DO NOT HIRE THIS COMPANY
Since we were installing a cedar deck on a rubber membrane over our garage, we looked for a company who offered experience. Although Total Fence and Deck’s sales person, who is also their installer, did a great job selling himself and the company the end result was totally unsatisfactory. This company takes no pride in the quality of the material it uses, the quality of their workmanship or customer satisfaction.
Although the company does not normally replace decking boards they reluctantly replaced approximately 25% (boards either cracked or splintered) during installation. Due to inconsistent spacing there was an issue with the proper installation of the last board. Initially the last board was screwed partially on top of the second last board to ensure that the spacing at both ends of the deck was consistent. Since this was not acceptable the last 2 boards were removed. The second last board was trimmed to allow for the installation of the last board. Since the installer did not follow the terms of the contract he had to remove 1 inch from each side of the decking boards as they were touching the rubber membrane. Approximately 6 weeks after we made the final payment we realized that the last board was loose because it was secured by only 1 screw in each of the runners. The installer also suggested he slope the deck to accommodate for run-off even though the roof was already sloped. This left us with a 21 foot long deck that is 5 inches higher on one end than the other. If a patio set is put on this deck, it will look slanted!
Since our email attempt in early August, 2014 to contact Total Fence and Deck was unanswered after 6 business days, we filed a complaint with BBB. After our second email to BBB in which we requested that a representative from Total Fence and Deck contact us about our concerns and a possible resolution, we met with the manager who seemed to understand our concerns. He also took many pictures. The next contact was by telephone from the Vice President. When it was obvious that this conversation was going nowhere I requested that he put his response in writing. In the end, after 4 months of attempting to come to a solution with Total Fence and Deck, their VP offered to pay us less than a third of the cost of the deck without any admission of responsibility as a settlement. We refused that offer because we felt a full refund was the only option. BBB closed the file because we could not come to an agreement.
We are left with a deck that still has a lot of splintered and cracked boards, a loose board and is unsightly due to the slope. The deck will be removed this year and replaced with quality cedar by a company that takes pride in their work and values their customers. In my 30 plus years as a homeowner, Total Fence and Deck is the most unprofessional company I have ever dealt with and I would NEVER recommend them.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $3,200.00