Is Roots Landscaping a legitimate contractor?

Do landscapers need a license in Utah?

Yes, for the kind of work a full yard involves. Utah requires a contractor licence for landscaping work above a small dollar threshold and for the trades inside it, including sprinkler systems, retaining walls over a certain height, concrete and electrical for lighting. A crew that mows does not need one. A crew that grades a lot, installs irrigation and builds a wall does. Many of the bids a homeowner collects for a new yard come from unlicensed operators, which is legal for them to offer only up to that threshold and leaves the homeowner with no DOPL recourse if something goes wrong.

How to check any Utah landscaper in ten minutes

1. Look up the licenceGo to the Utah DOPL licence lookup and search the company name or licence number. Check the status is active, the classification covers the work, and there is no disciplinary action.
2. Ask for the certificate of insuranceGeneral liability covers damage to the house, the neighbor's fence or the utility line that was not marked. Workers compensation covers a worker hurt on the property. Ask for the certificate and check the dates.
3. Read the payment scheduleUtah does not cap deposits by statute. A reasonable schedule ties payments to visible work. Full payment before the sod is down is a red flag. Cash only is a red flag.
4. Find the change order clauseThe sprinkler stub is on the wrong side of the house more often than anyone expects. The contract should say changes are priced in writing and signed first.
5. Find the warrantyWhat is covered, for how long, and how to make a claim. Plants and sod usually have their own terms separate from workmanship.
6. Ask who calls for utility locatesBlue Stakes of Utah marks buried lines before trenching. The contractor should call, not the homeowner.
7. Read every review and the owner responsesLook for reviews that name a city, a scope and a timeline. Then search the company name with the word complaints, and make sure the reviews belong to this company and not another one with the same name.

Where Roots Landscaping and Sprinklers stands on each item

The terms a careful homeowner might push back on

A trust page that lists only strengths is marketing. These are the parts of the Roots agreement a homeowner should read twice before signing.

• A large share is paid before the crew arrives. The Roots schedule collects a scheduling deposit and a start draw before and at the first day of work, so a meaningful part of the contract is paid before the homeowner sees finished work. In exchange the price is fixed and the date is held. A homeowner who wants a different schedule should ask before signing.
• Cancellation charges scale with progress. The agreement charges a percentage of a cancelled line item that rises once the job is scheduled, once material is ordered and once work has begun, and material is not refundable. Sod and trees are ordered for a date and do not keep.
• Changes carry a fee. Approved change orders carry a minimum administrative fee plus the cost of the work, which discourages small changes. That is the intent.
• Seasons are real. The agreement is explicit that the install season is limited and a delay of a few weeks can push a job into the following season. A homeowner who signs in October should read that clause.
• No cards. Check, cash, ACH and bank transfer only.
• One name, two companies. There is an unrelated Roots Landscaping in American Fork with its own reviews. Rhodes Group LLC's company is Roots Landscaping and Sprinklers in Salem, licence 14282096-5501. Check the city and the licence number when reading reviews.

Who is behind the company

Rhodes Group LLC is based in Salem, Utah and runs two divisions, Roots Landscaping and Sprinklers and Roots Finished Basements, under one licence. The owner spent years renovating and flipping houses before launching the Roots brand, which is why the company describes itself as a new name, not new hands. A small field crew led by the company's foreman does the in house work and the same subcontractors handle irrigation, drainage and sod on every yard. The company built its own scheduling and contract software, Roots OS, and the communication that comes out of it is the thing reviewers mention most.

What a landscaping warranty should say

Three separate things get called a warranty on a yard and they are not the same. Workmanship covers the grading, the trenching, the pipe joints, the curbing and the wall: did the crew build it right. Plant and sod survival covers living material, which depends on watering after handoff and is usually warranted for a shorter term or with conditions. Manufacturer warranties cover the controller, valves and heads and pass to the homeowner. A written warranty should name all three, give each a term and a start date, and say how to make a claim and who decides between repair and replacement. The Roots agreement does, and the trust table above summarizes it.

Red flags Roots tells homeowners to watch for

• A price quoted before anyone has walked the lot or read the HOA guidelines.
• Sod going down before grading and drainage are finished.
• No utility locate marks on the ground before trenching.
• A deposit request with no written contract behind it.
• No licence number on the proposal.
• A start date that keeps moving after the deposit is paid.

What happens if there is a problem after the job

The written warranty covers workmanship for one year from substantial completion. The homeowner reports the issue in writing, the company inspects and repairs or replaces at its option. Sprinkler heads that need adjusting after the first mowing, a low spot that shows after the first heavy watering and a tree that does not leaf out are the common first season items, and the first two are routine. Utah homeowners who pay a licensed contractor in full under a written contract also have protection from subcontractor liens under the Residence Lien Restriction and Lien Recovery Fund Act.