DEKOR

We installed the lighted balusters in the center of each railing panel of the larger deck, a double in the center with a single on either side, to form a diamond pattern of light when they were switched on. The lights worked for about two weeks, then the transformer failed, we got another transformer and that worked for about two weeks as well and then that failed too. We were also having trouble with the led lights, half of them would light up and the other half not, or some would light up here and there with several not lighting at all. We decided after all the trouble and expense it would be to dismantle the railings that we would forget the lights and just make do with the decorative balusters. The upstairs deck did not have lights, but we had paid a lot of money for dummy lighted balusters on the downstairs deck! Forward to April 2011. This year we needed some restoration work to the decks, so to prepare, the contractors pressure washed the decks with water. Immediately after the pressure washing, corrosion was exposed on the end caps of all 57 balusters in varying degrees. This coating was guaranteed for 30 years, remember? It had lasted just over three. So I contacted the owner of Dekor, Mr. Duane McCall, to be met with arrogance, belligerence, and aggressiveness. He stated that the balusters must have been exposed to acid. Of course they had been exposed to acid, there is acid in rain, and the end caps had been holding rain water (design fault) so every time it rained they were bathed in a low acid solution. He said we had to send one back to be analyzed - which of course meant going to the trouble and expense of having the railings dismantled, and we knew what the result would be anyway. I asked him to send some paint so that the contractors could repair them in situ, at first he refused, asking me if I knew anything about product liability?? But then he relented and said he would send some paint. He sent some paint and a load of new end caps, which are virtually useless since the last lot broke down in 3 years, and who was going to pay to have our railings dismantled and rebuilt? I asked him for $200 to pay the contractors to rub down the corrosion, paint with a rust inhibitor, and then the top coat again. Of course he refused. I suggested that he hire a contractor himself to do the job and pay him directly, but he has gone strangely silent...... This company had been reported to the Denver BBB three times before my report, and I also reported it to the FTC for false advertising. Considering that we would not have bought the balusters in the first place had not the company given us a 30year guarantee, (I have a copy here) and by the rules of the FTC they are guilty of false advertising it would be interesting to know how many others there are who have been taken in by it. This seemed like a really good idea at the time, the brochures look wonderful. Be warned, this is not a good company to deal with and the product has many design faults. When something goes wrong (and it will) you will be told to send the balusters back at your own expense. Think about it, if you have had custom built railings and a large number of balusters fail, you will be faced with a massive bill to replace them and then who knows? They probably will fail again in another two or three years.