Blue Collar Scholars Landscaping and Construction in Bethesda

We used to have a muddy backyard but now we dont thanks to Blue collar scholars. I really appreciate the teams hard work throughout the winter to get the work done. Big thanks to Emilio and his crew!

This company really knows their are stuff. Especially with all of the rules and regulations in DC. My aunt had three different contractors try to tell her that she could build a retaining wall in the front yard however, the estimator from BCS showed all of the rules and regulations that needed to be followed in order to do it properly.

Construction crew was FABULOUS!

The entire team at Blue Collar Scholars is professional, kind, and knowledgeable. They were fantastic to work with on everything from navigating permits, design, and materials. Would (and will) work with them again!

It was easy to schedule a consult and then the eventual work, and everyone we interacted with from their office staff to the lawn workers were attentive and courteous. And they made our very unruly backyard BEAUTIFUL! from start to finish, a five star experience.

The work and customer service were both excellent. We will definitely be returning for any other work we need. Thank you!

Had them do some landscaping and hardscaping on our property. They were reasonably priced and very responsive. Great value and professionalism.

The Blue Collar Scholar team did a wonderful job cleaning up our yard and landscaping. We ll be coming back to them for our next landscaping project.

BCS has been doing our lawn care for a couple years, in addition to some hardscaping. They are reliable and do an excellent job- I don t have to worry about the lawn or plants at all, it s effortless. Which is exactly what I need!

Blue Collar did an excellent job, I highly recommend them and will definitely use them for future jobs.

Unfortunately, I have to recommend you look elsewhere for landscaping needs. The initial process was solid, estimator came out, did a great job asking questions, got the bids back and followed up. When I emailed a few question back, I learned the estimator was no long with the company. The new estimator asked to come back out to visit and check the bid, he scheduled and no-showed three times. He finally showed, verified the bid, and I made the mistake of sticking with them for the project. Since then is has been poor communications, several missed start/complete dates over last month and this month, and last week they stated theyd be starting the project on Monday. No-showed and no communications until Thursday when they emailed and stated the weather was in the way and theyd be getting to the job the following Wed. So I have now asked for a refund as I made a deposit seven weeks ago and theyve not managed to get the project done. They were very polite in the email reply to asking for my deposit back, so I anticipate that will not be an issue. I cant recommend them for a project.

Super happy with the work done! Sam came, did a site visit and came up with a game plan for our drainage job. Over the next month they completed the three stages of our project EXACTLY how they said they would. Highly recommend!

I have pretty mixed feelings about this company. While at the end of the day Im fine with the work they did, the process of working with this company with frustrating and difficult on multiple levels. Their communication was very, very poor - the project manager would tell me the crew was coming, only to have nobody ever show-up (and this was after I skipped meetings downtown so that I could be home when they came). I had to chase down the project manager constantly (as it was pretty rare that she would ever pro-actively reach out to me) to find out when/if the crew was coming, get answers to questions, etc. I should have known communication was probably not this companys strength when the first time I reached out to them, they were pretty dismissive. Additionally, I had problems with their finance department that could have been solved with a phone call - and yet nobody from their finance department could be bothered to make that phone call. It was a simple issue, with a simple solution - that Blue Collar made significantly worse by apparently not wanting to engage in any conflict resolution. Again, the actual work product is basically fine, and the crew themselves that do the actual work are fine. But I probably would be unlikely to do business with this company again due to how frustrating it was to work with their business side.

Blue Collar Scholars has served us very well for many years for landscaping and hardscaping. Recently, they built gates at our home for kids and dogs, a pad for a shed, and are working on the patio and landscaping as well. Their crews are very hard working and professional and their management is diligent and responsive. The quality of work is second to none. Highly recommend them!

I used Blue Collar Scholars tree removal service. They were fabulous! They communicated about when they would come, did a great job, and cleaned up afterwards. The whole project was a breeze. I used this project to test the company out--based on the positive experience I had, I would recommend them to friends and use them again in the future.

This company saved us from a terrible experience with a drainage and erosion company in northern Virginia. Our whole basement flooded and we had no idea what to do. The other company denied any wrong doing after messing up the grade of our yard and we were left helpless. A neighbor recommended BCS to take a look and they knew exactly how to solve the issue right away. Now, I haven t had water for over two years and I have a brand new patio and deck thanks to BCS and their amazing team. Thank you!

Called to get a quote for a project and they said it would cost $500 to generate a quote even though their website says Free Quotes. Would not recommend.

This company has fantastic knowledge of the home inside and out. I had them over for a drainage job and they asked if I have ever thought about a screened in porch. Too funny because I was about to move forward on an option. I allowed them to give me a price and I ended up saving $20,000 using them. Now I have a fantastic outdoor living space, a dry basement and a very, very happy partner!

I have been using (and am quite a fan of) Blue Collar Scholars services for quite a few years now. Every time they come to complete spring cleanup, lay mulch, powerwash, repair and replace faulty stonework, they always exceed expectations! The crew is always courteous, friendly and professional! You can see that every one of them takes pride in their work and I am the lucky beneficiary of that! I Highly recommend them for all your landscaping projects!

We enlisted Blue Collar Scholars to address drainage issues within our rear and side yards, in addition to a general yard clean up and a new patio. The finish product is fantastic and we are beyond pleased. The new rock lined swale and the improved grading provided a solution as promised at a very fair cost. We very much appreciated their teams tidiness and attention to detail with the new brick hardscape and are looking forward to working with them on future projects!

They did a fantastic job with installation of our patio and walkway. Did a great job matching the pavers that had already been installed. The work was neat and the service was exceptional. We were very pleased with the work. Highly suggest working with this company. The bid process was also completely transparent.

I have to say that I am happy with the entire process Blue collar has provided during our renovation. I know they have their own architect, however, I had one of my friends create architectural drawings for an addition, and a separate screened in porch. It was very surprising how fast and detailed they were able to give me an estimate compared to other contractors. I even had two companies never give me a quote even though the job was very big in my opinion. When reviewing all estimates with my husband, blue collar became the obvious choice. They just seemed as though they knew what they were doing and outlined all possibilities and pricing if we were to run into certain issues in the future of the job. The job remained on schedule except inspection issues that were county related. We had a short punch list at the end of the job which blue collar attended to efficiently. I have recommended this company to a couple of neighbors and relatives, and I will continue to do so.

From start to finish, the communication and professionalism of this company was far better than any other contractor we have worked with. They are super responsive and do what they say they are going to do which, in my opinion, is the most important factor in hiring somebody.

The Blue Collar Scholar team worked a miracle on our back yard. We recently purchased a home with a backyard that was basically a swamp after any rainstorm. The yard was a bowl with no clear drain path for the water without cutting through a neighbors lawn. We were also working within the rules of an HOA. Matt and Gustavo laid out a plan using rock swales and dry wells along the back edge of our lawn. They completed this work in just a couple of days. Not only does it look amazing, it also worked! No more pooling water in our backyard, even after two weeks of rain. If you have water drainage issues in your back yard, do not just pour dirt on it. Invest in a solution that actually works. I recommend Blue Collar Scholars for any of your lawn drainage needs.

We ve worked with Blue Collar Scholars on multiple yard projects (landscaping, patio construction, yard drainage) and they ve been excellent. Great attention to detail, very thorough and great about cleanup after a job as well. Would not hesitate to work with them in the future.

The design portion of the job went really well and we loved the whole team. We ended up doing a four seasons room, a deck on top of that, and renovating our bathroom at the same time. The county was a little slow with permitting, however, I completely understood the process as laid out to me in the beginning.

The Blue Collar Scholars did an amazing job, changing our front yard from an overgrown pachysandra nightmare to a beautifully sodded lawn, edged with liriope and boxwoods. To accomplish this task, it took six men with pickaxes working for five hours to remove all the pachysandra roots before they could even begin preparing the soil for sod. Whenever they encountered a root, and there were many left from a maple tree that had been removed a few years before, the crew worked to remove the root to provide a better surface for the sod. Despite the heat and the heavy labor, it was clear that the crew was having a good time working with one another: we heard repeated laughter as one crew member regaled the others. All of this occurred prior to the addition of good quality soil and rototilling to further enhance the chances of success with the sod. On the following day, the crew dug up numerous huge mounds of liriope and several boxwoods in such a way that they could be successfully replanted. The expertise of the crew in landscaping was evident in several ways. When we asked Emilios advice with respect to repositioning of the boxwoods and liriope, he consulted with his crew and then suggested how to arrange the bushes and plants that would be both artistically pleasing and prevent future problems with drainage. Rather than lay sod such that it ended in a straight line under the bushes and along the side of the yard, the crew gently curved the sod so that it flowed naturally into the side yard and along the boxwoods. In addition to our neighbors who watched the progress as our yard was transformed, numerous passersby have commented on how great our yard looks. It was a real joy working with Blue Collar Scholars and we will keep them in mind for future projects. In particular, we would like to commend Oscar, who discussed the project with us, and Emilio, who implemented the plans with his industrious crew.

I am absolutely IN LOVE with this company!!! We have used this company for years for our landscaping needs and had no idea that they did renovations and exterior wall work. I will save you the details, however, I had another contractor completely messed up a job and BCS seamlessly stepped in and fixed everything. I couldnt believe that the last person left! I was super nice to them too!

Its incredible to see people posting poor reviews for this company. They must be first time home buyers or people who have never used contractors before! Contractors status quo is to get into a job and then up the price or not even do the job correctly. My family has been using this company for years and never had a quality or scheduling issue. Just wanted to leave that here!!! :)

This outfit designed a screened in porch and patio system for us. Out of the estimates we got via Yelp they just seemed like they knew what they were doing. Especially with the whole DC permitting process. One company told us we didn t even need a permit! Anyways, this organization was outstanding to work with and Im pretty sure 2 of our neighbors called for estimates too.

Dude driving around in tesla around wheaton drives like an @$$.

I recently received an estimate from Blue Collar. They came out quickly... I ended up missing them but they recorded a quick video during their walk around and they provided multiple quotes to select frame. Great positive attitude and friendly to work with so far.

We hired the Blue Collar Scholars to do a massive clean-up and trim-back of the trees and bushes we inherited from the prior owners of our house. They came out and did a very thorough review for a reasonable estimate, explaining on-site what they expected to be separate line items. During the work, they communicated well and we wound up with a completely transformed yard with much more space, light, and airflow. In particular, I wanted to highlight how the company went above and beyond. As they completed their work, the company advised us that the District would have to come get some of the branches of one of our bigger trees as they were on the power lines. When we reached out to the city, they rejected the claim due to the tree being on private property. We shared this with the Blue Collar Scholars and they quickly sent a team back out to address the issue for no additional charge beyond the original contract terms.

We hired Blue Collar Scholars to replace our driveway and fence in our back yard. Despite some early scheduling delays, we were very satisfied with the results of the project overall. They did a beautiful job on both our new driveway and new privacy fencing around the backyard. They listened to all of our requests and details of the jobs and executed what we were looking for. The crews were great and kept us updated regarding their progress on a daily basis. Once begun, both the driveway and the fence jobs were completed on time and to our satisfaction. Wed definitely come back to BCS for any future landscaping/hardscaping needs.

The team is very friendly and responsive. The ground crew, in particular, did an excellent job weeding and taming my overgrown yard. They were thorough and quick. I was very pleased with the work that was done!

I called this company for my elderly father who needed help with his porch, patio and walkways. It was a pretty serious matter as water was getting into the basement from this area. We interviewed at least five companies and many gave different ideas/ solutions. However, blue collar scholars seemed to know exactly what to do and showed us examples in past jobs of exactly what was going on in our home. Their price was also spot on. We ended up hiring them after a couple more storms, and they got the work done efficiently and as described. The basement has not had a drop of water since and we are extremely pleased with their service.

Did a great job with our sun room remodel

We used this company s construction services three years ago and they did a fantastic job. What I want to write a review about, however, is that they just gave a partial scholarship to one of our neighbor s kids to help him in college. We have gone through many contractors at my family s house, and there has been no other company that has gone as far as helping the community as blue-collar scholars.

This company really helped us with our water issues, especially after another contractor really messed up the job. Thank you so much!

This company handled a major renovation next-door, and even though it wasn t my job, I just wanted to comment on their behavior. The crews always nice and always kept the workspace clean and I never saw trash on the weekends or after they were done working. Not only that, but they seemed very happy working which sometimes you see crews just rushing by to get things done. If I had the money to do a job like that I would hire them!

After a thorough inspection, Blue Collar Scholars gave us a range of options for work in our yard. When we selected one that included prepping the yard (lawn, bushes and plantings) for next year, a crew came several times to complete the work to our total satisfaction. Thank you!

Highest praise for Blue Collar Scholars, they are fantastic. They did a thorough cleanup and revitalized my river-rock swales and drainage system, removing dreaded kudzu & poison oak. They recognize species & their uses, which I really appreciate. They did some preventive maintenence. Made the yard brand new by going above & beyond.

Having a retaining wall placed in Montgomery County, MD, and more specifically in Chevy Chase Vilage, MD, (which has more rules than most prisons) is not just about getting it built. My situation was odd in that I had to have a retaining wall that borders my back neighbors yard rebuilt, but it is behind a tall brick wall and not visible to me. (Buying a retaining wall is on few peoples bucket list, but its even less sexy when you cant even see it.) After a long journey I have learned there are many layers of permitting and inspections, etc required. BCS navigated this labyrinth process and provided expertise from engineering to some very strong and nimble young men who built the retaining wall with no power equipment through a 4 foot opening in my back wall without disturbing my neighbor. As I said to Noel at the end I have never seen the combination of mud and cinder blocks make such beauty. He suggested I sit on it in a lawn chair and enjoy a cocktail. In terms of cost, I was initially quoted about 10 k more than what was put in my contract before work started after BCS had the project more carefully reviewed and with honesty shared the reduced estiamte with me (like I would have known the difference?). When all was said and done, the costs came in 3 K more than in the contract due to the permitting insanity, but they suggested splitting the difference, which I found very fair. My only complaint would be about communication. Due to the fits and starts of permitting, weather etc work would start and stop without lots of notice either way. I have a shared driveway and the situation impacted both my neighbors and me. I often had to be the one to initiate contact to find out what was going on. Anyway, maybe thats typical-was my first rodeo in the civil engineering space, hopefully my last for a while!!!

Very responsive to my concerns about water drainage in my older Cape Cod. Crew of four worked eight hours the first day, shared pictures of their work with me. Came back a second day to extend their work along the foundation wall. Also patched concrete holes around my front steps, and cleaned out the gutter in my drive way. Seemed very experienced resolving water issues in an older home.

We were very pleased with Blue Collar Scholars. Their sales associate Noel was responsive and collaborative from design to completion, and the building crew was great. They arrived early, worked hard, and got the job done ahead of schedule.

Two years ago a neighbor got extensive work done with their patio and retaining wall in their backyard. It was during winter and was a little muddy. My neighbors house and my house are pretty close together so there was a couple of feet of damage to my grass. I was going to say something but before I knew it they completely revamped the grass in the neighbors area as well as most of my yard without even me asking! I was so happy with how professional they were I went ahead and hired them for drainage and patio work. I loved their foreman Kike and Melvin and will definitely recommend them to friends.

Blue Collar Scholars helped us update one side of our home thats been ignored for about 30 years by replacing the old walkway with a new wider one, removing old plants, and regrading the garden patch with new fill dirt and mulch, as well as burying the drains, and reseeding the grass. They were all very professional, prompt, and responsive and exceeded our expectations in every way! We couldnt be happier with the job they did!

Blue Collar Scholars is great. The best in the business in my opinion. I used them for a new wood fence, redoing a stone patio, an adding a drainage ditch. Im very happy with result. Im going to use them for redoing my deck next. Highly recommend this team!!

I hired Blue Collar Scholars to install a new retaining wall, regrade a sunken patio, and address some drainage issues. I couldnt be happier with the process from start to finish. They were very knowledgeable and helpful during our initial discussions. The crew that did the work was friendly, professional, and clearly skilled. They were also on the lower end of the estimates I received. I would highly recommend them.

We used Blue Collar Scholars to clean up our garden and implement new measures to move water away from our foundation. The team was knowledgeable, professional and the work looks great. All of the water work looks like we had it installed for aesthetic purposes, it looks that good. We will definitely be using BCS again!

I asked for an estimate for a patio, and they said their estimates cost $50. This is all you need to know. Do your research. No reputable company should ever charge you for an estimate- even if they say that the estimate cost will go toward the price if you choose them to do the work. We are fortunate to live in an area that has hundreds of companies that do the same type of work as Blue Scholars. Do not waste your good money on this tactic because it is very likely that you will find a better price by another MHIC contractor that does not charge for an estimate. Blue Scholar FAILS! I can see by their answer that they are trying to confuse the consumer. To clarify, the first estimate was for mulching and a french drain from 8 months ago. The estimate I was writing about was for a patio. Two totally different projects that are year apart. Put into context, they make my point. These are not good business practices. 75 employees is more than most legitimate businesses that don t charge for estimates. Don t let them fool you.

They did an amazing job and were very easy to work with! We receive compliments on our walkway, which they installed, all the time. Highly recommend!

We were very happy with their work and customer service!

The crew was professional, friendly, and very efficient. They did an enormous amount of work in 2 days (clearing about an acre of yard leaves and cutting down bamboo) for a reasonable price. I will be hiring them in the future.

Blue Collar Scholars are just wonderful to work with! Our new fence, grass, and fixed up patio look incredible. The crew come in, get the work done, and clean up everything. The best part - when you call or email Blue Collar, they respond. They call or email you back the same day - makes projects so much easier. I highly recommend Blue Collar to do any or all of your garden/yard/fencing work.

JT and his crew of Blue Collar Scholars showed up on time, in the rain to work on my yard. Their work was excellent. We are extremely happy with their results. I highly recommend Blue Collar Scholars

Wonderful experience! I was expecting the typical quick pressure washing and thrilled with the time spent and attention to detail. The patio and walkways look new - everything is spotless. Couldn t be happier and would highly recommend their services!

Communicative, knowledgeable, and great to work with on a project to replace my patio and back gate. Hope I get to work with them again on another project soon!

Alex and his crew gave an exceptional attention to detail when grading, smoothing, and sodding our back yard. The yard went from random rocks & weeds to a beautifully manicured outdoor/inviting space. The team was outstanding, and I look forward to working with them in the future.

Price of work offered was a complete rip off

We will absolutely head right back to BCS for any of our outdoor needs. They removed an old fence and installed a beautiful new one, along with gates and stairs. We live in a Capitol Hill row house and I know the job wasnt easy. Highly highly recommend.

Good work and positive attitudes from managers and crew. Some minor miscommunication on the work order, but it was taken care of quickly and without any issue. So, just make sure everyone is on the same page. Id definitely recommend them.

Their policies are ridiculous! A fee for a consultation and then one must cancel 5 days ahead of time to get their $80.00 back!? We are not pleased. Will keep the appointment because no ones going to give their money away their but more than likely this will be the extent of usage for this company.

I had tons of ivy growing up the sides of my brick house. They removed it all including the roots and mulched the area. They removed the weeds around some azaleas, and removed two large bushes including the roots, and removed all of the poison ivy, and mulched the areas. They removed all of the ivy and other vines from a fence. They also cleaned up an area that I had not requested, and mulched the area. I was happy that they did that. I paid with a credit card (1/2) on a Thursday, and they did the Work on Saturday. They left everything neat, and the house looks great. I was very pleased.

Blue Collar Scholars removed some shrubs in my front yard, did a tree trim and yard clean up. They were on-time, professional, detailed, and did an amazing job. Overall, really really good work! Highly recommended and worth the price.

They were reasonably priced, very friendly and did an excellent job. The fence they build for me is truly top-notch!

They did a great job redoing out back yard.

Installed yard drainages. Great quality, makes it look good. Would use again.

My wife and I used Blue Collar Scholars to replace our backyard fence and deck with a custom design, and do staining. In addition they installed a concrete pad for a hot tub and drainage. BCS was a professional, responsive, and adaptable partner for this project. The work was done with a high level of craftsmanship. We would use this company again.

We hired Blue Collar Scholars to build a bluestone walkway and cover our existing front porch and steps with matching stone. The crew that did the work was great. Id give them five stars, but working with the office staff was more difficult than it should have been and Id give them three. Average it out to four stars. I got the sense of a growing company that was still working to implement office procedures to support a larger customer base. Hopefully, they will work out the kinks with time.

The office team at Blue Collar really help me get my yard under control. One of the big storms of June basically ruined our backyard and flooded my family s home. We had to fight with the insurance company to help cover some of the costs which made the whole situation even worse. Blue Collar really helped us through the process of protecting our home and handling the priorities. We will definitely be using them again!

We were very pleased with the work of Blue Collar Scholars. The team did excellent work and cleaned up after themselves. They also applied good-quality grass seed where needed. In addition, Blue Collar Scholars arranged to have our gutter downspouts put underground and drain near the sidewalk. The work was timely done and the quality was great. We love the new stone patio and are happy that water is no longer accumulating near the foundation of the house. Good work!

BCS did their work on time, on budget, and the final project looks really good. They built a stone and brick patio for us.

BCS installed a fence, a walkway and a french drain. They arrive on time every day and worked efficiently. The team was polite and did an amazing job, especially on the walkway, which is my favorite. 10/10, highly reccomend.

I have hedges that boarder my entire yard and its a lot of sq footage. They got very overgrown because of all the rain this summer, so it was a huge job to cut them back down and remove all the weeds. The team spent the entire day (9am-5:30pm) in the hot sun cutting all the hedges and de-weeding. By the time they were done, my yard looked 1,000 times better and I get great joy now when I look out the window and see neat hedges lining my property. I highly recommend this team! Ive used them for 2 years now and have not been disappointed.

We were very pleased with the suggested plan BCS had for our yard work. As first time homeowners, we hadnt used professional landscaping before and arent plant experts so it was very helpful that BCS had quick suggestions and put together what they thought would be best for our yard. We also needed a fence built in our backyard and had some masonry removed which required regrading a sloped yard area. The pricing seemed reasonable but on the higher end. All in all we were generally pleased with the outcome, but the communication was not ideal. It took multiple emails to their communications team to see if we were going to get on the schedule and then had very little notice when the work began. Maybe this is true of all larger companies, but there was some amount of the estimate lost in translation between the person who gave us the estimate (BCS co-owner?), the subcontractor, and the people actually doing the work. The team did come out a second time to try and fix the few issues we still had which was appreciated. Id still probably recommend BCS, but I would make sure to have very specific details of the work to be performed and a clear line of communication between the front office and the team doing the work.

Had some erosion problems in our yard and a drainage problem next to one part of our home. After viewing the areas, Tim developed some good solutions and provided a detailed proposal. Office staff were very helpful setting up the schedule. Workers were diligent and got each of the projects done quickly. They also were great about keeping the project areas tidy and cleaning everything thoroughly before the end of each day. Were very pleased with the finished product.

Blue Collar Scholars did an incredible job constructing a new pool deck, then rebuilding a failing back patio which had created flooding problems on the property. Their attention to detail, constant communication, and adherence to fair timelines are just three of the reasons why I would hire them again for any future projects.

Installed dry river bed to control erosion, plantings and mulch beds

Blue Collar Scholars provided a quote and a starting date. They came on time, did the job requested, and left the worksite clean. I recommend them very highlyl

Blue Collar re-pointed our flagstone walk, including re-pouring the underlying concrete, and they installed sod for the best price of three companies. In addition, they were the only of the three companies we consulted that understood that the cement underlying our flagstone needed to be replaced, while the other two companies wanted to merely grind out and replace the joint cement (for a higher price). Blue Collar were adaptable and reasonable. While we were a bit frustrated that they did not have a project manager on site the first few days (short staffing due to COVID), they were communicative and the work was solid. In addition, the August heat/sun fried the sod, and Blue Collar replaced it in September with no complaint. We certainly recommend them and will use them again.

Blue Collar Scholars was absolutely wonderful start to finish. They answered all my questions (which were a lot), were fairly priced for the work performed, used great materials and were on time. They did the minor graded u needed plus buried my down spout near the side of the house that was getting more moisture. I would highly recommend this company to anyone needed landscaping done.

I am absolutely thrilled with Blue Collar Scholars and I highly recommend them! Every person I spoke with there was knowledgeable about their job, professional, and responsive. The work crew did a fantastic job on our projects and cleaned up our whole property while they were are it! I have tried other similar companies and there is no comparison. I love Blue Collar Scholars!

Nothing but great things to say about Blue Collar. We appreciated how thorough they were with their project management and providing estimates for each job. And the work itself was fantastic. Well be using them again without hesitation for future projects.

I referred this company to my aunt who is extremely happy. She was shopping around for a screened in porch addition. My aunt could not be happier and loves to show off her new addition.

They redid some outdoor drainage issues I had with water not draining away from my house. Sam and his crew were very knowledgeable. I compared their quote against many others. These guys did exactly what was needed and were knowledgeable enough to know what was not useful to do. The workmanship was great as well!

My architect recommended this company in Bethesda and I basically had them do my whole back yard remodel and addition bump out of the house. The interior team was great and everything went on schedule and we were also able to build a deck off of the new addition which led to a stamped concrete patio. I wasnt planning on doing this job but with the mortgage rates being so high, I decided to build on to my house instead of buying a bigger house. Im super happy with the quality of the work and the communication during the whole process.

This review is well overdue; however last night I was outside admiring the stone work done 4 winters ago and I was inclined to say thank you. After 16 seasons, the walkway leading from the side of my house to my backyard STILL looks absolutely gorgeous. I stand behind Blue Collar Scholars and their techniques, hard work and passion. Thank you once again. My wife and I 100% recommend them.

Everything about Blue Collar Scholars is top flight. They do meticulous work and are a pleasure to work with. Ive used them to install a patio, build a fire place, plant numerous trees, build a walkway , put up a fence, and many other projects big and small. I cannot recommend them enough.

Blue Collar Scholars installed a beautiful stone patio. Very professional and high quality from the initial visit to discuss the scope of the project (including drains under the patio) through installation and follow-up after the patio was installed.

They removed a sinking front walkway, replaced it with a flagstone patio and low, lighted wall and veneered our front porch with flagstone. The work was accomplished in less than a week and very well done. In addition, as a type of yard cleanup, another crew leveled the areas under new decks and added a drain and pipe, then placed pea gravel all around in one day. In both cases the crews were very professional, asking for input and agreements with what was to be done. Afterwards all areas were cleaned and all debris removed. If I ever need additional work, I will contact Sam and his company first for an estimate.

Blue Collar Scholars did outstanding work creating a new brick back patio for us. Their work was top quality with great attention to detail.

Blue Collar Scholar has been helping our management company since their inception and they have only gotten better over the years. Great owner in Sam Foreline. Would definitely recommend.

Amazing company. I love working with these guys. You will not be disappointed.

Blue Collar Scholars are my go to company for landscaping and other outdoor projects as they always do an amazing job! When I had a large tree that was growing over my house - I knew I could trust them with the project and they did not disappoint. They showed up early (8am) and did not leave until sundown as they meticulously took down each section limb by limb with the upmost of care - never rushing or moving more quickly despite the fixed cost quote. It was evident from the start they knew what they were doing and I felt entirely safe working inside my home. They even cut some of the wood into sizes for my firepit! As part of the service they also ground the stump down - but ran out of daylight so had to come back the next day to finish the job. Again - they showed up first thing in the morning and did an amazing job grinding it all the way down so that the area the tree stood is completely flat. It was a large tree so some of my grass came up due to the large size of the limbs and trunk. They replanted grass seed in those areas and cleaned everything up to perfection and checked in to ensure there was nothing else I may need done. It was the talk of the neighborhood - as all my neighbors also marveled at how meticulous they were.

Blue Collar Scholars completed regrading, buried downspout pipes and put in a dry well. The worked cleanly and efficiently. They were knowledgeable about the work and once scheduled, completed the work ahead of schedule. The cost was a bit high, but the work was done well.

Blue Collar Scholar Landscaping was great to work with. it was easy to get a estimate and great communication about what the process would entail. When the project started, the crew that came to our house was super professional and did a great job making a new patio for us in roughly a week. I would highly recommend This company to anyone looking for help with landscaping for an outdoor patio, masonry, brick or landscaping project!

Best crews. The guys are friendly and work so hard to get the job done efficiently and with great care. I have hired them repeatedly over the past 3 years and they do it all from basic yard and garden maintenance to expanding & replacing our concrete driveway. The services I ve used them for include masonry work, fence and gate construction, deck & pergola construction, and tree installation. I love this company and am so happy that I ve found one company to manage all my garden & yard demands. Their yearly contract for mowing and cleanup is the best around.

We have used Blue Collar Scholars for a few years now. They solved a water issue that we were having with rain runoff that works for both me and my neighbor. Blue Collar employs many of the same team members that worked on my first project. I appreciate an employer that treats its team members with the dignity and respect that Sam Forline instills at Blue Collar.

My aunt just moved to DC and asked me to help her find a landscaper near Dupont Circle. Of course, I googled best landscaper near me. They weren t in the ads but they showed the highest rating in my area. I called them and their customer service was great, I set up an estimate three weeks out for my aunt. That was as much as I did about four months ago but when I came to her house last week her backyard was absolutely amazing! She has a new stone patio with a beautiful sitting wall. She is so happy with it and she thanked me all the time for finding these people!

Reliable and timely service. Pleasant to work with.

Love Blue Collar Scholars! They were easy to work with, easy to schedule and absolutely hard workers. We had some serious pooling/standing water issues and in one day they solved the issue. I am so grateful I found them and will continue to work with them in future jobs. Everyone was great; I d give them 6 stars if I could!

We have used Blue Collar Scholars for a bunch of yard improvements from installing a french drain to removing tree stumps to landscaping the whole yard to installing a new fence. They are super professional, on time, and hard workers. When something goes wrong, they immediately come back and fix. They are responsive and call/text to check-in. We will continue to hire them.

The guys who showed up to do the work very great. Very nice and responsive to my questions. They picked up and nothing was left behind. They were very careful to replace the sod back once they had finished and you could not tell that any work had even been done in my yard. (other than the cleaned out front gardens which had looked horrible before!) I would recommend them!

BCS is a great local business! They are very friendly, responsive and prompt, both in scheduling/estimating services and in their actual yard work. Used them for fence removal and construction, mosquito/tock spraying and sodding, and am very happy with all of it. Definitely recommend, and definitely will use again.

Blue Collar Scholars did a great job installing a french drain and repairing the masonry of our front steps.

Sam and his team did a great job repairing our walkway and our patio. They were prompt with their response, courteous, and the work they did looks great. Thank you .

Communication was outstanding and they did an excellent job!

The Blue Collar team installed new 6x6 garden borders and replaced all the 6x6 framing for a set of stairs (and then reset the existing flagstones within). The headlines: excellence in understanding my project, getting it right the first time, taking care of my heavily landscaped yard as if it were their own, and asking a few very good questions during the work that led to a better outcome. (Note in the photos how neatly the work was done, with minimal disturbance to all the plants nearby.) This was a great crew, and they did a great job - Id certainly work with them again, and recommend them to anyone.

They did an excellent job installing a flagstone patio and walkway in our back yard. They completed the work in just over a week, and everything looks great. They also cleaned up after themselves, which is a sign of good work.

Blue Collar Scholar designed and installed a french drain along the side of my house to move water away from the house and repaired concrete and masonry damaged over the years. They showed up on time and worked long hours to finish the job in 2 days! Im happy with the experience and will use them again.

We had a great experience with Blue Collar Scholars. Of the companies we consulted about our landscaping renovation, they were the only ones to point out the need to fix the negative grading toward our house. They did a top notch job on everything, and our yard looks great.

Blue Collar Scholars built two beautiful patios for us a few months ago and did an awesome job. We just had them back for another, smaller project that included a bit of regrading in our backyard and the addition of a gravel area. As we anticipated based on our first experience, they were on time, professional, and did a terrific job. We will use them again!

Excellent quality. I also had them install a new privacy fence which looks great.

Great communication. They really treat customers with respect and they care about their customers.

My family has a home in Chevy Chase that was in need of snow removal and I called many different providers. Blue Collar Scholars was the first to call and their prices were very reasonable. I hired them earlier this week and they did a fantastic job, got all the details correct and their office staff is so polite and quick to respond. Will have them do a patio in spring!

Blue Collar Scholars removed an old wooden retaining wall and installed a new stone veneer retaining wall. They also laid some flagstone along the wall. We met with 4 companies before choosing to go with Blue Collar Scholars and chose to use them because they were professional and knowledgeable during the consult and their price was on the lower end of the range of estimates we received. They began the project on time and finished roughly within the time they estimated. There were two different points in the project when something wasnt being built exactly as we had discussed. But I spoke with the project manager and the issues were both addressed quickly. Im glad, however, that I was checking out the work daily because if I wasnt then these issues would have been more difficult to address/fix. Ultimately, we are very happy with the work and would definitely recommend Blue Collar Scholars.

Blue Collar Scholars did a great job! We had them rip up an old deck and plant bed, mulch, install in-ground drainage, install a gravel seating area. They listened to what we wanted and did a great job getting it executed. They did the work on time and we re easy to work with. Pricing was very reasonable as well! A few months before we had the work done, they came out to survey our yard for some general cleanup work. The job ended up being too small to meet their minimum requirement but they were nice enough to take a video walking around our yard telling us what needed to be done so we could do it ourselves, free of charge. Great customer service!

There are not enough words to describe how happy we are to have Blue Collar Scholars in our lives. Everyone from the people in the office to those who beautify our yard is professional and responsive. We are eternally grateful for the drainage work they did for us last year. Their attention to detail and expertise saved or home from disaster.

This company is awesome. Their service and the excellence of their work is just outstanding. They completely redid the backyard of my house with new stonework, drainage and new grass and my whole family could not be happier.

I had a terrible problem where water was getting into my basement. I had three other contractors come in and they weren t really sure what to do and they gave me ridiculous quotes. I called blue collar scholars, talked to Eddie, and set up an appointment three days later. Sam and Tim came out and quickly showed me my drainage problem. We ended up saving so much money. Instead of waterproofing the basement, we created a river gravel swell and re-graded the backyard sure that no water would come close to the house. I am so thankful!

I was having this work done while living overseas. Despite the challenges this presented, the entire team was extremely helpful in every facet of this project. I was expecting a headache or two throughout this process but I was put at ease from the first call. Their customer service and quality of work are top notch. I must have had 3 different changes to the plants I wanted. Each of which was met with simply a no problem. The finished product is exactly as we discussed and I really couldnt be happier with the turnout. Im not normally one for writing reviews but when someone knocks it out of the park.... a little recognition is the least I can do. Thank you everyone .......the oscars get the hell off the stage music is rolling so its time to go

Work is exceptional.

I had some drainage work to be done and they could not have been better and more professional. Responsive, great work and friendly.

They have done work for my family a few times in the past. Very easy to work with, they did quality work.

Ok, so I kept seeing them in my neighborhood over and over again with their bright blue shirts and decided to give them a call. Before they came to the estimate I went ahead and searched them up and saw their amazing reviews. Still, I wanted to be sure I was getting the best deal so I got a couple other estimates. Blue Collar Scholars gave me an estimate right away as I waited weeks for other estimates so I just went ahead with them. I am so happy I did!!! The whole team is super awesome to work with. Austin, the scheduling manager, was very clear when my work was going to get done. When it was finally scheduled and their crew came, all the workers were super friendly and easy to work with. They took out all this old concrete and they constructed a new stone patio with a beautiful sitting wall. They also fix the drainage problem that was causing a erosion problems next to my house that the other companies failed to point out. If I could give them 10 out of 5 stars I would!

If all of these reviews are real, Im surprised that I seem to be the only person that had such a negative experience with this company. I hired them to regrade my backyard. After the initial deposit, it was essentially impossible to get a hold of them to complete the work. I emailed and called several times and even posted on FB. Maybe they were too busy to get back to me but this was over several months. Eventually I had to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Things did improve more recently though. I did get a hold of someone and they refunded my deposit. I then marked the complaint w/BBB as resolved but I would never want to do business with this company again, especially since there are so many good landscaping companies in the area.

I waited in line to have my whole backyard renovated and I couldn t be happier. Thanks to Elmer and his stone team as well as Austin the scheduling manager we got everything looking so beautiful in my backyard. A tip of advice would be to go with full color thermal flagstone! It is so pretty!

My parents house flooded during one of the last rainstorms and I had to help them find a contractor to help out. I called the number of them but they all seemed a little ridiculous. Blue-collar scholars came out and gave me a couple of different options and tried to help me save money instead of throwing too much money into the problem. We now have a dry basement using French drains and grading around the house and my parents are so happy!

This is a great company and well worth the investment! They did an amazing job with sodding our backyard, and re-seeding the front and back in the fall. They also went above and beyond in answering follow-up questions we had, hand-pulling weeks, cleaning up our overall yard, and kindly doing extra things like helping us adjust our lawnmower settings for optimal grass care, and changing the gas/oil in the mower. They were just a class act all around and the only company we could find that does not use pesticides -- which is great for kids and pets. Thanks to them, our lawn looks better than it has in years!!!

Ive had two great experiences with Blue Collar Scholars. This spring, Blue Collar Scholars did an awesome job cleaning up the mulch beds and plant areas in my yard, and then applying new mulch in each of these areas. I was impressed with the teams attention to detail, including hand-pulling all of the weeds from each bed as part of the preparation. The final result was beautiful. This fall, Blue Collar Scholars returned and cleaned the gutters on my house. My main roof is rather high, and I was impressed with the teamwork where one worker acted as the belay with the rope to ensure the worker at the edge of the roof was able to perform his task safely. Thanks to the quality of service Ive received, I will definitely be using Blue Collar Scholars for future work.

Blue Collar Scholars is the best. We used them to replace mulch around bushes with river rocks to improve drainage to a nearby storm drain. They are competitively priced, on time, responsive, professional, and the work quality was great. Looking forward to working with them on future projects. Highly recommended!

Blue collar scholars did a great job laying a new lawn in our front and back garden. Professional, punctual and high quality work for a fair price. We are also very happy with their lawn-mowing service

Don t bother u less you like to be repeatedly waste your time and be blown off. I had a confirmed appointment scheduled weeks ahead of time in August. About a week before, I was contacted it needed to be cancelled and rescheduled. The rescheduled site meeting went fine. I was told the team was going to come back and look at the site again about 5 days later and then come up with a proposal. I never heard whether they came back. None of my texts received the courtesy of a reply. I emailed Blue Collar Scholars multiple times since then and have only received a couple of replies by someone named Jamie, who replied that someone would get back to me. Weeks and weeks later, I haven t heard a peep. I can t comment on the quality of work they do, but if it represents anything like the lack of professionalism I have experienced, I imagine there are many better options out there!

I had blue collar scholars come to my property to build a retaining wall and to fix a patio that had been damaged by water runoff. Sam came over and looked at the project and gave me some ideas, we discussed options and costs. Their estimates were in line with others I had received, and I scheduled the work. They came and did the work, even as the scope of the project changed. The were professional, did the job to the level I would have done if I could, and surprised me. Case in point there was part of the project that changed, which I was disappointed with. However I asked to make some additional changes to bring it closer in line to the original project and they made those without increasing the charge, as they wanted to make it right. I appreciated the job they did and have begun scoping out the next project for them to do. Thank you Blue Collar Scholars team.

The teams that worked on excavating our old patio, building a new one and installing a swale were amazing. The work was done quickly and looks amazing. We are very happy. Tim was great about hearing our needs and building something that looks nice and is Eco-concious. We have recommended them to a fair number of our friends and will be using them in the future again.

I am super happy with the work that blue color scholars did with our new flagstone patio. They were efficient, their crew was very nice and best of all I can just tell the work is solid and I won t have to worry about it. Thanks so much for the entire team and a special shout out to Jen as she is great on the phone. Super sweet!

It was a real pleasure to work with Sam and Jamie and the team. Jamie provided a quote the same day. Sam ensured that our difficult timeline was met. Most important is that the work was perfect- the team went out of their way to ensure that there were no problems and that we (the customer) was pleased with their work. Amazing service! Thank you.

Blue Collar Scholars was able to diagnose our drainage problem in our yard, propose a solution at reasonable cost, and was able to perform the work in a timely manner. I highly recommend them and will certainly call them if I need help in the future.

They built a patio

I needed a complete yard renovation after purchasing a home in NW DC. We had water coming into the basement, just plain ugly landscaping and a failing patio/driveway area. Blue Collar Scholars came in and fixed everything up beautifully! I avoided an expensive waterproofing job that all these other contractors were pushing on me and now have a beautiful back yard I can actually use during the shut down. I also want to point out that their team was super easy to work with. The office was very responsive and the crew was super nice, spoke English and was so hard working. Thanks again BCS!

Sam Forline and Blue Collar Scholars did a fantastic job on my parent s landscape. They completely re-constructed a failing retaining wall, a built a really nice Fence and finally solved our drainage problems in our backyard. I am super happy with their work and their customer service! Thank you BCS!

Awesome guy to work with nice work fast and very reliable

I had a fantastic experience with Blue Collar Scholars Landscaping Etc. They came, provided a fair and reasonable estimate, and I signed the contract on the spot. The owner provides prompt and thorough follow-ups of the work that the company completes to ensure quality and satisfaction. Their employees are conscientious and respectful. One time, it was raining on the day they were scheduled to come trim the lawn and I spoke to the owner to tell them that it was okay not to come due to the rain and they waited until the storm passed and came anyway that evening! Customer service cannot get any better than that. I plan to use their services again this season. I looked so long for a company that I could trust and rely on for my landscaping needs and I found it in Blue Collar Scholars. I highly recommend them. Give them a try. You will not regret it!

Super happy with their work! Professional, responsive and their workmanship is just unbelievable. Will recommend them!

Their attention to detail is just amazing. Workmanship, friendliness and quality was what I got. To get specific, they built an amazing patio in my back yard, fixed a HUGE drainage problem on the right side of my home and take care of all my landscaping needs. Thanks so much and I m referring you onto the NW Palisades list serve!

My family has been using Blue Collar Scholars for 7 years now. We have always used their maintenance crews to take care of our yard in potomac and about three years in we started using their other services. We had a HUGE drainage problem in the back of our house. Sam and Alex came in and completely graded the back of our home, installed a couple of window wells and installed a few box drains. This drainage system has worked like a charm for the last couple of years. Super happy with their work and responsiveness! Thanks BCS!!!

This organization is just amazing. Their stone masons, their drainage team and their landscape design team just really knocked it out of the park. Sam and Tim are extremely polite and their whole office team was able to correspond with me through the entire project. I never leave reviews but felt compelled to write one!

We built a large patio and did a great retaining wall. Really helped out with drainage work. The best!

I had an awesome experience with their whole team. We had really bad drainage problems especially in the back basement area and they came out and saw everything. They graded the whole area away from the home and installed French drains. My basement has been dry ever cents. Thank you so much!

Knowledgeable. Did not up-sell the scope of the project. Immediately responsive to questions/concerns. Exemplary professionalism.

Wow! These guys were awesome. They answered my phone right away, provided an estimate that day and then scheduled the big yard clean up I needed before my big Saturday Party with no problems whatsoever. I am so happy I met Sam and his wonderful team. Since that day last Spring, I have had them come over to redo my flagstone patio in the back, fix an old retaining wall (Im in the Pallisades, NW where all of our neighborhood walls are beginning to sag) and do my yard clean up in the Fall. Their work is always perfect, Sam, the owner is very responsive and answers all my questions directly and their prices are very reasonable. I highly recommend!

The owner is extremely rude and disrespectful. He didn t consider what I had in mind and was very controlling. I don t recommend doing business with this company.

These guys are amazing! I was able to get a quote from Sam the same day and scheduled the service right away! They uncovered my moms lost backyard!!

Wow! I had Sam and Blue Collar Scholars come out to do some hardscaping for my parent s property in Potomac. How quickly they installed the paver driveway, retaining wall and a flagstone walkway in the back was just absolutely amazing. Not only this, but the quality of work just looks fantastic, their attention to detail, the edging and the grade is just perfect for water drainage. I waited about 7 months to post this and the job still looks amazing! Thank you Blue Collar Scholars and my friend Sherry for recommending them!