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I contracted Merced to install an irrigation system and paid in full on September 12. In the weeks that followed, the system repeatedly broke and leaked, requiring me to locate issues and hand-water plants while arranging repairs. I notified the company and, as of October 5, stopped receiving responses. Mid-project I raised concerns that the work wasn’t being performed correctly and was assured it would be fixed and covered by a six-month warranty. Despite that, the system continued to leak—twice more after October 5. A second irrigation company inspected the installation and reported: Control valves were not installed in the order we agreed. The system lacked a proper backflow prevention device, which they advised is required for compliance in Texas. Although Merced stated he is licensed in Texas, he has not provided a license number despite multiple requests. Given the repeated failures, lack of response, and the issues identified by another professional, I’ve tried to request a refund from both Thumbtack and Merced. This experience has cost me significant time and money.
Merced and his team did a great job removing some trees from my property. I would highly recommend their services!
Update: 10/22/25
Merced and his team installed a new walkway for us and again did an amazing job. They worked around a few issues we had with tree roots (which I really appreciated!) and even came back out to spay down some rock glue at my request. 100% would recommend them to anyone needing landscaping work done 😊
Pains me to write this but I have no other recourse as the owner (Merced) continues to string me along and not follow up on his word to send someone out to fix my lawn.
In early July I hired Merced and his crew to to lay down weed barrier, make adjustments to the trim, remove a few shrubs, and reuse the xeriscaping rocks from one section of the yard to backfill another area. The previous owners didn’t lay down quality weed barrier (and in some areas didn’t lay it down at all) so weeds were growing everywhere through the rocks giving the yard an ugly, unkempt look.
The main thing I wanted Merced and his crew to do was to create a system in which weeds would have a hard time growing. I would understand if we had a few weeds here and there but now a little over a month later, and $4,250 spent, the yard looks no different than before, and weeds are back everywhere.
The main reason why is because his guys didn’t clean the mud or plant matter off the rocks, and just dumped them down on top of the newly placed weed barrier, thinking everything would be fine. I noticed some bits of mud in the rocks, but didn’t connect the dots until after I’d already paid him shortly after the work was completed.
In addition to this, my green bin has been missing ever since they came, forcing me to ask the city for another one. I don’t have concrete evidence that Merced’s guys stole the bin, but they were definitely using it and it has been gone ever since. Merced claims he checked his shop for it but that doesn’t mean that his guys take it and hide this from him.
Worst of all, when they were here they did something that caused a massive amount of water to pour out onto the street, costing me an unknown amount of money. They wrapped up work on the 6th of July and I noticed the water pouring out to the street the morning of the 7th. Not sure if they damaged one of the irrigation lines or what happened, but I had to find the right area and shut off the water at the box.
In addition to all the above, they did a shoddy job in some areas and left junk behind. The trim doesn’t sit properly in some areas because rocks weren’t cleared from underneath them. They buried cut off pieces of metal under the rocks thinking I wouldn’t notice them. They left small but noticable piles of rocks in the grass, which would’ve damaged the lawn mower and sent rocks flying if I hadn’t told them to go back and clean it up. They left muddy handprints all along my siding and retaining wall. They cut corners with the weed barrier, and I can feel rocks underneath it in some areas.
Overall, it has been a very poor experience and I cannot recommend anyone to go with North Pearl until he makes it right with existing customers and improves quality of work. It saddens me because I really liked his vision for the lawn when we first met.
They came out the same day as my request to fix a broken sprinkler system. They were professional and attentive to keeping the yard intact around the areas of concern. I have had no issues with it since.
On a separate day they trimmed a large tree in the front yard and treated the trunk to prevent disease. It looks lovely. I am so pleased this company is one I can trust to be timely and to do an excellent job each time.
Merced and his team did an amazing job laying sod down for my house here in Austin! The grass & job looks amazing. They were fast, worked with us off our budget, and was extremely kind & knowledgable. We are so appreciative of them!
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