West Hills Masonry

So, we recently bought a house in Irvine and, of course, wanted to make the backyard amazing. After searching around, we found West Hills Masonry on Porch, and wow, are we glad we did! From the first meeting, it just felt right. The team really got what we wanted – they weren’t pushy or trying to upsell us, which was a huge relief. We went for a stone patio and a fire pit, and it turned out better than we could have imagined! They were super friendly, always on time, and made sure to keep us in the loop every step of the way. I was especially impressed with the little details, like how they helped us choose the perfect stone to match the vibe we were going for. Honestly, we can’t stop spending time out there now, and our friends are obsessed with how it turned out. If you’re looking to give your outdoor space a serious glow-up, I’d 100% recommend West Hills Masonry. These guys know their stuff and are just awesome to work with!

Amazing experience with this company. Friendly staff, very knowledgeable, helpful every step of the way. Really can’t go wrong with such a reputable name.

We used West Hills Masonry to turn our front yard into a hardscape patio area. They were impressive upon their first meeting and in initial communications. They had overall great reviews online and presented us with their fancy folder of referrals. We were assured that they wanted us to “be satisfied 100%” and said they’d work with us on all the details as we go so we went with them. We were told “from start to finish it would be on the job for no longer than 2 weeks.” Somehow 2 weeks turned into 9+ months. Rain delays happened at the beginning, and we can’t fault them for that. When our front patio cement was finally poured (2 months after the project was scheduled to start) it was incredibly sloped. We had been told there would be a “slight slope” for drainage, but this slope was over 12 inches across the front of our small lot. I had expressed concerns at how the slope looked the day before they poured, as was assured “all those things will be taken care of.” We were then coerced into paying thousands of dollars more to correct the slope issue. From the time the patio cement was finally done (4 months after the start date), it took an additional 5+ months for them to finish the details along the way. They would fix 1 problem, say the project was done and we had to keep reminding them of the other issues still left unfixed. The communication between us and the Project Manager was often not passed along to the crew working on-site and the Project Manager was rarely there, and there were many issues because of that lack of communication. At times, I felt like I had to babysit them. I also had to make countless changes to my personal schedule to accommodate them. The project manager would make promises of what work would be done when, and the day would pass with the work still undone. One day we had a scheduled meeting and he failed to show up or give notice that he was cancelling our appointment. In the initial contract, we agreed on a price for vinyl fencing and gates. There was a miscommunication between West Hills and the fencing companies and it ended up costing more. West Hills tried to charge us saying that we had changed our minds on the style of fencing. We have text proof that this is not the case as we had sent the pictures of the fence we wanted before starting. It got so bad that the 1st Project Manager was pulled from the job and a 2nd Project Manager was put on in his place. He seemed to know much better how to do things (since he was actually there working more than the 1st Project Manager. Part of our design included inlaid shells and we were told by the 1st Project Manager he could make it happen (part of his countless promises and under-deliveries). It did not turn out looking like we wanted it to at all. When we talked to the 2nd Project Manager after the fact, he said that there was no way they could have done what we wanted. We wish someone would have told us this earlier so we could have changed our designs. Another part of our design included stepping-stones with handprints in them. We waited around for hours to make the handprints (missing meetings, school, and naptimes). When they finally said it was time, the cement was so hard that the handprints are barely noticeable. The cement has nice looking saw-cut lines. Then someone must have dropped the saw or something, because there is a 2.5 inch ding. They filled it in to “repair” it, but it still stands out. Our initial design (that they had from before we decided to go with them) showed 5 drip lines along the house. These were forgotten until after they already poured the cement and were never installed. There is potential for a slab leak in the future as we do not know what happened to the line they were supposed to be installing. One of the drip lines installed was never connected properly and had to be hodgepodge put together to work. It doesn’t match the other 3. We’ve asked them to replace it, but they say that the way they have it is “industry standard” and will be fine. We just want to know why the other 3 are different, and why we can’t have a cohesive overall look. Their website says, “Our award-winning service is your guarantee! Let us prove it...we won't let you down.” The only thing they have proved to us is that they are full of talk on their website, but unconcerned to actually make sure their customers needs are met. We attempted to meet with the owner to amicably discuss our issues and he said his Project Manager would take care of things. We emailed them to discuss our issues and concerns and come up with a way to meet in the middle. The owner was anything but helpful saying that the work has been completed to industry standards and we needed to pay them or they will put a lien on our home. I would highly recommend using a different company for your masonry needs.