Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/28/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We hired this company in June of 2024 to remove old and build a new deck. The new deck was completed in July. After the completion we have found many areas that need to be fixed: stair railing loose, broken support bracket holding spindles to post, steps popping in stairs, splintering/poor cuts, lattice buckling, poorly secured planks, uneven spacing, uneven stairs/steps. Crew employees came to do some repairs and caused more damage, also looked at stairs, commenting they should be replaced. They also commented on planking for deck saying theyve never seen wood shrink and warp so much in such a short period of time and that it should be replaced. The spindles they used for the railings arent straight, There are areas where the cuts are bad, areas where the wood was damaged due to the power in which the screws/nails were driven, areas where the wood is already broken/splitting again because of nailing. There are areas where the new wood is already warping/cupping and not secured properly, angles not meeting uniformly. Weve reached out multiple times to owner regarding these issues setting up times for him to come and at least see/discuss with us but so far he has refused to come. He schedules another time to come but cancels. One such time we had requested for him to come and review our concerns he responded in an email it was a waste of his time and didnt show. Recently, he said we are at an impasse telling us what he refuses to and again extending his availability for another two weeks. We have taken/sent photos and made a list of our concerns, even consulted another builder to assess and advise us, with no response addressing these issues directly from the builder. He collected all our money and told us he would not let us down and also that he would not collect final paycheck until we were fully satisfied. We do not feel we have received the value we expected for our investment, nor the professional courtesy to repair the damage to our satisfaction.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/02/2024

  **** and ************************* are extremely unrealistic not understand treated wood decking. After installation, it is common for wood to shrink as it dries out. The shrinking creates gaps between boards even though we install them as tight as possible.  This occurs on decking and railing. There deck has a southern exposure and along with extreme summer heat has dried out quicker than usual.  I tried to explain this too them but they insisted all the decking needs to be replaced.  We enclosed the lower deck with PVC.  Lattice expands a different rate than would and during extreme temperatures, tend to buckle until temperature normalize.  In 30 years of construction, we have never had any of the complaints mentioned. 99% of the customers know and expect boards to shrink as they dry out. 99% of customers understand lattice buckles due to thermal expansion under hear. **** and ***** were extremely happy when their deck was complete.  they paid us in full at that time. All summer ***************** and ***** came up with new lists of complaints. We have no ability to differentiate if they cause some of the damage or we did. Too much time has passed. We are reluctant to address any concerns as given their personality, particular *****'s), they will never be satisfied. Take for example if the deck boards were replaced and they shrunk again as they dried, they would want the boards replaced again. In other issues, they have established their selves as the experts on deck construction and esthetics after a summer of extreme heat. The quality they think they want can only be found in composite decking and railing. This approach was offered when quoting the job but they chose wood to save the money.  A wood deck will never have the same finish quality as the interior of a home. This same "finish quality" was only made known long after completion.  We would love to discuss any corrections but the growing lists suggest they will never be satisfied. Additionally, my crew does not want to work on their deck no matter what as they (mostly *****) continue to complain about their work. Again, if I were confident, we could come to some level of agreement, I would gladly consider discussions.  The day of this complaint, we made plans to be there the next day to discuss potential corrections. They chose to attempt to destroy our reputation.  they even sent an email saying " they cannot believe our positive reviews and no prior complaints.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/20/2024

  *** and ***** are unrealistic in their demands. I see no reason to respond to their complaints. It is my opinion they will never be satisfied. Additionally, too much time has passed. I have no idea what problems they may have created since. Basically they are asking everything to be redone and expect the outcome to be a perfect as interior trim. We have been building decks for 38 years and never, once had a customer like, primarily, *****.  I feel and know if we come there and take care of everything, there will still be multiple complaints. I can provide multiple examples of areas they want repaired but are related to wood shrinking, thermal expansion of materials, etc. One example is the steps to the cement patio, they are angled downward which is a simple fix but they want them torn down and rebuilt which is necessary but ***** thinks she is the expert.  If my BBB rating needs to take a hit, then I must deal with that.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/20/2024

  We tried to get this company to come out two months prior to filing this complaint. As to the bottom stairs, Mr. ********************** never came out to make the stairs right. In fact, it was one of his employees that said the stairs should be rebuilt not me. It was one of employees that said the planking looked really bad  and even said maybe the company should look for another place to buy materials, not us. Mr. ********************** then attacks my wifes character. Why would an owner of a company do that? We kept hearing the customer is always right, you spent a lot of money it should be done right and well make it right but the deck is still in need of the same repairs and it been months since completion.