Distinctive Decks

This was our second time using Distinctive Decks as John had previously done our back deck and obviously we were very happy with the results. This time, we asked John to replace our front steps, but we wanted it to be done in the exact same colors and materials. Amazingly, John actually remembered off the top of his head exactly which materials and colors he had used a year and a half back. John said that he would come by our house soon so that he could provide an accurate quote. A few days later, he provided us said quote and was flexible on a few items. Firstly, he was able to bring down the labor costs by figuring out how he could complete the job in one day instead of two. Then he advised that, as we were returning customers, he would only require a $250 deposit followed by full payment after the job was complete. In the end, because he did the job in just over a day, we were able to pay the entire bill after the job and didn't have to put any money down at all. Another nice thing was that John stood by the pricing originally quoted. We received his quote on 09/27/13 but, due to the winter and other work that we had to do on the house, we didn't ask John to actually complete the job until 03/01/14. Despite the almost 6 month delay, John's quote didn't change at all. Finally, once John committed to a date, he completed the work quickly and well. As with the back deck, he also let us know what to expect in terms of the front steps settling and asked that we contact him if there were any issues. A few weeks after the job, I did notice a loose board, but it was not so bad that we might trip on it. So, we called John and he promised to be there soon to fix it. I called him on a Friday and he completed the fix by Sunday afternoon. Oh, and just one more point that we want to make: when we hired John for the first job, we found him to be a little difficult to get in contact with. This time, however, he advised us we should call his cell phone if we needed to get in contact with him. Almost every time we called him, he answered his phone. Any time that he didn't answer, he called us back within 48 hours.

Had my deck built by Distinctive Decks about 2 year's ago. John was a pleasure to deal with, I changed my mind on what I wanted a couple of times. no problem at all. I recently noticed a couple of boards that didn't look right, gave John a call and asked him to stop by and take a look. John came by replaced the boards and refused to take any money from me. How often does that happen?

John is a master craftsman and a gentleman. All aspects of this installation were top notch. I've gotten many compliments on my beautiful new deck.

John did an outstanding, professional and timely job. He is friendly, knowledgeable and very creative. His pricing was very competitive. While not the cheapest, once you meet him, you will know why we paid a few more dollars to use him. The deck is amazing. He was here all day,every day, throughout the process.They were neat and clean. He will be my GO-TO guy for any future home improvement projects. You will not be disappointed!!

What a WELCOME experience. From start to finish--which only took 2 1/2 days!!-- everything went just as John said it would. This in itself was a welcome breath of fresh air for me. My house burned down almost 3 years ago and there has been nothing but trouble with contactors, plumbers, electricians, etc. The only thing holding up getting a certificate of occupancy back on the house was finishing the deck and putting up railings around the basement steps. The contractor Gus, from K & D Contracting, just stopped showing up and wouldn't answer phone calls, texts or emails so needless to say when John came I was very distrusting and put him through the ringer!! BUT, from start to finish John was professional and honest. He kept me informed EVERY step of the way....even letting me know when he was leaving the house just for 20 minutes to get something from Home Depot! LOL!! This, while certainly not necessary, shows how empathetic he was to my situation. John had great suggestions, did impeccable work, was honest about what was important to spend the money on and what wasn't and was clean. Not once did he leave garbage, supplies, tools, or left over pieces laying around and when he was finished he left the yard in better shape than he found it. My deck is beautiful and I couldn't be happier. Do yourself and favor and let John do your next job...you won't be sorry!

The entire project went smoothly. I was planning to build the deck by myself. But in the end my wife and I decided to trust Angie's List again and find a contractor. Four builders gave us a quote. John's response was the most reasonable. He and his assistant arrived in the early morning and started working right away. John is friendly and easy-going, attentive to our questions and requests. He discussed design and construction choices with us, helping to find the best solution. The materials delivery was delayed at some point, but they managed to finish on time. With the new deck we love our house even more. Thanks John for the excellent work!

He was a caring, nice professional human being. I would recommend him without a doubt. He was here every day and if he was running late or would not be here, he called.

I think that they were good as far as coming out. They gave us a quote and were pretty reasonably responsive. I just think that the quote was exceptionally high. They are not putting in a new deck, they are just replacing the top of the deck. We do have a good sized deck, I agree, but just looking at the material costs it was like double what it should be. It would only take them a week to do.

Hurricane Sandy had destroyed our existing deck. After meeting with other deck companies, we found John on Angie's and what a find it was. We had always wanted to expand the deck and John laid out a plan and we were thrilled. We used a combination of wood and Trex. He owns the company and builds the decks with 2-3 assistants. He is always on-site. There were no surprises, no hidden costs, etc. I would HIGHLY recommend Distinctive Decks.

If you want a beautiful, well made deck...look no further. John Byrnes is the owner and on-site contracter for this company. He does it all! His initial presentation to us was very thorough and detailed. He returned all our phone calls and answered our emails promptly. His price was very fair and competitive. He and his workers showed up on the date we had decided upon and demolished our existing deck. They worked long days and built a beautiful new deck. Towards the end of completing the deck there was a conflict with another project that we were doing. John graciously suggested that we finish the other project first and call him when this was complete and he would return and finish the deck. We called and he returned within a couple of days and finished our deck. John was always responsive to our questions and made sure that we were pleased each step of the way. John does excellent work and does not cut corners. His craftsmanship is outstanding. He is a perfectionist and very detail oriented. Our deck is beautiful and we highly recommend him.

While Distinctive Decks was in the process of doing a deck for us, we spoke about the front porch. John came back with an estimate that was within our budget. When the deck was completed, John started on the porch. It really was a one day job. It is a small country porch with white railings. Trex for the flooring. What a change. It is beautiful!! Love it! Thanks John

Left a message that we were looking for a deck. John called to schedule an appt. two days later. He came over two days later in the evening and 4 days later we had an estimate. The first estimate was more than what we could afford, so we had to make some modifications and we went back to the drawing board. We had a very large deck but really didn't use it all. The second estimate was more what we could do. We were in the process of getting other estimates also. Upon receiving the other estimates, we decided to go with John's company, Distinctive Decks. We related to John from the first night, but didn't want that to sway us. We were looking for the owner to be onsite and do the work, not just oversee the work. John is that type of owner. His price was fair. You do get what you pay for. Very helpful and accommodating to any last minute changes, very important to us. It took approx 4 days. The deck is so beautiful! John was very professional and prompt. We enjoyed working with him.

Let's start off by saying that I believe you generally get what you pay for. Home improvement tends to be a capital expense, a capital intensive expense that is. With that in mind, I am a firm believer in doing something right the first time. On to John and Distinctive Decks. If you are looking for the lowest bid/price for the job, look elsewhere. If you are looking for someone who shows up at your door and from moment one comports himself with an extremely high level of professionalism and pride in his company and work, John is your man. The estimate was very deatiled and specific. The discussion over materials choice was hugely helpful to us, as novices with synthetic materials. Anywhere there was a detail where we could chose among a number of options, we were given detailed info on each and a very specific time within the project lifecycle within which we could make the choice. This gave us time to alter the plan in a thoughtful, non-rushed way as the project was progressing. We went with most of John's suggestions to alterations to our original thoughts and couldn't be happier with the results. I highly recommend John's work, and we, for one family will be having him back to tackle a couple of more major projects. First experience with Angie's List and we're super happy with the end result!

John did an amazing job, demolishing the old deck and constructing a beautiful new composite deck, rails and steps all the while taking VERY careful care and consideration for my shrubs and trees that are in full growth all around the deck....Not an easy task! He was clean, thorough and had the job done in the time he promised...and on budget too! I will ALWAYS use John for ALL of my home renovation/repair needs. He's my 'go to' contractor...everytime! Thanks John! Deb C Bellport, NY

John from Distinctive Decks came and took measurements for a new deck. He said he would send e-mail in a few days with estimate, and if he doesn't, call and remind him. I called and left a message. One month later, no e-mail and no phone call.

John was a pleasure to work with. After getting several quotes as well as some no shows from other providers, John came with pictures, samples and ideas. We were presented with options and suggestions. We had a deadline for a late spring family gathering and John was as good as his word when he absolutely promised the job would be completed on time. John came up with a design that gave us more usable space in the same square footage. John is a craftsman and it shows.The attention to detail was terrific and the clean up was thorough. The new deck looks great and we are set for this summer and many summers to come.

Called for an estimate for a pool deck and never received a return call.

John the owner/builder is awesome to work with. Articulated and understood what I was trying to create and executed my vision to reality! The job was completed as promised on all fronts. It is very hard to find a company that truly delivers and Distinctive Decks was outstanding!

They were outrageous. John is incredible. They also did a deck for us previously. John has a great personality and knows what he is doing and he is very punctual. He lets you know every step of the way how things are going. He actually went out of his way to come back and touch up some things that he didn't like. We said it was okay but he wanted to come back out and touch up some things. I really respect that.

We had done our research and John fulfilled every expectation. He did not try to increase our budget, however he added his expertise to guide our design and material decisions. His attention to detail and craftsmanship are outstanding. Not only did he meet our every expectation with the project completion working with John was an absolute pleasure. He returned phone calls promptly, he was on the job when he said he would, and presented us with a timeline, detailed contract which included material and labor costs, he kept us informed about the progress of the project at the end of each workday. Some of the finishing touches were delayed due to the major snow storm and freezing weather. John kept in touch with us during the delay and finished the work as soon as weather allowed. We never had to call him. We look forward to working with John in the future and would recommend him without any hesitation to friends and family.

Great, quick, quality and reliable... Was a little more expensive then the other quotes i had But i wanted to make sure my deck dosen`t float off in another storm!

This estimate went very well, gThey gave me multiple suggestions and ideas. The pricing was very reasonble. Came prepared with many samples and materials. He was based about 70 miles from my home and was very punctual.

Prompt initial response,showed up prepared and on time. Knowledgeable about products and informative about material options. Followed up with an inspection on a Sunday, (the only time I could meet him subsiquent to job)

John Byrnes is reliable, professional, personable, and detail oriented. He is a master craftsman. We would use Distinctive Decks again in the future and would recommend this company to friends and family.

It was a difficult process deciding on a contractor. We interviewed several people before meeting with John Byrnes. From the start, he had a vision of our project. From there, he went out of his way to help us meet our budget by suggesting changes to the architect's drawing. John framed out the deck, did the concrete work for the hot tub support and built benches opposite the hot tub. Not everything went perfectly, but we knew we wanted to work with John and were tolerant; John later expressed his appreciation for our patience. John was a hard worker throughout and stayed on top of the electrician's and inspector's appointments. John recommended an excellent electrician. We are very happy that we worked with Lenny Mannino from Neighborhood Electric 631-487-0939. Lenny and his guys did a great job hooking up our spa tub and the recessed lighting in the deck. It was great to work with such nice people. John didn't harass us for the final payment (like some other contractors we've dealt with), we actually tracked him down. When he came to pick up the final check, he took the time to enjoy a beer and chat with us in spite of the hour-long trip to our home. He established a personal relationship with us and we discussed future projects such as interior crown molding, railing for the deck, and installation of a hardwood floor. Overall, it was a great experience and we love our deck and spa tub. Dora and Angelo DeLellis