The Outdoor Living Store — Attraction in Columbus

Just had two projects completed by Outdoor Living here in New Albany at our new house. We had a paver patio, gas fire pit and sitting wall constructed in project #1....,and, Project #2 was because the paver work was so well executed we asked that they correct the shoddy workmanship of MI Homes contractors on the existing paver walkway as it was sinking, falling out of alignment and in general becoming a eye sore....especially compared to the quality work of the paver job the OL crew did connecting it to the original pavers.

The entire project was a pleasure from beginning to end. The design folks at OL gave us a plan that matched what we had envisioned. It was creative, functional and it looked great. Next, Robert did a great job as a project coordinator. He kept us informed every step of the way and when he said something was going to occur....it did. Only weather (out of their control) caused any disruption in the work plan as outlined...which is to be expected on exterior projects such as this one.

The final piece was the quality work by Paco and Rafael and their crew who worked on our project. I have had over $200 million in construction work I have managed in my career, rarely have I ever worked with such meticulous and skilled craftsmen. Every piece of the retaining wall was cut and placed perfectly as was the fire pit and several pieces of the rounded pavers that were needed to give the project a curved flow. It was impressive to see highly skilled and picky contractors take the time to do an outstanding job. Not because someone was standing over their back, but because they are just that picky and take pride in their work. It was clear from the time and effort they took to lay the project out until their final paver was laid these men are perfectionists.

I not only wouldn't hesitate to hire this exact crew again to do any paver or wall project I was embarking upon but I would NOT hire anyone else. This project exceeded my expectations which is almost impossible to do. And while the project was fairly priced from the beginning I hate to say I would have paid more for such craftsmen had I known OL was sending folks whose ancestors were clearly the Mayan builders who constructed Tulum, Coba, and Chichen Itza. They have such a knack for this work and I now have such a piece of art in my backyard now.

As far as the men fixing my MI Homes shoddy original sidewalk paver work....that was child's play for them but folks should know they pointed out that MI used improper base material (regular masonry sand) which enabled the pavers to sink and fall out of alignment after only 8 years (age of the house). Many of our neighbors paver walks are suffering from the same corner cutting tactics of MI Homes. Shame on MI Homes. For a few dollars more the job could have been done right, but they choose to not care.

I highly recommend OL and if you get Robert as a project manager and Paco's crew as your craftsmen you are truly a fortunate person. Needless to say I would highly recommend them for...

Although this place is quite a distance from where I live, it was worth the trip here. They have really nice displays of both outdoor furniture and living spaces. It appears that they may also create outdoor living spaces based on the things I saw there, but I didn't ask. I will when we are ready to extend what we have now. This place offers a lot of options for setting up your patio, deck or yard. There is at least one product line that they have only a little of on display, because they can't keep it in stock. It is popular so they sell it out of the manufacturer's catalog. This was the case for us. Prices are good, at least based on the online research we did. My only complaint is the gal my wife spoke with on the phone told her that they have samples of what we wanted on display and this was not correct. But the guy who took care of us was very helpful and worked with us so we could get what we came for. What made this particularly customer oriented was we were there right before closing and we were not rushed. In fact, great care was taken to be sure that our wants and needs...

I had contacted Mr. Stacey @ Mulch in the morning of my day off of vacation to check if they had 2 cords of firewood available for delivery. Stacey indicated they did not have that quantity available. However she noted they were scheduled to receive a load from their supplier that day and would call me upon its' delivery but the driver may have had his schedule filled by then. Early afternoon Stacey courteously phoned me to informing me they've received more wood. The driver had his daily schedule filled by that time and knowing 2 cords of wood is quite the pile when dumped off she pulled a string or two allowing the delivery to occur so I could indicate to the driver the exact spot for the small mountain of wood. Great service by her!! The firewood was split and cut according to what they indicated. It was a real joy to see that I did not have to use my log splitter to reduce the diameter or a chain saw to cut the down the length. Mr. Mulch seems to have gained a loyal firewood...