ok. I hope everyone is comfortable because this might take a few minutes of your time up. I am the owner and operator of Pooters. And yes, that is the nickname of our son. However please dont be rude to others since alot of people just simple refer to us by that nickname. It is a common misconception that it is our last name and we have never corrected anyone and will answer to it if called. Anyway, I dont know why Irishmen apparently has it out for myself and my business but I would be more then happy to tell what happened. When the Florida legislature recently changed and added the Florida friendly provision we were called by a friend and told about it. in simply terms it states that an HOA cannot turn down a Florida friendly or water conservation landscape. No, artificial turf is not Florida friendly but it does fall under the water conservation part. That is what both a manufacturer of turf and a lawyer told us. That being said, we started offering the turf as an option instead of just doing putting greens. We were recommended by the landscaper to the homeowner once they found out that they wanted to remove the grub infested grass and put turf in. So we met with the the homeowners to give a bid. While there we measured everything out and tried to come up with several options for coverage of the grassy areas that would be a suitable cost for the homeowner. Once we agreed upon what was to be done. The homeowner stated that they had contracted to have the landscaping done and that they were going to go to the ARC review for her so since she already had the house plans for the main landscaping that the turf would need to be included with her submittle, since we do not do any ARC review submittles as per our contract. That has to be done by the homeowner is always that information we were given. The landscaper was contacted and asked to include the necessary information and she agreed. We set a date a couple of weeks out so as to leave sufficient time for approvals and the main landscaping to be done. When we called to check in with the homeowner prior to installation, she said that the landscapers were installing their part at that time. now this is that part that I will claim fault in. We assumed that since the landscaping was being installed and when we asked the landscaper she said that everything was ok, we took her at her word and then proceeded with the job. The job was done and the homeonwer was happy. No, there is not any ridges or overlapping. Dont know what some of the other posts are refering to but yes there is a seam. That seam is what will take time and weather to disguise. It already looks better then when installed. but I will admit that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and what looks good to some may notlook good to others. So I will not argue that some people might not like to see the seam. There is actually 4 or 5 seams on the entire job, and there is only one that apparently some people are offended by.
Anyway, once the homeowner received a notification from the Villages, they contacted us and we contacted several people to question the reasoning. We were told that there was apparently NEVER any ARC review submittly for anypart of the landscaping or turf, and that the homeowner needed to do that. So I met with the homeowner provided samples and anything else that I could to them to help them at that point. And then we waited to hear back from the homewner as to what the ARC review board had to say. Apparently the homeonwers could not get ahold of the landscaper to get the necessary lists from them and ended up having to go out of town. So while gone they received a phone call from the Villages and set up an appointment once they returned home to meet what I thought was the board. The homeowner contacted us and we went with them to the meeting with samples and scientific data with regards to the drainage amounts of the turf(which we were told was the reason they didn't like the turf, ITS INABILLITY TO DRAIN SUFFICIENTLY, do you think 315+/- gallons an hour is sufficient?) as well of pictures of yards in the Villages were FULL yards had been done with multiple colored landscaping rock(also not a FLorida Friendly landscaping materials)(But does fall under the water conservation part). We knew nothing of the individual deeds that homeowners agreed to, but knew that Not all yards ( and I mean ranch homes) have sod. Supposably turf is not an approved material unless it is used for small putting greens in the rear of homes. (EVEn though I have seen some in the front yards) and NO we did not do the installs... Finally, I guess I would just like to let everyone know that we are actively trying to find a buyer for the turf in the yard. And are trying to help this homeowner out.
Also, yes, we may be a small company but we have our own crew of local people whom all take pride in what they do for a living. We have NEVER knowingly or with any intention given out false information to a detriment to our customers. We recognize that you can't make everyone happy but we try too. And we also acknowledge that not every contractor/business out there has good intentions but we have proudly served that Villagers since 1999. And will continue too for as long as they allow us to.
thank you for reading this and giving us the oppurtunity to correct the misconceptions that some had with regards to us taking advantage of someone. I will admit that supoporting each other is a wonderful thing, and being able to openly listen to both sides of the story is in my book even better.
And special thanks to our friend that told us about this post/blog tonight so that we could have a chance to comment. We didn't know anything about this site until tonight at the square, and would not have posted anything wioth regards to questions and answers if not for them.
As for Irishmen, I do not know how we have affended you, but we apologize if we did. I saw that you posted a comment in May with regards to a estimate we gave you, but I am glad that you were helped with your needs even if it wasn't through our company. Although, I have to say that we have never had the attitude you stated with regards to the villages, I have worked out there as both an a/c tech with a local company and then as a business owner myself, I respect the people, employees, and the entity of The Villages.
Thank you everyone-
The owners of Pooters
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