common thing in many contractor/landscaper reviews I read). Some notable things that I'll highlight during the process and in closing the project out were:- That CCC started and ended mostly on time. - That CCC allowed us to use our own design, help refine it through suggestions, and didn't try and take any shortcuts with what we wanted.- That CCC was flexible in allowing us to choose some of the materials (pavers, lighting) and did not limit our options. - That CCC worked w/ us to add or remove line items, well after the contract was signed, to allow flexibility in the project for things we did not use or things we needed that we didn't factor in.- That CCC provided written contract changes, or agreed through emails, etc when changes did occur to keep the paperwork straight, so there wouldn't be any misunderstandings later.- When there was a mistake made in the pricing of one of the contract line items, that was in our favor, CCC honored the price agreed and did not try and upcharge me for the difference. - That CCC cleaned up, put away, and were generally consummate professionals while onsite.We love our backyard, and we are very glad we went with CCC in the end. One other thing also: these guys do massive, large dollar value jobs. But they also did ours, and they didn't look down on us or treat us any differently than the million dollar jobs they may have been working at the same time. Now, that's respect and commitment. I would recommend Chris, Sean and the CCC team for any job, big or small, and they would be the first ones we'd call if we have future home improvement projects. Thanks again guys.Side note: Don't be a Danielle Downer below, and be realistic on what can and can't be done, especially given timelines around holidays. Side Side Note: The plants were bought at H&H Nursery, the planting of the plants were done by Armstrong Garden Center of LB (off 10th street), and the mulch/stones were supplied by SiteOne Supply (in Los Alamitos). All other items were done by CCC (concrete, pavers, electrical, irrigation, etc.).
Aug 29th, 2021