Found Larry via signs for "quality carpenter" in our neighborhood. Figuring he was out of work we decided to give him a job repairing our aging deck, stairs, and potting shed. The potting shed is located under the deck and had a leaky roof. Really we wanted the leaky roof fixed and the deck was in the way so we decided to kill two birds with one stone. Initially Larry came out and estimated $1000 for repairing the deck and stairs -- mostly labor where he would attempt to reuse the existing deck boards by flipping and cleaning them. Being somewhat green, this idea seemed fine to us at the time. He had some other jobs lined up but would return for an official estimate and begin work in a week. Three weeks later he gave us a call and said he was ready to go. The prior jobs had run long, but he hadn't contacted us to tell us what was going on. Eager to start work at this point we had him draw up an estimate which came in at $1400 -- $1000 for the deck and $400 for the stairs. Thought it was unusual that the price was not what was originally quoted but figured we had misunderstood that the stairs were a separate charge. He said that there would be an additional quote for sealing the roof of the shed once he tore up the deck and had a look. Cut a check for materials and he said he would return the next day. Larry returned the next day with materials and ready to go. He began with the stairs, tearing out the old steps and solidifying the handrails which had become wobbly. He placed down new wooden stairs and banisters. He went quickly, but reviewing the work later we noticed there were several stairs which were not screwed in correctly (missing screws) which we had to repair ourselves. Next, we helped him move the furniture off the deck and he started to bring up the existing decking board. As he brought up the deck he noticed several rotten boards and told us the entire deck needed to be replaced not just flipped and cleaned. This was an additional charge that we agreed to and he left to go find deck board (11:00am). Apparently he could not find the appropriate board he needed as he did not return until the next day, opting to drive to a Home Depot an hour away to obtain the material (14' vs 16' which was available locally). After the deck was pulled up we inspected the roof of the potting shed and talked over an approach to seal and clean. I had several concerns with the approach he wanted which included power washing with bleach as we did not want to ruin the contents of the potting shed beneath. He indicated things would be fine and proceeded to wash. As he washed the bleach water was seeping into the potting shed ruining the contents. We asked him to stop so we could move things to locations which would not get doused. After stopping for a few minutes he continued to wash as we were moving things...not offering to help. This caused a couple hundred dollars of damage to the contents of the shed including brand new plantings we were working to establish prior to putting in the ground. Larry ended up quickly sealing the deck, without testing for leaks. Larry assured us that the roof would not leak and plowed ahead installing the deck. At this point the deck looks good, but the shed roof still leaks around the edges, which was the whole reason we brought him out in the first place. In the end we cut a check to him and decided to cut our losses and move to another contractor to get what we wanted. Larry was not very professional, at one point telling me "I'm the expert...shut up and let me do my job" and not willing to help me understand what he was doing or listen to my concerns and needs. His work was good on the easy aspects of the job, but he did not seem to know what he was doing with the sealing of the roof...which should have made us stop right there. We would not use Larry again, or recommend him for other jobs. His work is good, but the attitude and professionalism needs to be improved.