Verified record
Earth Stone and Water is a landscape design-and-build shop in North Reading built around one recurring theme: retaining walls and stone patios that keep showing up as the reason people write in. Reviewers name Chris and his crew directly, and the same story repeats across several years — a stone walkway and patio finished in three days, a backyard retaining wall that turned "a wasted space" into something they're still happy with, and a driveway-and-wall project that moved fast once the permits cleared. The praise isn't just about the finished product. Customers keep pointing to how the crew worked: quick quotes, easy communication, and cleanup at the end of each day rather than leaving a site sitting overnight. That pattern holds from a 2022 retaining-wall job through reviews as recent as mid-2025, so it isn't a one-season streak. One 2024 review is a clear miss — the customer called twice over two days and never got a callback, worth weighing against the responsiveness described elsewhere. Two more things are worth checking before booking: the company's Massachusetts home improvement contractor registration (HIC 192549) shows as expired in the state registry rather than active, and a labor-enforcement tracker records a 2019 wage-and-hour violation with a $156,602 penalty against the business — neither is described as ongoing, but both are fair to raise directly. For a homeowner planning hardscape work — a patio, a retaining wall, a driveway rebuild — the track record here is the specific kind that matters: a named crew, repeated mentions of the same strengths, and jobs that finished on the timeline promised. Confirm the current state of their HIC registration and ask about the 2019 labor matter directly; beyond that, this is a landscaping company whose customers keep hiring them back for exactly the work they're known for.
Typical Greater Boston range for this kind of work, from regional averages — not a quote from earth stone and water, llc. Use it to sanity-check bids, then get the real number in writing.
Estimated range
$50 – $70
Typical landscaping service around $60
“Earth Stone and Water LLC | wage and hour violation | 2019 | $ 156,602”
We now have a stone walkway and patio that we've been wanting for a long time, and it only took three days from start to finish. Chris and his crew did a fantastic job and it looks beautiful. It was clear that the planning and work were done carefully, down to top soil and grass seed around the perimeter. The price was fair and we highly recommend them.
Phenomenal work and communication by great people! I will continue to use Earth Stone & Water for all my landscaping needs and highly recommend them.
Chris and his team did a great job! Beautiful new walkway, new front gardens. Easy communication, quality work, highly recommend!!
We have a small yard in an urban setting right near Boston. It was a dump due to renovations we have been doing for the last 2 years. And then we have a 65lb dog that has a lot of zoomies and tore up the lawn basically. This company is simply amazing. I don't usually go with someone unless I have done exhaustive research. Still, they were working on our next-door neighbor's yard who said she got their name from another neighbor, and well, since they were already there, and our yards are adjacent and the neighbor's fencing would be moved closer to my yard after stone walls were put up... and you can see the complexity here... so I decided to go with them after meeting Chris. First of all, Chris is really down to earth, I trusted him immediately. He also likes to text (my preferred method of communication) and he also followed up with emails. He was super responsive and when we went back and forth a few times, he did not show any impatience. He offered options and suggestions, and when I asked for a recommendation he would pick an option and tell me why. I loved thatWhen I got confused about something, he explained until I had that "ahah! moment." His crew is amazing. When they are here to work, they WORK. The complete cleanup of our year, the building of our wall, the filling in with gravel and topping off with stone, the laying in of the cobbles, the creation of an overflow for our sump in the front lawn, etc...too like 5 days. FIVE. I could not be happier! They were quick, efficient, and did quality work. He didn't spring any surprises on me, he was on site daily, and made time for me when I had questions. They are a joy to work with and I recommend them to the WORLD! I feel that their prices were very reasonable and Chris was very transparent about the cost of materials. So I could do a quick calculation in my head, and I know that the pricing was fair. If you need any kind of work done, run to the phone or computer and call or email him! You won't got wrong!!
These guys are first class. Beautiful work! Quality, price, and work done in the time they said. These guys are first class. They even cleaned up nightly like they weren’t coming back the next day. Can’t say enough about the quality.
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3 changes recorded — last scanned Sep 12, 2026.
Detailed craftsmanship5.0
Responsive communication5.0
Durable stone & block retaining walls4.9