Island Fence

unknown

It was a horrid experience. A day after they installed the FIRST set of boards, I noticed that approximately 75% of the boards were split - and by split I mean a little pressure from your fingertips and I could see into my neighbor's back yard through the crack/split. After talking to my neighbor and job foreman, we also learned the 'boss' of the company instructed the crew to put up boards that were only 5/8th thick versus an inch because he didn't have 1 inch thick boards in stock. They also used douglas fir for the railings on a cedar fence. Yep, douglas fir rails in good old rainy winter Eugene, Oregon, where a person will grow mold if they stand still for five minutes. In addition to that, the contract said nothing about using douglas fir rails. The contract was for a cedar fence with no mention of the use of douglas fir for the railings. My neighbor called the owner and after he came out and looked at the crap of a fence that was standing, he agreed to 'fix' the issue with the board thickness and to change out the rails for cedar - although my neighbor had to repeatedly tell him we were not happy with the work. Fast forward about 4 days, the crew came back in, took the first fence down. It was my intention to go out and keep a check on what was being used and I could kick myself in the butt for getting wrapped up in another project. By the time I went to check on the fence progress, they were GONE and the fence was up. From the house the fence looked okay. Wellll, not so fast. We went out to put weather sealant on it this weekend and lo and behold, one of the cedar rails has a crack in it that goes almost to the center of the rail and I would guesstimate that at least 10-15% of the boards have significant splits in them (ok a marginal improvement from 75% of them) - a lot of the damaged boards are in locations behind bushes so you wouldn't see it unless you were right up on the fence. A lot of the splits start from the bottom of the board and go up from there. By significant split, I mean that the board is actually cracked in two not just a hairline crack that will separate with time. A couple of the boards also have a good inch of wood that is fractured/split like they were cut with an axe off from the side of the board. And as a final dollop of cream on the cake, I would say that on at least 50% of the boards from my neighbor's side, the staples used to secure the fence boards only JUST nicked the board behind it, so that means they are not securely fastened. Think ahead with the shrinking and expansion fence boards naturally do with the seasons and I think we all draw the same conclusion, those boards are going to come loose. I think what irritates me the most is this company made choices from the start to try and slip poor quality materials that didn't live up to what they said they would do by us. In a nutshell, they tried to short change a client. Had I not just happened to be using the new fence as an excuse to kill the hawthorne tree from h*** and dig it up, I would not have been close enough to that fence to see what they were doing until it was too late and we would have been living with an even MORE substandard fence than the one we presently have. I feel that from the start, Island Fence did not give an honest bid for a decent fence build. Had the owner or whomever did the estimate given an honest bid, I am guessing they would have been closer to the other bids and we likely would have gone with a different company. I do not think we had excessive expectations. I mean seriously, you go to the expense of having a company build a fence for you, who in their right mind is going to be okay with them using boards that are split right from the get go? Time and weather in Oregon will take care of that soon enough. As it is, I will be watching that fence every year when I shouldn't have to be worrying about it for a while because of the materials this company chose to use. If you opt to have this company give you a bid, I am telling you now, buyer beware. At a minimum, you need to lock them into a contract that spells out to the the letter what will happen - to include language making them agree to not use cracked or split boards, cedar rails, and galvanized nails/staples. I wish that my husband would be open to going to small claims court on this matter, but he figures it's a lesson learned and that we just need to warn all our neighbors and friends about using this company. As an aside, I have pictures of the previous fence and all the issues there were with the materials AND pictures of the fence that is now standing. I would be MORE than happy to send those pictures in to whomever runs Angie's List so prospective clients can see the type of work we got from this company. Or, if you want to see them, contact Angie's List and see if they will put you in contact with me.

outThey gave us an estimate right away. I told them exactly what I wanted and they understood and got the estimate to me. When I contracted with them they came out in a week and a half and removed the old wooden fencing and set the posts in concrete. After the poles were set about a week, they came out and finished the job. It looks great. Everything from estimate to installation was handled professionally, courteously, and on time. John kept us informed of the progress all along the way.