Around Your House LLC

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They came and took measurements and were back within a week to install the new model. They were right on time and left the work area clean. I would use them again.

I was happy with the whole experience:  Initial contact, completion of estimates, completion of job and cleanup
 Doug Mominee is the owner of Around Your House LLC.  I'd seen his ads in the local paper offering $100 off first job, so it was worth the risk.
I called and he offered to stop by and give me, not only estimates, but better ideas for the problems I was having.  I had my mind set on powered fans to exhaust hot air in the attic.  He convinced me that wind powered fans were not only less expensive but just as good to do the job.  He COULD have gotten a higher paying job but he didn't.
He showed up on time and completed both the roof vents and dropdown stairs in a day, cleaning up completely afterwards.
His firm is well suited for the "Middle Difficulty" jobs: those too small for a large builder and those too big for a do-it-yourselfer.

Steps were not spaced properly heightwise and were left unattached to the wall so when stepping on them they would rock and tip.

They have been excellent and I would trust them to do anything. They are very people oriented, eager to satisfy, and easy to deal with.

I purchased a new washer and dryer from The Home Depot. When they were delivered I had a problem with the door to my basement  opening being too narrow for the delivery personnel to take them into the basement. They told me I would have to take the wood jamb around the opening down and that they would return with the washer and dryer when I was ready for the delivery again. I removed the jamb for the delivery and when I tried to put the jamb back up after they were redelivered  it did not fit properly. I saw an advertisement in my local Bedford Now newspaper for the company, Around Your House. The ad said that they do everything around your home and that no job was too large or small. I also wanted to hire a local company.  I spoke with Sandy, the owner's wife,  and she set up an appointment for Thursday April 25th. Doug, the owner of the business came out and checked out my problem. He gave me a great estimate and said he could do the job at that time, since He had all of his tools in the truck.  He did a superior job. It was absolutely perfect when he left. I got his business card and told him I will call him for everything that needs repair or remodeling in my house. I am so glad that I found someone I can trust to do great work at an affordable price. I will never call anyone else but him to do any work around my home.

We called Around Your House toward the end of March in an effort to get a quote to build a pool deck that would connect to our existing deck at an existing opening. The owner came out, we discussed our vision and exactly what we wanted. Due to township code, we were unable to build exactly what we had wanted but were satisfied with the idea he had and awaited his estimate via email. We ended up getting a total of 4 estimates for this project and as we talked with the different contractors we decided to approach Around Your House via email early to mid April with a modification. The modified deck was quite a bit smaller but more aesthetically pleasing. A new drawing and estimate were emailed to us, it appeared to be exactly what we had asked for and we decided to hire them to build our deck.  We called to discuss and schedule the build, but he insisted we accept the estimate via email, which we did. At that time the owner said we could expect the deck to be built toward the end of May. We understood that the concrete footers would be poured one day and the deck built the next. We followed up via email toward the end of May then received a phone call on June 6th from the owner's wife that we were on the schedule for Thursday and Friday.

We marked our sprinkler heads and the waterlines to the best of our ability, in hindsight we should have had the lawn irrigation company out to do that. My husband came home Thursday and found a deck that was very different from what we had expected, but was distracted when the owner explained how they had hit a water line in the backyard and luckily had a repair kit to fix it.

I called the business number immediately when my children send me a photo via text message of the pool deck that did not connect to our existing deck. I briefly spoke to the owners wife and she said she would have the owner call me as soon as possible.

He was shocked that we weren't happy, insisted that our modified plan did not connect the two decks even though we never wavered from that original concept. The estimate and drawing were vague, the first drawing showed the existing deck and all the railings, with 4 stairs going up from the existing deck to the new pool deck. The second drawing did not show the existing deck, nor the railings, but still had 4 stairs going up to the new pool deck and both decks appeared to be aligned to the same pool support posts.

The pool deck was actually built to different pool support posts, further from the existing deck, and had 6 stairs going down to the ground. The owner insisted that since the existing deck was not in the 2nd drawing, the decks were not to be connected, no matter what we said and we made many valid points regarding the pool support posts, the lack of railings in the 2nd drawing as well as the different number of stairs, however he refused to take any responsibility for the mistakes. The existing deck is 23 inches from ground level, had additional stairs been on the 2nd drawing we would have known that something was wrong and we would have called him to clear up any confusion, we wouldn't have accepted the estimate. Of course he could "fix" it for an additional $400, and even threatened us with liens if we didn't pay the invoice immediately.

The quality of the deck is okay, but not as good as what we expected based on photos of other decks they have built. We are concerned since the deck was built the same day the footers were poured, again, not what was discussed. Another concern is the repair of the water line, we will pay the lawn irrigation company to inspect it and repair if necessary. Parts of the railing are already loose and the wood is splintering. The edges were supposed to be routered, however the routering isn't even over the pool rails and parts are actually sharp and jagged. Clean up was included as well in the estimate however we picked up a significant amount of wood chips and pieces in our yard along with saw dust from inside the pool and on the pool cover.

Had the owner accepted the fact that he made a mistake and fixed it without additional costs, we would have been happy. This was the most unpleasant experience we have ever had. Part of the problem, we believe is the time lapse, it seems like he completely forgot when he actually came to our house and we showed him exactly what we wanted where. Our priority the entire time was to connect the decks. Anyone who looks at the final product would think the location of the stairs was strange; at the ground a few feet from an opening on an existing deck and would wonder why it was built this way, it just doesn't make sense.