Citywide Sundecks

Thanks for the great review and for your business. We are glad to hear we lived up to all of your expectations.

The client prefers to remain anonymous so I will refer to as Ms. Smith.

The original quote was detailed and approved. It did not include any rot discovered and the possibility was discussed. There was indication and the house was 100 years old. The quote was for 2 separate decks. Ms. Smith had us start immediately as the upper deck was leaking into the back foyer/office. We did the work over the Christmas Holidays and the weather was not cooperative. After removing the membrane on the upper deck, rot was discovered. Client agreed to replace and slope the plywood substrate for a cost of $475 (labour, materials and disposal). Under the plywood, unsafe electrical was discovered. Citywide arranged for our electrician to make safe for an agreed cost of $275 (service call, labour and materials). The lower deck had minor rot under membrane and was repaired for an agreed cost of $175.00 (labour and materials). Citywide suggested removing the door trim and sealing instead of using the quoted L-Trim fastener for a net savings of $50. Original quote was $4949.50. The required extra work was $825 and included new plywood on upper deck, repair on lower and fixing dangerous electrical. It was discussed and agreed by Ms. Smith.

I am confident the extra work was justified and fairly priced.

After completing the deck, it was discovered the client’s door was not shutting tight. The door originally had a piece of wood under the threshold that was removed to install the vinyl. When the wood was put back – the threshold torqued up and caused the door to rub. The crew made the mistake of sanding the bottom edge of the door to allow it to shut tight. I discussed with client and agreed to take ownership of the situation by repairing and/or replacing her door. See excerpt from email to client:

“Once again I apologize for the damage to the slab and the sloppiness of the reinstallation of the trim. It is certainly not reflective of our quality of work nor common.
As discussed, the best solution in regards to cost and quality is to replace the door unit with a new fiberglass unit. Fiberglass is a superior product and until recently – has been a very expensive option. As the demand for fiberglass increased the cost has come down and is now less expensive than a wood door. The new unit would be primed and will require painting by you in the Spring. It will look identical to the unit you currently have. It will take 2-3 weeks to arrive. Installation as per our discussion.
If you prefer a wood door over fiberglass, the cost of the unit justifies a repair instead of replacement. I would have the door unit removed and plane the edge of the damaged slab to match (you would lose 1/8” width on the one slab. The slabs would then be re-hung on new jamb and re-installed. I would wait for an appropriate weather day to handle and it would take a crew (2) the full day to complete.”

As she preferred a wood door it was decided to repair. There were some items not done to Citywide Standards that I discussed with Ms. Smith in addition to the door. It involved installation of old trim and a badly welded seam. Ms. Smith’s work schedule had her out of town most of January. We agreed she should be home for repairs. I scheduled a crew on the earliest available date to handle all. We removed and reinstalled the door as agreed, replaced the vinyl and handled all items of concern. I personally inspected and oversaw the repairs. They were done well and we included items not originally quoted to satisfy.

A second mistake was made with the door at this time. The door threshold was sloped incorrectly when we rehung in the shop. Ms. Smith had a custom door company look at the installation to confirm the problem. The cost for this other company to repair was $1200. Ms. Smith had an outstanding balance of $1200 on the railing installation. I spoke with the company direct and explained the situation. It was agreed they would handle the repair direct with client and she would pay the $1200 direct to them in lieu of balance on railings.

Citywide handled over 200 separate projects in 2015. To the best of my knowledge, all but 2 were very happy with us when we were done. Not to say there were not situations. It is impossible to do what we do and not have situations come up and/or mistakes made. The way they are dealt with makes a company reputable. In regards to Ms. Smith, we did take ownership of all items and did our best to satisfy. In the end, the cost of handling the door twice, the vinyl replacement and the trim details were over $3000 that Citywide covered. It is unfortunate we made a mistake twice on the same detail (door) but sometimes when you try to hard, it ends up going the other way.

I appreciate you taking the time to read my response. If you are considering working with Citywide but are concerned – I ask you to contact me direct to discuss. My direct contact details are below.

Paul Bulat
Managing Director
paul@citywidesundecks.com
(604) 786-3325