Bob Jaacks Rustic Wood Fencing & Decks

Rustic was quick to schedule and arrive for a design consultation following my initial contact through Angie's List, this was followed up very quickly with a quote via Email, but after our deposit and date selection (June 17th) the communication and follow-through fell apart on their end. It is important to note I hired a company to build a fence around my yard due to my expertise on the matter being non-existent, I have hired a number of other contractors/service providers as we've been doing major work on our home (inside & out) since moving in April '14 for all projects whose scope was beyond my knowledge/capability. The reason I mention this is due to this company being the only one who required me (the customer) to obtain the permitting to perform the service requested. I realize as the homeowner this is my responsibility to obtain the permits (or hire companies who will in the course of their work); however, when hiring a service provider I would expect them to mention this up front, or at least list it on their quote/contract as it is commonly required based on my research and all other service providers/contractors plan and communicate permit acquisition according to the service/work they're going to perform. I only became aware I needed to obtain the permit due to my research of how much it would cost to obtain a permit to remove a tree on my property (at the direction of a tree removal service who offered to include it int their quote if I wanted them to obtain it for me), this led me to uncover I needed to obtain a fence building permit and I had to then proactively contact Rustic to ask whether or not I would be required to obtain it, or if they would obtain it for me, their response: "You, the customer needs to get a permit from the Village of Park Ridge." I have no problem obtaining permits, but a little guidance would have been prudent, had I not been removing a tree the builder would have shown up and not been able to perform their work due to a lack of a permit. June 17th arrived and it was lightly raining, the workers were to be there between 8a-9a but no one showed, so I left for work at 10a. I called Rustic to inquire as to why no one showed, and their response was "it's raining," which it seemed I was supposed to know meant no work could be done. Rustic offered to have the builder at my house the following day at 8a regardless of weather to at least discuss the job and get answers so they could start it once the rain stopped later in the week. The next day the builder showed up at 10a, 2 hours later than expected, with no call or apology. We discussed the schedule due to the week looking to have rain in the forecast, they stated they would begin work the following week. I was made aware by Gina there was a "large job for Glenview" scheduled for the following week so they might be able to squeeze my job in; I brought this up to the builder when he was at my house and he stated "not a problem, we're going to build next week, will only take a day." The following week no one showed up at all, no one called, I ended up calling them Thursday night holding out hope of a Friday build, but the gentleman on the phone stated "you are scheduled for Monday." Again, giving them the benefit of the doubt I didn't make a fuss, looking forward to at least having the fence up before the July 4th weekend. The following week again no one showed, and no call until I reached out to them on Thursday morning wondering what was going on. I was told a number of excuses including the weather, the "large job in Glenview," and the holiday weekend. It had now been 2 weeks past the original build date, guaranteed I wouldn't have a fence for the 4th weekend, and no apology. I eventually spoke to who I assume was the Owner or Manager, who when I said I would like to cancel the work so please send my deposit back in full replied "You're making a big mistake." I had reached my limit at that point and replayed the events as they happened over the previous 2 weeks, to which I was met with silence and a "Oh, well... I'm sorry, we're going to do the work Monday" and yes another commitment to have my fence built the following Monday "guaranteed ." I chose not to cancel the work due to my not being able to get another builder to install next day (which I tried to find), and under the agreement that if Rustic wasn't there Monday morning I would expect my check back and the job canceled. Monday July 6th arrives and the builder is there, the fence work began. I arrived home after work and found the work to be done well for the most part; however, we have one gate on an incline near the garage which scrapes the driveway incline so I needed to trim to be able to open it easily; they also cracked a large stone paver (brand new) near the gate and just leaned it up against a tree for us to find. I was not hopeful of any kind of communication or assistance with reimbursement for the paver due to the lack of communication and push-back with Rustic on their part to date, luckily my landscaper offered to replace it at no charge. All in all I would have been fine with the delays (to a degree) had this company chosen to communicate effectively that these delays were possible/occurring, instead of leaving me to manage the communication from my end. I will say though, they were on point calling me to send a check within a couple days of the job being completed, which is the only proactive communication I received since they engaged me to set-up a design consultation. I would not hire or recommend this company to any one, especially if they are like me who is someone looking for an expert in their field to help me navigate the requirements/timeline/delays/etc one may encounter during the execution of the work/service requested. I believe the majority of the issues with communication stem from a poor customer management system, I must have spoken to 4-5 different people including the builder, and none of which seemed to know what the others had communicated, or even that I was experiencing these issues. Note: While Reviewing Rustic on here I noticed a review from June 29th (work completed on June 22nd) where the reviewer mentions Rustic performed the work on 6/22 "in the rain," which leaves me perplexed as to how a job scheduled after my 1st build date was able to stay on schedule and be done in the rain. Schedule: May 18th - Quote May 19th - Quote Acceptance & Date Selection June 8th - Confirmation Permit was Customer Responsibility (Customer had to engage) June 17th - Original build date (missed, no show/no call) June 18th - Builder Meeting (Late arrival, commitment to build following week) June 24th - No Call/No Update (Previous Commitment by Builder confirmed false, New Date 6/30 provided) June 30th - 2nd Build Date (missed, no show/no call) July 2nd - Customer Calls for Update (Poor Attitude by Rustic, new date of 7/6 provided) July 6th - Fence Built (damage to landscaping/gate defect) July 9th - Call for Payment (payment sent 7/20, cashed 7/24)

Getting an estimate for the work was an easy phone call. Crew arrived on time. They worked in the rain. The project was completed promptly. This is the third time i have hired Bob Jaack's Rustic Fencing. I will do so again.

I went out to check periodically to see how it was going. Everything seemed to go according to plan. On one such look see I noticed a board had cracked when the nail holding that section to the post was driven in. I asked the worker if he was going to change that section out and he said yes. Later I saw that it had been. Everything went according to my wishes. When done the installers cleaned everything up and left. No problems!

Great experience. They were prompt with a quote. Installers were on time and very professional.

Very good experience. Technician was on time, very professional and fixed everything quickly.

The team started on time and did an excellent job. Although the project was estimated at 1 day, it ended up being 2 days. However the results are great. Very happy with service and end product. Very friendly staff and Rudy (sales) provided excellent suggestions on the fencing type and placement. Would strongly recommend for any future projects.

I received quotes from a couple of providers and Bob Jaacks Rustic Wood Fencing was a bit higher. I shared with them the other quote I had from TruLink and Gina was able to come down a bit. Even though I was operating with a tight budget, it was close enough that I preferred to use a local business over a national chain. Gina was very patient as we went back with questions and adjustments to our initial bid several times before the install. Ultimately, Gina met all our requirements and delivered as expected. One situation worth noting is that some of my back and forth with Gina was around the topography of my yard. I had bushes and a tree very near my lot line and sent her photos to ensure the fence could be installed behind the existing greenery. She told me that they would not be able to do any landscaping at the install so whatever was there is what they would deal with. I had my landscapers cut back some bushes along the lot line and expected the fence would have to start and stop around a tree that looked too close to the line to get behind. On the day of install I got a call from my wife that the installer wanted to remove a railroad tie that was being used as a retaining wall for my neighbors yard. I agreed to allow them to remove the one tie that would allow them to run the fence straight behind the tree mentioned above. When I got home, I found that they had actually removed a substantial amount of bushes and all of the railroad ties that served as the retaining wall (my neighbor has pool and his yard is higher than mine since it was previously raised to allow for a level pool). To be clear, the fence looked great and I know the installer did this to provide a good look to the finished product. However, my neighbor was a bit irritated that the wall was removed without me speaking to him first. Even though the wall was on my property, I understood his concern since neither of us want his yard to collapse into mine. Following the install I got a call from Gina about the final bill and I was told the installer spent 4 hours doing landscaping. I agreed that it appeared he had done quite a bit of work which was a surprise to me given my previous discussion with Gina about them not doing landscaping work and the call I had with the installer that morning about the single railroad tie. I got the feeling that she wanted to add a charge for that work which may have been OK had that been part of their proposal. I felt like it would have been a bit unfair to charge me after the fact, especially since I had made it clear I was on a tight budget for the fence. In the end, she asked if I was pleased with the work and I told her I was and would send her a check for the balance. Based on my experience I would recommend Bob Jaacks Rustic Wood Fencing to others and encourage them to fully discuss any additional landscaping work that might be required for installation. My fence looks great and I am very happy with the quality of wood and workmanship.

Bob was a great guy, very professional and gave us money saving tips -- we can save part of our fence! We will hire him.

Great interactions with Jerry who came twice to our home for estimates as our plans changed and Jerry was good about returning to our home. Jerry offered great suggestions and he offered suggestions for other house projects. Jerry is very knowledgable, friendly, respectful and pleasant to work with. He called the day of the work just to make sure we were happy with the work performed. We highly recommend anyone to work with him.

They returned our initial phone call for a quote and set up an appointment, which they arrived at right on time. The estimator walked our fence and located all of the posts and boards that needed to be fixed or replaced. We received a quote right then. We set up an appointment for 2 weeks out (there was a foot of snow on the ground...). On the day of the job, the repairman came on time. He performed the work in a very professional manner, was polite and did an excellent job on our fence. I decided to get some automatic closer springs for the gates after he had arrived so I called the office. They were very happy to add the springs and update the quote. I drove over the 2 miles to their store, picked up the springs and a new written receipt and gave them to the repairman who put them on. Before the repairman left we walked the fence and tested the gates. Everything was perfect. We would definitely use this company again for any fence work.

When I went to make an appointment, the male receptionist was least interested. Then I was told they would call me in 3 weeks which they did . The guys were punctual, courteous,professional and did the job well. I think the cost was too high. I cannot remember the date when the work was done; above date is very very approximate.

I had Rustic Fence come out to give me an estimate on April 7th. The gentleman from the company was punctual. I was very clear as to what I wanted, and I expected an answer within 48 hours. I made a call 5 days later inquiring about my quote. It was emailed the following day. To explain my situation, I currently have a wood fence with galvanized steel posts that are standard and are in excellent shape. My quote came through...but it was for removing the existing posts and replacing them with new ones. Not what I asked for. I called and explained, again, what I wanted. A new quote came out...a bit less, but the same job---new posts. I've had two other 'A' listed contractors come out and quote me for what I asked...both inspected the existing posts and found them to be solid, standard, and can easily work with them. I figured I'd give Rustic Fence another shot at it, so I emailed them, again. I get a reply that they couldn't find my quote, and "Email me a copy or give me the date I wrote on it so we can discuss. I have so many emails a day I can't remember yours." I replied "If your company is that unorganized, I?m taking my business elsewhere." A few minutes later they called saying they DID have it...but stood by their initial position that they could not work with my posts. Not impressed.

I called them twice and setup appointments, and was told twice that someone will come in the week or the next week without specifying exact day or time of the day. I was told no one needed to be at home, I just needed to put some kind of mark on the posts, and the person would find the posts and replace the posts. But no one came in the span of over a month. After two "appointments", I thought maybe the job is too small and they would never come. I was thinking to call someone else to do the job. But at that point Rustic Wood Fencing called and asked me if I still wanted the job to be done. I said yes and I told them I had appointments and no one came. The person on the other end seemed to be offended. But anyway this time someone came during the week and did a good job of replacing the fence. The posts were very sturdy.

Fantastic! The quoting process was very easy. They helped us pick the fence right for us. Gave us a quote on site. They started work quickly. They had to build the fence on site due to the slopes of the yard. They removed and built the new fence in two days. The fence looks great!

good just what I asked for. prompt friendly & helpful.

Great service. Estimation process was pleasant and informative. Removal of old fence was a breeze. Installation of new fence with concrete footers went like clockwork. Installation crew was a pleasure to deal with. Cleaned up after themselves and very courteous. Couldn't ask for a nicer experience. Highly recommended.

Each step of the process was on time, except for a back-ordered gate (which was installed when expected). Thorough discussion of options with estimator, and then easy review on phone to finalize order. Two person crew did an excellent job, and were polite and friendly. One labor charge was removed from my final bill when that work proved unnecessary.

They did a great job and the price was competitive. We were very impressed. We like the down-to-earth guy they sent to do the estimate who has been doing this forever.

It was great. I was super happy. I found him on Angie’s List. We had a bunch of people come out and do estimates and lot of the people were either late, or messed up or didn’t show up and Ryan showed up exactly on time. He gave me a proposal and then we have a friend who is a contractor, he looked at it and said go with Ryan because he couldn’t do it for that little bit. Then he had some design ideas that we really liked and so I chose him and we were extraordinarily happy with him.

From the first time I called until the work was finished, everyone I dealt with from Rustic Wood Fencing was friendly and professional. We felt that the quote was fair and decided to hire them right away. We were able to schedule the installation within the next week. They made everything very easy for us and the gates look great! I would definitely hire them again.

Did a great job and we would use again to replace other sections of our fence, if needed!

From the first phone call I immedialtely knew that I had the right company. They were responsive, punctual, and highly efficient. I was given all the pre-installment information and what I needed to do in as far as having a plat of survey to the permit from the village of Skokie. They took care of having the surveyor come out and mark all necessary gas lines etc. From the start they kept me in the loop of all details involving the removal of the old chain link fence. They went step by step on all the particulars. I also had spoken to my neighbors on both sides and asked if it would be ok for the fencing workers to go on their property. The workers appreciated that I had taken the initiative and spoken to my neighbors. The actual removal of the old fence and the new wooden fence going up took exactly 1full day and 1/2 of the next day. When the final stages of the new fence where about to be completed, they made sure that all details were up to my specifications. The quality of work, their deligence was outstanding. I appreciated that they keep me informed from the first step to the last step. I highly recommend Rustic Wood Fence without any reservation!!

I called Rustic Wood Fences (Bob Jaacks) in July to get an estimate for a new backyard fence. Jerry arrived on the designated day, took measurements, and developed a quote for the work. He took the time to understand what I wanted, and let me know what I had to do to prepare the site. After comparing with another quote I had received, I called and set up a time for installation in August. As I was having other work done on the house, I had to reschedule the installation several times. The company was very understanding and flexible in their scheduling. The fence was finally installed in October, and it was everything I expected. The workmanship was of high quality and all old fence materials were removed. Though I have had to adjust a few fence latches due to some ground heaving with our frigid winter, I've had no other problems. The wood is aging nicely, and the fence provides the appearance I was looking for. I would certainly call Rustic Wood Fences for future work.

The fence surrounding our refuse container area had a very user unfriendly gate. The fence and gate were installed by Fence Works. When we contacted Fence Works for a better solution they were not responsive. We then contacted Rustic Wood Fencing and Bob Kruger provided our association with a great solution and price. When Raymundo and his crew mate came to do the work, they gave us a great looking gate that was very easy to open and close. Plus, it's even stronger and more secure! Raymundo ran into a few snags along the way but was able to think outside the box to create a better solution than we had imagined. Thank you Rustic!

He was a nice guy but did not have opportunity for us. We need to tell him what we wanted to do when I was looking for someone to help me with the design over the fence, what I could do and not do. He wanted me to tell him what to do.