Contracted with Fenceall for a 10x16 composite deck with vinyl railing and some stairs. They used brads to secure the decking to the deck frame. I was told after I complained that there was extra cost if I wanted screws. Unfortunately I was not told this BEFORE the installation. I would have paid for screws, which should be standard anyway. Who fastens deck boards with brads? The railing is only fastened to the deck boards. When I told the installer that I thought it should have blocking to provide support from the deck frame, he told me it wasn't necessary. I disagreed. When he came to my door after finishing the installation he told me that he had in fact blocked the railing. When I saw what he did, I was bemused. He used small blocks of wood like a washer to screw into. The blocks of wood are not attached to anything. They are less than useless. When I complained about the 'blocking', I was told that the railing was covered by the warranty and that if there is a problem they would take care of it. Of course, it the rail gives way and someone breaks their neck, the warranty won't help. Also, the warranty is only for a year. The posts that support the deck are fastened to the beam with NAILS. This should have been carriage bolts. The deck is screwed into the house rim joist OVER the existing sheathing. No measures have been taken to mitigate water damage to the house. Fence-All got the contract and my money by offering a "no tax if paid in full in advance" offer. This was worth over $1000. I stupidly took the deal. They then proceeded to install the quickest and cheapest deck they could get away with. I would not use them for any work!
- Approximate cost of services:
- $9,000.00
- Company Response
The internet is full of opinions regarding decks screws or nails and, after installing decks for almost all of our 40 years in business, we have never had a single occasion of failure from either.
SO rather than argue with homeowners, who may have a strong opinion either way, WE OFFER BOTH. Obviously it's very difficult to change after construction - especially when compared to a stroke of the pen beforehand.WE HAVE MADE A CHANGE, particularly after we completed this project, and we've added an indication of _Nails or _Screws VERY CLEARLY on our order form, to avoid this type of possibility for disappointing customers either way.
As for the railing, at least one of the fasteners would be going in to the rim joist and BOTH a composite deck and a vinyl railing would be covered with a lifetime warranty (not just 1 year...unless there's something I'm missing or something's missing in the note above).
In our almost 30 years of installing vinyl fences, decks & railings; I can't remember a single incident of any railing giving away.I truly am sorry we weren't able to capture all of your expectations before construction...and hope that you do recognize that this is exactly what we are trying to avoid with all of the photo's, sketches, product information, schematics, do-it-yourself instructions, etc. that we make available on our website.