Creative Deck Designs

This was our 2nd time using Creative Deck. This review is for customer awareness. We contacted the company and discussed these matters with them before posting this. #1 - Although we are the property/homeowner, you do not have to be home during install. We are nervous homeowners. We took off work to be there. Unlike other construction we have used, Creative has only ONE crew that installs. That weight is on the ONE foreman who will have to take off work unexpectedly. No one showed. #2 - Calls the day of. We were called the morning of and asked "Can they come today?" We felt this "same day" scheduling was very erratic, compared to what we experienced with this company before. #3 - Customers - mark your wires and inform your adjuster. Your buried internet and automower wires are not marked by the Utility company. Inform your adjuster so he/she can help you get these marked. The 3-star rating was a 1-star. The company took time to speak with us about the issues, so we are showing some teamwork. Gary has been there for decades and knows his stuff. The management here - doesn't have time for conversation or empathy. They will throw the paper work back in at you, and you can see that response in their comments to reviews here. Sometime everything legal isn't moral/correct. We aren't sure we will use them again. It just seems sloppy and unorganized for our type of property ownership. I'm sure it would work great for other types of homeowners.

The Team at Creative Deck Design is extremely professional and will go above and beyond to elevate your deck/patio design experience. From beginning to end the Team was always considerate, answered all of our questions, and at no time did we feel rushed to make a material/design decision. The crew that installed/built the deck worked so efficiently and tirelessly, that they had our beautiful deck completed within three days. I will definitely be reaching out Creative Deck Design in the future once we plan to have our stone paver patio installed! Needless to say, I completely recommend this great company for any deck/patio projects that you have. Special thanks to Jim for his professionalism and continued communication throughout the entire process.

Expensive and terrible communication. The job was to be completed by the end of May. Now if it's done by end middle of July, I'd be surprised. Supplies in my garden waiting to be finished. My backyard is a construction zone and has been for 2 months. I do not recommend this company.

I hired Creative Deck Design to build a new front porch and a deck on the back of our house back in March. I was told that construction would begin in 6-8 weeks when I paid my deposit to them and signed the contract, and that the construction process shouldn’t exceed 2 weeks. The whole process well exceeded the time expectations that were set as it is now mid-October and we are still waiting for work to be done to our back deck so that it can pass its 4th inspection. Our first failed inspection took place on 3 July. That very day one of the owners, Frank, came out to take a look at the work and explained that his worker would be out to make the corrections, which they did. Unbeknownst to us, the company failed to schedule the re-inspection as required, and we were notified by the Town of Bel Air on Sept 5 that our back deck could not be issued the Final Use Certificate. I immediately reached out to Frank at Creative Deck Design to inquire as to what was going on. Frank didn’t seem to know but would look into it. A few days later the 2nd inspection took place, and failed. On 17 September, when I had not heard from the company, I made another phone call to Frank to inquire on when someone would be out to make the corrections to our deck since it had been nearly 2 weeks since the 2nd failed inspection. I was told by Frank that they were short staffed and that they would get to it when they got to it. He also proceeded to tell me that it wasn’t as if my deck was going to fall down. I explained to Frank that this was not how you treat customers and that I’d appreciate a date/time when I could expect someone out to make the required repairs. Minutes after my phone conversation with Frank I received a text from him stating that someone would be out on 19 September. He further told me that he didn’t appreciate my tone and for me not to call him. He also told me that he was blocking my numbers. On 19 September a worker came out to make repairs and a third inspection took place on 20 September, which failed. On 5 October my husband left a message for Bob, the President and CEO of Creative Deck Design. When Bob finally returned his call he proceeded to give my husband a hard time and said that the Inspectors for the Town were being overly picky. After some discussion with Bob, my husband volunteered to forward the inspection findings to Bob (which had also been sent to the company by the inspector’s office), so that we could possibly get the needed work done to pass inspection. It has now been three weeks since the 3rd failed inspection and the required work still hasn’t be completed, nor has the company attempted to reach out to us. To date we have not received any communication from Creative Deck Design as to when someone will be out to make the needed repairs for our deck to pass inspection, and we feel that we have exhausted all avenues ourselves on trying to get this matter resolved. In addition to the failed inspections, Creative Deck Design was supposed to replace a defective composite board that I had notified them about in late August. I was told via text by Frank that he had come out to my house to look at the board, and that he attempted to get the defect off by sanding it, which is baffling since the board is composite, not wood and only made it worst. Because that didn’t work, Frank stated in a text that he would try to replace the board. Needless to say, the board still hasn’t been replaced, and after the back-and-forth regarding the failed inspections, Frank has since stated that I will have to go through the manufacture warranty to resolve. It is important to note that the company received payment in full back in late June.

In April 2016, I hired Creative Deck Designs to install a 6 ft. privacy fence around my backyard. I had the fence installed for two reasons: privacy and security. I have a dog that weighs over 100 pounds and I need to be sure that he will be secure in the backyard. Several months ago when we had a lot of wind one night, one of the panels came loose. It popped out of the top rail of the fence. I called the office and left a voice mail. When I didn’t hear anything in two days, I contacted the project manager for the project, Greg. He and another guy came out that day and secured the panel. I mentioned to Greg that I had contacted the office first, but after two days had not received a response. He advised me to contact him directly if it happened again. Fast forwarding to this past week, I noticed another panel had popped out of the top rail on Sunday, March 5th. I texted Greg around 8:10 am on Monday, March 6th. Around noon, I had not heard from Greg so I called him. The phone rang for a while and then I received a message saying the person I was trying to reach was unavailable and call back later. I then called the office. I left a voice mail explaining the situation and said that I have a very large dog who requires a secure fence, and I said that I was hoping someone could come out and fix the panel ASAP. Later that night, around 8 pm, Greg texted me to tell me he was no longer with the company. When I had not received a return call from the office in 24 hours, I called again. This time someone answered the phone and I again explained the issue and asked that someone come out and fix the panel. The receptionist took my contact information and told me that someone should contact me within a “week or two.” I said, “A week or two?!” She then said, “Oh, you need someone to come out sooner than that?” I had not only explained on the voice mail I left the day before that I have a dog over 100 pounds that needs a secure fence, but I told the receptionist during that same conversation. I told her that I could not wait a week or two. She said she would try to have someone contact me sooner. I told her I really appreciated it and we ended the call. Three days later, on March 10th, I still had not received a phone call. I’ve been taking my dog out in the backyard on a leash because I can’t trust the integrity of the fence. I called the office again in the morning and spoke to someone named Jen. I explained the situation again, and she said put me through to someone named Brandon. I explained the issue yet again, and he told me he would see if someone could come out that day. He said someone would call me back. I gave him my work number and asked that whomever returned my call would call me at work because my cell signal at work is unreliable. About 12:45 pm, I received a call on my cell phone from Frank (who I later found out is co-owner of Creative Deck) and he said someone was at my home but couldn’t get in the yard to check out the panel. I said that was because the gate is locked and I was not home. He asked if I was opposed to the guy climbing my (six foot) fence and me telling him where the loose panel was. Before I could reply, my phone cut out. As I was trying to call him back from my work phone, he called me back on my cell. I answered and explained that my cell signal at work was spotty which is why I gave Brandon my work number and asked that whomever called me used my work number during the day. Frank asked again if it was okay for the guy to climb my fence and I said no because I wanted to be there when the repair was made. He became very argumentative and hostile. I told him that Brandon told me that someone would be calling me back, not that someone would just show up. I told him I didn’t think it was an unreasonable expectation to expect someone to call me before they show up at my home. He said it wasn’t unreasonable, but they don’t always call. They show up “when it’s convenient.” He commented that I’ve been calling for three days now so they showed up today when they could. I said they should have called me first and I could have made arrangements to be there. He was extremely disrespectful. I told him I don’t know why he is arguing with a customer. As I was trying to explain why it was so important to have the fence fixed, he kept talking over me and continued to be disrespectful. I asked him if the guy would be able to return to the house that day (Friday the 10th) and eventually he said the guy would probably be able to come back because he would be in the area all afternoon. He said he (don’t know whether he meant himself or the guy) would call me first. I asked him if he had my work number and he verified it from his notes. I told him until what time he could reach me at work and then after that he could call my cell. I thanked him and hung up. I never received a phone call and no one ever showed up Friday afternoon after I got home from work. However, I can see that they clearly disregarded my express denial of permission to enter my property because I found my ladder, which had previously been lying flat on the ground, opened up and standing next to my fence inside my yard. The least they could have done was fix the panel since they were on my property, but the panel is still loose. I will NEVER use this company again. Setting aside the issue with the panels, and my lack of confidence in the security of the fence as a whole, I will never do business with someone who speaks to me the way this co-owner spoke to me on the phone. It’s a shame for them because I am about to begin getting estimates to rebuild my deck and they definitely will not be contacted by me.

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I rarely write reviews of businesses but in this case I feel compelled to let people know how pleased I am with the integrity of Creative Deck Design. A key consideration to me when hiring the services of any company is if they will stand behind their work. I hired Creative Deck Design to replace a 2nd story deck over my front porch. Several months after the deck replacement was completed I discovered a water leak in my house caused by the new deck. This problem took a while to manifest itself because it occurred only during heavy, prolonged rain conditions and, as with many water leaks, it was difficult to tell exactly what the problem was and where the water was coming from. Long story short - Frank Billingsley and members of the Creative team came back several times and at considerable expense to the company, of time and materials, kept working until the problem was fixed (including repair of the in-house water damage). In my experience, this kind of integrity is all too rare these days, but just the kind of thing that creates loyal, satisfied customers. 

They did a really good job. The cost of the service was within the normal range of other companies. They had really nice designs and they were willing to be creative and help us figure out what would best suit us for the house. To go beyond and build us the framework for a swing was just incredible.

I realize that the work was done a long time ago, but I feel we need to report on the poor service we received on our project so others do not need to go through a similar experience. Please do your homework with this company. Check their BBB record. Request references in your area. And call them and speak with them. Here is a summary of the issues we experienced.



Salesperson Steve Walder sold us decking that was untested, Elk wood, a Trex like product. The installation was very difficult. Boards buckled and warped. It was impossible to do the invisible attachment of boards to beams. When we expressed dissatisfaction half way through the process, Steve at our home, began to shout and menace my husband and I. Bob Lehman, the owner was not responsive to our complaints about Steve. We requested he not com back to our home. Ultimately, the decking material all needed replacing. CDD dragged their feet at every step of the process of addressing the problems. While the material was covered after a loooong process with Elk, the labor to replace it was not. We actually had to pay CDD again for replacing it. Also, the boards are no longer invisibly installed but have visible nails. The one main board that ran the length of the deck had to be taken out and replaced with smaller lengths of board which have a tendency to come up at the edges. The Whole process took one year to be remediated. I would look elsewhere for decks.

Initially I was hesitant to use Creative Deck because of some very poor reviews on Angie's List but I had a very positive experience.  They replaced very old columns on our deck that support our deck over a concrete patio.   We were replacing our old patio with new stamped concrete and therefore needed to replace the colums prior to pouring the new concrete. 
Johnny, our salesman, was very professional and provided quotes for both the column replacement and deck replacement (should we decide to replace the deck later).  It is definitely useful to go to their showroom in White Marsh to look at deck materials. 
They did an excellent job.  Dez and his brother were our crew, and they efficiently dug out the old footers, replaced them with preformed footers, and inserted new pressure treated 6x6s.  They left the worksite clean.
I will definitely be going back to do the deck later.

We are so happy that we chose this company to construct our deck and privacy fence.  From the first estimate until the completion of the product, Creative Deck Designs demonstrated their professionalism and pride in workmanship.  Our low-keyed salesperson presented a fair and no-nonsense bid for the proposed work.  He was in constant communication with us throughout the project and was always available.  The craftsmen (and they are truly craftsmen!) who completed the project were outstanding in all regards.  I
must add that the privacy fence we chose was not a straightforward design.  (we found a photo of a privacy fence while surfing the web and were unsure if this design would even be feasible).  This company worked with us ?went out of their way ?both to create the design and to be certain that we were pleased with the end result.  And we are pleased ! !  We highly recommend this company?.you will not be disappointed.    

We were very pleased with this company.  The job turned out very well.  The people returned phone calls and responded rapidly to our requests.

Terrible,Good,Then terrible than Good, In a very short story the first bad thing that happened to us is when they tried to get more money after the contract was signed and a deposit was given, then they miss measured and had to build the stair landing twice,they tried given me a full step then a half step and I told them that it was unacceptable,in the end with a lot of fighting back and forth it came out good,but to stressful for me so I wouldn't recommend them to anyone,and i'm sorry for it its just Angie's list people deserve Better!

I contacted Creative Deck Designs for an estimate on replacing wood fencing with vinyl. Adam B. called me the next day to schedule an appointment and provided me with an estimate at that time. There were some communication issues which were addressed professionally and promptly. The end result is a beautiful fence that is much easier to care for.
When I signed the contract, I was told that the schedule was running about 5-6 weeks which was fine with me so when I was called 5 days later telling me the installers would be coming later in the week I was in a bit of a bind seeing as how I was working all day and going to school full time. I was willing to wait until the end of August to have the fence installed so that I could be here to address any issues. 
The old fence had been put in place by some friends when we first moved into our home in the mid-90's. The rear fence, while on the correct property line, extended beyond the proper turn so the long side of the fence was about 6 ft off all the way down and had to be brought in. I was not here to immediately correct that and it took two more visits to have it done, the final visit taking place while I was home to provide proper location information to the crew supervisor.
When I am ready to replace my deck with a vinyl/PVC one, I will be contacting Creative Deck Designs.

Estimate was reasonable, not the least costly, however what we got in return was flexible to make some changes in construction process without nickel and diming me. They also found (they didn't think they had) color matching stair thread cover that they used with further cost to me. They set a construction start and end date and finished 1 day early. Daily clean up was very good. Foreman available by phone and email-responded in a timely fashion. I'm very satisfied with the outcome, The deck is beautiful. Added two pairs of Bose speakers and watch the sunset everyday.I would consider using them again PS- the best part to be highlighted. About 1 month after completing we had a very severe storm that dislodged two lattice pieces. We call them and they fixed them and added additional reinforcement to prevent this from happening again. And no charge. This is a no headache contractor. Isn't that what we all want? YES.

The work went quickly, on-time, and without interuptions.  The old fence including the posts and concrete plugs surrounding the posts were removed using specialized equipment before installing the new fence.  The heavy duty 6" PVC posts were placed in post holes and anchored in concrete.  Special care was taken to install the gates and supporting posts.  The contractor also installed a landing area patio on one side of the fence to allow for the gates to swing open without ground obstruction.  The workers took care to align the fence panels along a straight path and ensure they were perfectly vertical.  The panels were raked and custom cut to follow the contour of the ground.  Each panel was hand assembled in this maner.  The work took 4 days to complete with about 270 ft. of fencing.  I am having Creative Deck Designs replace my cedar deck with a PVC deck and enclosed patio room resulting from my satisfaction with their work replacing my fence.  I also like dealing with the owner of the company directly.  He was very responsive and professional in dealing with us.  I liked his use of technology to show us photos of different deck and porch styles using his iPAD2.  It made it easier for us to visualize what our new deck would look like and the quality of his work by flipping through thousands of photos on the iPAD2. He had all of the answers to our questions.  This is an excellent company to deal with.

Great. Especially liked the guy who did the work.

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The owner came out several times to discuss price and layout of the fence.  He was very patient and easy to work with.  He never made us feel rushed.  He originally quoted a price a bit higher than some other quotes we received, but we had a good feeling about him, and the brand of fencing they use, so we gave him the opportunity to match our lowest quote, and he did.  The crew (of 3 or 4) came on schedule, and finished in two days.  They left the yard very clean, fence lines were straight, very professional.  We had a little problem with one of the gate locks, so the owner came out himself and replaced it. 

I saw the products at the Home Show in Timonium and was very impressed with the unique design on the pergola.  The sales representative told me this would be their first installation of the pergola design.  I signed an order on March 31.  I was not given an anticipated installation date but assumed the project would be initiated within a reasonable time frame.  Six weeks later I was still waiting.  I placed two calls a week apart asking when installation would begin.  Both times I was told someone would get back to me.  The third time I called, I had decided I would cancel the order but was told the installation would begin the next day.  As promised, the installer arrived the next day and worked every day (including in the May downpours) to finish the pergola, gates, and screening.  He redesigned the screening to include a gate at no additional charge.  The project was completed on May 19 (7 weeks) The columns were ordered from a third party and they were installed on June 17 (12 weeks).  My frustration was not with the amount of time it took but rather the fact that I was never given even a tentative idea as to when the project would be completed.   I am very happy with the pergola and satisified with the screening.  The gates are less than satisfactory in that they do not match up with existing fence lines but it is probably the best that could be done since they were attached to existing poles.

Very professional and attentive to our needs.   Bob, the owner, did the estimate, and the work was scheduled for 2 weeks.  On the day the work was to begin, they realized that they did not have the decking that matched the decking they had installed for our patio landing 2 yrears ago.   Bob, came to our house at our conviience, with similar decking styles.  We were able to find a style that was almost an indentical match but higher quality.  There was no additiolnal charge.  The work began the following week and was completed in 3 days. The workman were professional and cleaned up all areas.  We are very pleased witht the work and intend to use Creative Deck for future declking  and pavement  work.  We had used Creative Deck 2 years ago to replace existing landing and add new steps off the dining room, plus install 12 x 20  paver patio that was on slooping ground. Beatiful work and that is why we came back this year.

His price was reasonable and we were happy with his workmanship. He was working on the weather; so if it was raining or if there were lightening or thunderstorm, there is no way he is coming to work outside. I let him slip by because of that and I was okay with that. He was good overall. The one thing that I really did not like about him was he did not clean up after himself very well, even after I left the broom outside for him.

They were very good with the install.  They did a very good job.  But later when my husband wanted them to fix a few things, they didn't want to come back.  One guy said one thing and another guy said another thing.  They finally sent some guy out on a Sunday to do a couple of little things.  They didn't like the idea of coming back.  They were dragging their feet on that.  They were in the same ballpark as other people so I guess they were okay.  The install was very good. 

They did a very good job.  They were very professional.  The price was good, and the workmanship was also good. 

Porch was done well. The electric was not done well or even safely. Electric was fixed in May of 2011. I am now satisfied. I adjusted my rating of the company.