Get matched with top deck maintenance specialists in Beach Haven, NJ

"He threw in the back shed!!!â ¤ï¸ â ¤ï¸"

"Great service. Real nice job. I would definitely hire them Again"

"Nick and crew did a phenomenal job at my house. They soft washed my house, they power washed all my pavers, my pool deck, and all my concrete walk ways. Would definitely hire again. Also, they only was with hot water which makes a huge difference…"

"Prompt, reliable, and professional service. Good communication with Steve via email and Dennis on site before, during, and after the project was completed. Fair price for the job and good workmanship. I have already recommended them to others. I had them replace the railing, treads, and bottom platform of an outdoor staircase leading up to a second story deck."

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I really hate having to give reviews like this.

 

In the early spring, I began contacting companies to get estimates for staining my deck. It was in kind of rough shape as a few years ago some well-meaning “helpers” had varnished the deck instead of staining it.  I had to wait a couple of years to let most of the varnish peel off and I was finally ready to get the job done.

Everett came out as scheduled and did a thorough investigation of the second story deck. He determined that a few balusters, boards and railings would need to be replaced (they had warped, so this wasn’t a surprise).  He told me that he would first need to power wash the deck with an environmentally friendly solution to remove the remaining varnish. After that, some areas were probably going to need sanding, and then after letting the deck dry out for a few days, he would stain all surfaces of the deck with two coats of semi-solid stain. He provided a written estimate, which I appreciated since a few others just gave me verbal pricing. He showed me his large portfolio of past work and I could see he knew what he was doing. Out of all the estimates I received, his was about 50% higher than where all the others came in, but I felt it was worth the additional money to get someone who specialized in deck restoration and had a great rating on Angie’s List.

 

At first everything went really well. We had scheduled the work to begin the first week of May. Of course the weather didn’t cooperate (which I completely understand) and so the work got delayed a bit. Still, his guys came out as they could and when they did the power wash and replaced the boards, the deck already looked fantastic.  At the beginning of June, there was a break in the weather and they were finally able to come out and stain the deck.  The guys showed up around 1 p.m. and started doing some sanding (I couldn’t see where as I work from home and my office is in the lower level of the house and they were working upstairs).  However, shortly after the rest of their crew showed up, I noticed that they stopped sanding. They worked quickly (there were four of them) and by 5 p.m. they were wrapping things up and cleaning their brushes. I went outside to check on the work and noticed that there was a section on the side of the deck that hadn’t been stained. Neither had the underside of the deck (which is fully viewable because it covers my downstairs porch).  I pointed this out and they put some stain on the small part they had missed. They told me they don’t stain the underside because the wood needs to breathe (okay, except they stained all sides of the posts?).  I wasn’t able to go upstairs to view the deck since it was still wet (as were the stairs), but everything looked pretty good to me, so I paid them and they left.

 

The next couple of days the weather turned and I didn’t really have a chance to get outside and look at the work. On Saturday the sun was out again and I went to admire my newly refreshed deck. Surprisingly, I noticed blotches on the stairs and the stain on them looked quite light for it to be two coats of semi-solid stain (which shouldn’t show wood grain). The platform of the deck also looked like only one coat was laid down.  Then I noticed that the posts, while looking darker, had some splotches which appeared to be unremoved varnish. While I was outside, my neighbor came over to admire the work and oddly she said, “Are they coming back to do a second coat?” I told her that I assumed they had done it since everything was settled with them. She said she had been watching from across the street all afternoon and she only saw them go over the upper surfaces one time.  At this point, I pulled out my written estimate to make sure I was promised two coats and I was.  While I can’t verify the truth in her observations, she is retired and so spends a lot of time sitting outside surveying the neighborhood and she would have had no reason to pose that question to me if it weren’t true.

 

I called the office on Monday morning and spoke with the office manager to share my concerns. She told me that Everett was out but would be back shortly and either she or he would call me back. I heard nothing the rest of that day. Realizing they were busy (I’m sure since all the rain in May must have set them back), I waited and called again on Thursday. This time I got their voicemail message and so I left one asking that someone call me back. It’s now Tuesday of the following week and I’ve heard nothing back from them.

After having such high expectations of the quality of their work from their portfolio and their reviews, I am extremely disappointed that now that they’ve been paid for the job, they really don’t care if I’m happy or not. I’m not an overly picky person, but I do like to get what I paid for, particularly when I paid a premium for quality work.  I really would have appreciated the courtesy of a call back and for Everett to come out and look at the areas of concern I have as he was not there when the work was completed.  This is the reason why I’ve given the ratings I have (they reflect the end of the job vs. the beginning). I would not use them again in the future or refer them to friends/family if this is how they treat a customer who has concerns.  The beginning of my experience with them was great, but after they were paid, I seem to have become an afterthought, so I assume my future business isn’t important to them. It’s not like I can’t live with the deck as it is – it does look much better than before the work began – but I cannot recommend them without adding this caveat emptor – don’t pay them for the finished work until you’ve had a chance to check it after it has dried. Stupidly, I trusted that they would stand behind their work, but I was obviously mistaken.

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"The work was performed well; time frame one day.  I was pleased with the response of Derek to my inquiry and his work.  The price was reasonable for both services."

"Excellent experience from estimating to job completion. Express Fencing showed up for estimate within scheduled window. They completed the job in one day (on time and when they promised), and showed up next day to finish a repair for which additional parts were needed."

"Two years ago we used this company to clean out the inside of the gutters and powerwash the house and were very pleased with the service provided so we called them again. Unfortunatly we did not have the same experience. I reached out to Alan via email to which he responded promptly. We went back and forth a few times to clarify pricing and details of work being done always with a prompt response. We decide to have the gutters hand washed for an additional $195.00  ($175.50 with 10% senior discount) as well as cleaning out the inside of them and powerwashing the house. When Alan's worker comes to do the work he determines that hand washing the gutters would damage them and therefore we do not have them hand washed. Once the job is finished the worker contacts Alan to adjust the bill since the gutters were not hand washed. Alan first adjusts the bill by $131.50 and then by $156.50 when we question it instead of $175.50 we were charged. We call Alan several times while the worker is waiting and Alan does not answer the phone. Since we do not want to keep the worker waiting we pay him the requested amount knowing it is incorrect. Alan has not returned any of our phone calls or emails since July 28 and has cashed my check and not returned the $19.00 that was overcharged. Needless to say we will not be using Alan Drake in the future. 

A $19.00 refund was received on 8/13/15. I checked back through all incoming email, deleted email and spam  as well as incoming phone calls and messages and did not find the email Alan was referring to nor any other responses to my inquiries. As I was checking my email and phone messages several times a day waiting to hear from him I most definitely would have responded. I realize he was dealing with a personal matter at the time and did allow 2 weeks before posting my review. I am pleased that the matter has been resolved and I have adjusted 3 ratings to reflect the situation has been addressed.


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"They were fantastic. They did the job on time, on budget, courteous and friendly. I highly recommend them. Will have them do interior painting next month."

"I was very satisfied with the job well done.Thank you!"