Deck Cetera LLC

"I'M BANKRUPT!!!!!......I FIRED EVERYBODY....I DON'T KNOW WHEN THIS WILL BE DONE!..I'VE DONE 7 OTHER PROJECTS!...WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOUR PROJECT IS MORE IMPORTANT!?...I MAKE D*** GOOD DECKS!...I COULD SUE YOU FOR ME GETTING HURT ON YOUR PROPERTY!....THIS JOB HAS BEEN A PAIN!...YOU'RE TOO INDECISIVE!...I QUIT!....YOU CAN KEEP THE REST OF THE MONEY!!......um, could you please call me about completing the job?"
 
These are just a FEW of the numerous statements that have come from COLIN BEARDEN, the OWNER of this company over a period of three months. The job was started on July 26th and he "QUIT" October 23rd. After 3 MONTHS of Bearden's broken promises, unanswered telephone calls/messages, threats, mistakes and explosive reactionary responses to simple and legitimate questions the job remains UNFINISHED. We never knew when or if anyone would show up to work on the project. The inspector was here Oct 23 (the same day he quit) and the deck did not pass inspection.
Our first encounter with Deck Cetera was with a gentleman who helped us with the design we wanted. Paul was professional, patient and took time to listen to what we wanted (we would find out later: he was a stark contrast to Bearden). After deciding on a final design and negotiating a contract, we were told that the actual work would take about 2 weeks. We were also told that getting permits would take a little longer, thus, we would have to wait for the actual work to be done. We were also told that we could pay with our credit card.
Work began on July 26th with preparing the property for the laying of the stone pavers. There was a team of 3 workers that worked diligently ALL DAY (early morning to early evening). We were impressed with the high level of professionalism this particular team of workers demonstrated.
BEARDEN called us and asked if we could pay with cash instead due to the 3% fee the credit card company would charge him. He was told that we had originally agreed to use the credit card. We listened to his hard luck story and sympathized. We made the next payment by check.
 As the work progressed, it was realized that the stones were not the stones we ordered. The stones for the soldier border did not match the stones for the rest of the patio. We discovered that BEARDEN had changed the stone pavers WITHOUT our consent. By this time, the patio had already been laid. We were offered a $500 incentive to keep the stones and they would get matching stones for the soldier border. We gave in (once again) to another hard luck story and accepted the $500 credit. Apprx a week past when were told that they COULD NOT get the indv stones to continue the soldier border. By this time, 2/3rds of the walkway had been laid.
 What to do next?
At this point WE, as the customer, had to find out for ourselves if we could get the stones we ORIGINALLY wanted. We contacted a landscaping supplier. The supplier put us in contact with a regional distributer to help us determine if the stones we wanted could be purchased with the correct dimensions for the patio and walkway. Yes, they could. We then told the distributer that they would be getting a call from BEARDEN for the stones we needed for our project. BEARDEN was shown from the catalog exactly what needed to be ordered.
 
Thus, ALL the stone pavers had to be removed and the CORRECT stones had to be delivered for re-installation. We recently found out that the workers who worked so hard to install, remove and reinstall the stones have not been paid! BEARDEN owes them approximately $6,000!
 
Bearden blamed Paul for the stone mix up and told us that he had "FIRED" Paul.
 
 We called Paul. Paul came over to our home to discuss the progression of our project. When we asked Paul about his "firing" Paul stated, "Is this the first time Colin has fired me? No." Paul has been "FIRED" several times during the progression of our project.
 We were told that the deck work would begin Tuesday August 6th. We were on vacation during that week. We were apprehensive about being away while the work was being done due to the mistakes and early encounters with BEARDEN. We had expected to see either work in progress or a completed project by the time we arrived home. NOTHING had been done.
  Bearden was called to find out what had happened and why we didn't get a courtesy call to let us know that the job would be delayed.  He stated "I HAD TO FIRE EVERYBODY"
 From then on, the project moved at a snails pace and laden with false promises from Bearden. "I'll be there and you will see a substantial amount of work done....I'll work all day...I am going to work my guys late in order to catch up....I finally freed up my schedule and the week following...my time is dedicated to your project" There was a time that we didn't see Bearden for a whole week. Bearden's workdays were never consistant. Sometimes he would show up with his son and arrive around noon and go home by 2 or 3. There was always someone home to witness his arrivals and departure times.  We were told that all decking material was purchased and cut and ready to be installed. However, we never knew when or if anyone would show up to do any work. There was a time when it looked like serious work was about to be done when he pulled up his trailer and parked it there for several days. There was material all over the lawn for weeks. He had his electric saw, tools and a bobcat parked on the side and back of the house. There was one or two days when several workers showed up. Then one day in Sept sometime, the trailer was gone. 
 
As October began, our patience grew thin. After not seeing him for awhile, we called and left a message saying since we have not heard from you and you have not shown up for work, we are considering this jobsite abandoned, we will be hiring someone else to finish the project and send you the bill.  Bearden showed up the next day and the next. However, as each day progressed his time on the job decreased to 2 or 3 hours a day.
 We called Bearden on the 16th of October and told him, "Several weeks ago you told me you only had 5 days of work left. Building my deck is not your hobby. You have till Saturday to complete this." 
Tuesday Oct 22nd, at the end of the day one of the workers with Colin stated "Can you give everything a quick lookover because we want to make tomorrow our last day." 
When questions were asked about the work that had not yet been completed: rocks and weed barrier for under the deck and about a few other minor items of concern, we could see Bearden becoming progressively agitated. Bearden rudely walked away from the conversation to his truck to get a diagram of the deck layout to show that the diagram shows rock in a small area btwn the patio and basement window. It was then pointed out to Bearden that you cannot SEE what is under the deck from this diagram. He had forgotten the verbal agreement that we had 2 months ago about the rocks. He had two samples of rock for us to choose from.
The next morning, Bearden was called and told that we were not comfortable having only two choices of rock for the yard. We asked if he could recommend a place where we could go to look for diff types of rock. Bearden's response was that we were inconviencing him because we were "indecisive". Bearden was reminded that this project taking 3 months has been an INCONVENIENCE for us. He hung up. Bearden was called back right

All this in a matter of a few shorts weeks, not months. 
Then when everything was said and done and Deck Cetera had already been paid all of their money the front door was damaged and they came out in record time and repair it. 
I would recommend Deck Cetera to anyone and everyone.  In fact we did on Memorial Day, anyone who wanted to know we told them.  That?s Deck Cetera you all.  Thanks Deck Cetera for making a big project pain free for us.  You rock!!!

The process began with their designer, Jean, coming to the house and discussing what we wanted and offering some ideas.  Within days we had an estimate and design.  We revised from there and agreed to the work.  They actually were able to being early as another job had to be delayed as the people were not ready for them.  The workers were good and efficient and Colin, the owner, made certain work proceeded well and any questions we had were promptly answered.  Their workmanship is wonderful.  The stairs and decking on them are great with added touches that made them work for getting to the yard better than expected.   The pavers are beautiful and perfectly installed and the retaining wall is simply outstanding -- the have great stone workers.  All nice to work with and attentive to us and detail.

My initial impression wasn't very good.  The estimator Paul was not responsive at times but I continued to try to contact him and arrived at a very reasonable price for the project once we got to talking about it.  It took a while to get started but once they did, everything went smoothly. When the stairs did not end up landing on the pool decking, they built a small in-ground walk.  They also came back and installed a small patio between one set of stairs and the basement stairs. They built a pull up door so I could access my pool equipment underneath. They made changes to I could open my out-swing double doors more fully.  The job was complicated but the job turned out great. Owner Colin and workers were on time and very professional.  Excellent job overall. I could not be happier.

Overall, we have had a wonderful experience with Deck Cetera and highly recommend this company.

unknown

We had a wonderful experience with Deck Cetera from start to finish.  My wife and I originally wanted to replace the decking on our 26 foot by 16 foot deck while keeping the existing foundation.  The existing deck was not very old (4 years,) but was built with poor quality wood and didn't survive the Annapolis weather too well.  We contacted a number of companies we researched off of Angie's List and began the meet and greet process.
The biggest issue my wife and I had was that we, like many other homeowners, were rather unsure as to what we wanted.  We knew we needed the decking replaced, but we wanted our yard to look nice and be useable.  I liked the idea of a portion of the deck being screened in and my wife liked the idea of a nice large patio that sits off the deck.
While most the companies we contacted did come speak with us and give us accurate estimates, none gave us as much help and detail as Deck Cetera did.  Jean from Deck Cetera came to our house no less than 4 times and each time she sat with us to discuss options, draw sketches of the yard, estimate cost, and make professional recommendations.  While the other companies we contacted were interested in quoting what we wanted, Jean from Deck Cetera was more interested in ensuring we were happy with our investment and that we were comfortable and happy with our design.
My wife and I must have gone through no less than 10 iterations of our yard design and Jean from Deck Cetera remained patient with us and was sure not to force us into any decisions or to act pushy in any way.  What we decided on was a 3-5 year plan that involved initially replacing the decking and building out the structure of the deck so that it could (in the future) support a screen room, as well a building a nice paver patio off the deck with a sitting wall. 
Deck Cetera had a crew out as soon as we made our decision and the work was done very quickly with no interference to our day-to-day activities.  The workers were extremely professional and the quality of the work is fantastic.  We were very pleased with our end result and will be sure to use them again in the future.

I enjoyed dealing with Dec Cetera.  I thought it was a large company they way they followed up on every activity.  It turns out that it was Collins wife making sure everything was going well.  He's a lucky guy.

The crew worked long days and were very hard workers. I was very impressed. The deck is beautiful and have heard people comment on it how nice it looks. Every time we called we were responded to very quickly. I would recommend them. 

unknown

Deck Cetera was only one of the 6 companies that contacted me for me to  get a quote from.  They were professional from the start.  Was quick with writing and emailing the details.  They seemingly had all their 'ducks in a row' for the most part. Once the project was started...I had to stay check on them and ultimately they DID DO WHAT OUR CONTRACT said and I am VERY happy about that. It just took more effort on my part to follow up on things to get to that end result.....more than I would have thought. But they DID go to the effort to make sure I was happy and to  do everything I asked. That is much more than most companies do. IT is a beautiful patio and my tenant is happy that we did that for her. Overall...I would give them a letter grade of B+ if there was one.  I will give them a bit ...so I gave them an A.

I don't recommend this company to anyone and consider it one of the biggest mistakes I made in a long time.  
Sometimes paying the higher costs gets you better service.  And, you won't have to walk around on black tar paper for four months pending the insurance company replacing what is damaged.
The install date is approximate, the porch has been on for about three or four years now.

BEYOND OUR EXPECTATIONS! My husband and I researched a few companies to install a stone patio, and we chose Deck Cetera based on positive reviews on Angie's List and a positive comment posted on our HOA's community website. Hannah responded to my email request within 24 hours. She scheduled a day for our estimate, and Paul came out on the agreed date, on time. Paul was very prepared for the visit. He brought sample pictures of other patios they had done, as well as pictures of the process for the install and those of stone options for us to choose from. We sat down and discussed our budget and an idea of what we were looking for. Paul returned to discuss the final quote and he provided a drawing of the design. We did what you are typically advised against when working with contractors, and we said "yes" to Deck Cetera without getting any other bids... needless to say, we do not regret this decision one bit! Throughout the installation, both Colin and Jay (the foreman on site) were very responsive. One day, I sat inside and watched the workers for a short while. I was highly impressed with their skill and workmanship. After the install, it rained a lot and one of our corner bricks came loose. However, Jay came back within a day to fix it, and we are certain that stone and our entire patio will not be shifting loose at any point in the future. Whenever we decide to expand our design by adding a walkway and sitting walls, we will DEFINITELY call on Deck Cetera again. We LOVE our new patio and are so grateful for the entire Deck Cetera crew.

After calling Deck cetera  they responded right away and Paul Catlett came out to provide an estimate. The estimate was below or competitive with other estimates. They actually arrived to start the deck a week before I thought they were going to start. During the demolition of the old deck they found that where it was attached to the house under a sliding glass door the old deck had not been flashed properly and it was completely dry rotted. So they had to repair that.

When they started work they were here everyday arriving about 8:00 am and working some days until 7:00 pm.  The work was exceptional. They cleaned up every day after they completed their work for the day. They were very polite and responsive. Again, I cannot say enough about the exceptional job they did on the deck.

I called Deck Cetera in May of 2011 to get an estimate for the construction of a new deck at my house.  Jean was very helpful, asking great questions about what we wanted, and provided us with a design that suited our needs, as well as our budget.  They were to take down an old existing deck on the third floor, which was connected to our master bedroom.  The existing deck was accessible through a french door, and Deck Cetera was going to replace it with a window and build a new knee wall and window sill.  I had difficulty locating a window that would be the right size, and Colin from Deck Cetera was helpful in tracking down and purchasing the correct window, for which he was reimbursed.  I did have some problems with Colin not returning phone calls for multiple days, but everything wound up happening in due time without too much trouble.  He provided my HOA with a packet detailing the construction and took care of obtaining the correct permits from the county.The construction began in the beginning of August, and Pete, the foreman, was extremely knowledgeable, kind, and a stickler for quality and craftsmanship.  We encountered a slight problem when the deck boards were about to be laid down, as I had specified the boards to be done at a 45 degree angle, and Pete had begun to lay them out straight.  I discovered that he had not been informed about the 45 degree angle design from Colin, indicating a breakdown of communication.  Had I not been present to notice this and correct it before the boards went down, it may have caused us some serious issues.  The old master bedroom doors were replaced with a window, which was finished and drywalled by Colin's dad.  The quality of the drywall work, window frame installation and caulking performed inside the house was considerably inferior to the quality of the exterior work done by Pete.  I did raise a concern about this with the company, and Jean came to take some pictures, but no resolution has come about.  I would have hoped for a better explanation about the discrepancy in workmanship but according to Jean, this is not the first time someone has complained about Colin's dad's work.  Quite a shame, since the deck really is solidly built, and we were extremely happy with Pete's workmanship and demeanor throughout the project.  Overall, I would hire them again if given the chance, but would steer folks away from having any interior work performed by this company.

We had difficulty obtaining 3 or more estimates for this project. Most companies we contacted ended up being very unprofessional. We had company reps "no show" and then had estimates submitted for regular rail systems, when we had requested an estimate for a Chippendale design. We even had some companies tell us the Chippendale design was not available, which was not true, because I found several suppliers online myself.


Deck cetera was by far the most professional in their contact with us, and with the presentation of their estimate. They had many photo examples of their work, along with positive reviews from customers. They conducted research on the design we wanted, and their estimate was very specific in itemizing the materials and brands to be used for the project. They also made suggestions for different options. Although we did receive a lower estimate, and we felt Deck cetera's original quote was on the high side, they were willing to negotiate a further discount off of the originally quoted price. We basically split the difference between the lowest estimate and theirs, which we felt was fair, due to what we felt would be a superior quality of work. We were willing to pay a little more for their professionalism and work quality.


Although the project started later than we hoped, due to a weather issue and materials ordering delay, we were very happy with the results overall. Our railings look fantastic! While the workers were installing the railings, they even had a car stop and the driver walk over to compliment the work and ask about their company and services. The vinyl Chippendale rail design is not common in our area, and we went from a country style look to a more upscale, sophisticated look. We love it!

From the first meeting of several with Jean Schappet the whole experience was pleasant and went beyond our expectations. Colin Bearden (owner of Deck Cetera) stayed involved and made sure things went smoothly and worked with us for some add-ons so they were provide at a great rate with no interruptions to the work. The clean up was complete, including repairing the lawn where they had worked on it and torn it up.

I think you can depend on this company to provide quality work at the best price no matter what the project.

Update, 4/14/2012. We've asked them to come out and take care of a couple of minor, but important, things and they responded quickly and professionally. We remain pleased with their work and our porch is the envy of the neighborhood.

Deck Cetera was one of three deck builders I had contacted for estimates. The company representative was punctual, professional and well informed answering all of my questions directly. There was no sales pitch or high pressure tactics employed and a formal, signed written proposal was provided prior to his departure. This was in stark contrast to the the other two companies which were vague and appeared disinterested unless I was willing to sign a contract there and then. After reviewing my options and the proposal, I selected Deck Cetera. A couple of weeks later permits were acquired and work began. The folks doing the work were very polite, considerate professional and very hard working. It took two days to tear the old deck down and three days to put the new one up. Overall size was 12' x 34'. The deck is well built and looks fantastic. If this deck is an example of their work in other areas then I would not hesitate to recommend this company to anyone.  

Deck Cetera did an excellent job building my 4-season sunroom and patio. I practically live in this room – the room is what I envisioned and I am so ecstatic with the final product. Colin was able to obtain the permits without any problems within weeks of signing the contract. I must admit, I was a little worried when he said the job could be done in 90-days. However, the permits were in place and his team was in here working when he said they would be.  They left my yard clean each day and even worked around me having to take the dog out occasionally. I was so impressed that this build did not disrupt my family’s life. The entire team and the building process was just what a homeowner would want the experience to be. The guys were very well organized, worked well together, and were highly professional.  To top it off - they started and finished when they said they would - even though Mother Nature didn't always cooperate.  Colin, Ms. Jean, Mr. Bob, Pete, Donnie, Dale and any others came through big with this project!  Colin's confidence in his team's  capabilities and their ability to produce quality results on schedule and on budget is unmatched. Their knowledge of the process and the products they use allowed me to relax and enjoy the building process. Whenever there were changes or I saw things I didn’t understand, Colin took the time and explained it to me. His insight into what the final product would look like and what would and would not work for the design (with a reason why) allowed me to make informed decisions. Further, I appreciate the concern he showed regarding my bad experience with another local contractor who defaulted.  Colin made sure he kept me informed during each step of the process so I wouldn’t be worried about having someone take my money again.    The 4-season sunroom and patio look absolutely wonderful. My neighbors have been peeping over the fence and before we put the fence back in place, were actually in the yard checking out the room. The finished room looks like it has always been a part of the house. They did such an excellent job with the sunroom and patio that I couldn't leave my front entrance untouched.  I can’t wait to see what they do with the front entrance. I highly recommend Deck Cetera - you won't be disappointed.

It is a family-run business. They are all very good and nice people. They are based in La Plata, so they are not really next door. They came when they were supposed to. They reviewed the situation, came up with solutions to our problems and did their work. The replacement of the deck was an insurance deal. They knew how to talk to the inspectors. When they needed a specialist - an electrician for example - they brought in a good guy. They knew their business. They extended themselves, particularly in light of the difficult certification, licensing, registration and approval processes in D.C. They understood the process. We needed to have someone on hand when waiting for an inspector; moreover, the inspector did not show on several occasions. We selected the materials. They were very clear about showing us what would happen with the windows and the walls. They asked us how thick we wanted it, how much installation, and so on. They were quite responsive. We had an issue with some water damage, and they thought that I was suggesting that they had caused it, so the father called the next morning; I clarified to him that the damage was because of the rain. They feel very liable and responsible for their work and product. I am not sure of the price because it was in two payments, but they were very fair and appropriate with their pricing. They came in at a very reasonable price compared to another company. We could not have gotten a better deal. I would give them a very high rating and would use them again in the future if necessary.