Get matched with top deck maintenance specialists in Folsom, NJ

"Came on a holiday weekend to fix my grill"

"Druidic planted and mulched my flower beds and trimmed my bushes. Also power washed my pavement. Work was finished in a timely manner. Finished product was beautiful. Wouldn't hesitate to hire again."

"Tom from TAF was first to respond from the contractors you suggested. Came and inspected area the next week and emailed me proposal next day. More detailed work than I expected but work nevertheless needed done. Price very reasonable and hope to reach out again if/when I can fit into budget."

"Angel and his team did a first class job of building a beautiful screened in porch on our existing deck, including the necessary structural work underneath. We spoke with multiple contractors and ZZEOS were the most knowledgeable and detailed oriented. We were so impressed with the porch, we had the finish off around the bottom of the deck. Pricing was very reasonable. They give you lots of options like skylights, doors, siding and shingle colors, etc. if we do anything else to our home, we will give them a call."

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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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"Absolutely, positively spectacular.  Derek was always responsive, incredibly professional and very, very easy to deal with, which was especially important for us as out-of-town owners who could not be on site when the work was being done.  For example, when Derek's team found a leaking water line during moving the refrigerator to paint, they shut the water off and and notified me by email immediately.  Finished product was first rate and meticulously performed. Would recommend or use again in a heartbeat.
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"They did excellent work. Reliable, helpful in making decisions, clean, and are detail oriented. Would definitely recommend."

"Back to Nature's team (Ian was the lead) showed up every morning before 8:00 am and worked without taking a break (really). They were very professional, polite and very detail-oriented.  They left our yard in perfect condition (nicer than they found it)!  Mike Ebner, the owner, even found a way for his team to re-use lattice we had on hand (that was in great condition) so we could put the dollars for the lattice toward a beautiful pergola.   We couldn't be happier.
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"This is the second job I’ve had done with YC and just like the first time he exceeded expectations. He showed up early and didn’t leave until the work was done and done correctly. Even with needing to go over the walkways several times he was done in a relatively short amount time. Before he left, he walked me through the job explaining in detail what he did. He cleaned up after himself and left me with a nice clean walkway to my deck and front door. I will certainly look to YC again to maintain my gutters and walkways."

"I hired this company to build a brand new deck. They showed me designs and how everything will look. They started the project and when they were done it look exactly like the 3D design I was shown. I would definitely hire them again."