ARCHADECK OF AUSTIN

Archadeck rushed thru the project and failed to get the electrical and footing inspections done with the city. We spent many months emailing them to try to get the inspections done with a third party, but eventually they stopped responding to emails and phone calls. We have had to pay out of pocket to have inspections done and are still in the middle of trying to get the footings inspected without taring down the pergola.

Tip of the hat to Archadeck of Austin. Working with Jim Schallon was like working with a trusted family member. Jim was super responsive to my questions and requests and was beside us through all steps of the process - from initial consultation to post sales follow up. Would hire again and have already recommended the services of Archadeck to others.

The initial installation of the pergola and paver patio was pretty fast, but a few months later, the pavers started to shift and sink, and the patio because uneven.  I talked to the owner, and they came back and leveled the patio pavers.  Another year later, and the pavers continued to shift and sink.  Again I talked to the owner, and they came back and level the patio pavers.  Here I am now, and the pavers have again shifted and sunk over the past year to the point where the patio is unsafe and needs to be replaced.  I am very disappointed in the quality of the work Archadeck has performed.  To be fair, the owner has tried to be responsive to my concerns, and I give him credit for that, but it seems the path forward here will involve replacing the patio.  Also, the pergola built is not completely stable, and contractors I have spoke to about routine staining of the pergola have said it is not stable enough for them to work on.  They don't see larger lag bolts usually seen on most pergolas to connect beams.

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It went very well.  The lines of communication were open, which I find rare.  We made it known up front that we have had bad experiences with contractors not setting our expectations properly and "disappearing".  We were communicating long distance as we were not living in the house at the time of design or construction.  This could have been a bad situation with misunderstandings and miscommunications, but it was not the case. 

The principals and their subcontractors were all professional and really knew their trade. 

I would highly recommend Archadeck of Austin and I plan to use them again on other projects we have planned.

Quick to respond. Consult with a now former employee Mark Mommsen was terrific. Expensive project but could do just what we wanted - 2 large wood pergolas that were to be stained and one with a wired wet rated ceiling fan. Then the troubles began. They do not tell you they sub contract out ALL their work. Could not get the wood pergola construction guys to show up. They would show up whenever they felt like it and then maybe stay for an hour and take off. It took weeks past the projected dates to get them built. Then the hassle started again. With the stain sub contractor. Then the electrician - who actually showed when he said he would and did great work. Fast forward and it has been two years. The pergolas already need restained. Been trying for days to get a response out of them. Want to know our stain color and name of sub who did it. Cannot get return call. They're customer service stinks. As does their responsiveness. Check out their Angieslist reviews indeed! The reviews here should reflect just how poorly rated they should be.

From the time I contacted Archadeck, the experience was great. Jim came out and listened to what I wanted and came up with a design that was exactly what I envisioned. He walked me through each step of the process and let me know where there were going to be delays (i.e. the city permitting and inspections). Christine took over and made sure that I was kept in the loop as to where the project stood and what to be expected next. Then Wes came out to manage the actual project and he made sure that the individual sub contractors each took care of their tasks. Whenever there was something that did not turn out the way I envisioned, there was no question as to if it was going to be changed, but just how did I want it corrected. I kept waiting for there to be a problem that was not addressed or fixed to my expectations, but this just never happened. I have had a number of friends complain about their contractors and how horrible their experience had been, but I have no complaints. I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone who is looking to transform their backyard into a retreat.

My experience with Archadeck of Austin went very well. They did what they said they were going to do, and they were responsive when there was a part that I wanted them to adjust.

Went well. Provider was prompt, clean and efficient. Delivered work on time and on budget.

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They did an excellent job and everything turned out fine. They were on time and on budget.

It turned out great, and they were good! They were very nice and easy to work with. We were really pleased!

They did an excellent job! They were on time, and the designer was excellent. They were wonderful and we have not had one problem.

They started on time and finished on time. They also removed the lumber from the old deck quickly. We have had many compliments about the new deck.

It went pretty well. They were responsive and able to the make the job with what the previous designer had started.

The original call for bids (four bidders) was for simply redecking all three decks with three wood/composite decking options. All bidders were encouraged to submit additional options they thought might enhance the project results.  The selection of bidders was made from review of feedback reports on Angie's List. All bidders were very responsive and a good matrix of price options were obtained. Archadeck's quote was chosen mostly on the basis of its option for providing a concrete/stone patio in liew of just redecking the large original deck. Although this was a more expensive option, it was competitive with the exotic hardwood and/or composite options, especially when long term maintenance benefits were considered. By choosing the concrete/stone option from Archadeck, it also enabled the addition of the retaining wall and additional small patio to be added to the project. The latter took advantage of the mobilization of Archadeck's concrete subcontractor to achieve some cost savings. This phase of Archadeck's involvement was handled by Mark. He did a great job designing the new decks and putting together a comprehensive proposal.
Archadeck were very punctual in starting the project as promised. There were some start up surprises. The first thing that was not fully understood was how Archadeck was organized to perform the work. Primarily, Archadeck uses subcontractors to perform the actual work. This was a bit disconcerting at first, but in the end it was obvious that all their subcontractors were well vetted and very familiar with the Archadeck system. This actually proved to be an advantage later on in the project.
The second surprise was the "standard" contract that was presented at project kick off. Quite frankly had the contract been included in the original proposal it probably would  have been rejected. (My fault should have reviewed!) Nonetheless, due to time restraint the contract was signed with the hope that all would go well. It didn't, but in the end it did and the results are fantastic. 

The project got off to a great start. Both the patio subcontractor and redecking subcontractor and got off to a quick start. Both were very competant in their scope of work. Then the project hit a snag. A very conscientious city building inspector who happened to be next door at a neighbor's building project invited himself over to look at the deck project. Result: job shut down due to lack of building permit, not for the patio but for the redecking! This was something Archadeck had not needed before, new decks certainly, but redeck projects utilizing exisiting deck supports, never. Nonetheless, since permits were part of Archadeck's scope of supply, they got right on the problem. This is where another member of Archadeck's professional team came onto the project. Christine saved the day. Not only did she expedite the application and issue of the new deck building permit, but she also discovered an outstanding issue with an old building permit dating back to 2004 that was unresolved and unknown to everyone. With Christine's help this old permit issue was completely resolved.
The permit in hand the work was restarted, however, due to the shut down delay, the deck subcontractor originally assigned had moved on to another project. No problem. This is where Archadeck's use of multiple tried and true subcontractors works to advantage. They mobilized another deck subcontractor, Dennis, to come in and finish a great job. While all of this was going on, the concrete/stone subcontractor continued to work on his larger part of the scope and also did a great job.

I met with Jim Odom on several occasions at the house and we designed the add-on to add a neat lower deck extension with pergola over a badly-poured, cracked concrete patio. The irregular angles and shape of the deck have added a neat flare and architectural details to an otherwise useless, dull space. Now the total deck extends the full length of the back of the house, giving me approximately 600 sq ft of great deck.
I made minor changes to the original design as work progressed and each time the crew responded willingly and professionally. On a couple of suggestions they respectfully pointed why my ideas would not work out well. I agreed with their reasoning. We got along very well.
The whole experience was a delightful one.

We hired Archadeck to build a 10x20 porch on the back of house along with a outdoor kitchen. The gabled porch they did to perfection and we are completely happy with that aspect.
However, the outdoor kitchen they made a couple of mistakes that they were unwilling to fix. First off, the plans called for a 42-inch high bar, it was built to 47-inches making it impossible to use regular bar stools, so now we have to wait to afford the custom/special bar stools to use with our bar area. ($600 a pop)  The 2nd mistake they made but didn't seem to care was the seal they used on the rock and the tile. First off, you don't need to seal tile and since they did it bubbled up everywhere and now our counter-top surface is all rough rather than smooth. Additionally, they used a higher gloss level than the other stone around the pool and spa, so now our stone doesn't match between our pool, spa, and the kitchen area.
These mistakes earn them a D on Responsiveness and a C on Professionalism since they didn't even try to fix them. Had they fixed them, they would have earned an A all around.

Jimmy Odom, the owner was very quick to respond to our call and gave us a very fair estimate.  He estimated it would take four weeks for delivery but in actually, it arrived and was installed in three weeks.

His carpenter, Dennis was very professional and demolished an existing pergola in a very short time making sure everything was removed from the premises.

The awning was installed precisely as expected with Mr Odom present to assure the work was completed in a timely manner.

HIGH RECOMMENDED for any outdoor work such as decking, awnings, outdoor kitchens, etc.  We definitely plan to use them again.

It is the worst job I've ever had anybody do. They are under new management. Two weeks after the work was done it looked like it hadn't even been painted. I wouldn't call them back. They had done the original deck years ago and it was great. At first it didn't look bad but a day later it looked like the poles hadn't been painted and they didn't paint the top. I pointed out some spots that they missed and the guy just looked at me and walked away. Their manager was always calling looking for them. I wouldn’t ever use them again.

UPDATE: He told me he would fix the deck back in March and he has not contacted me whatsoever. He promised to re-do the deck (wasn't completed to my liking the first time) and has yet to contact me. 09/05/2012

We had a general idea of what we wanted and Noelalee was able to listen and then come up with w wonderful design that met our needs and was much more attractive than what we would have done on our own. The project manager, Tony, was prompt, polite and thorough. We had some delays with the city inspecitions (not Archadeck's fault) and Tony negotiated that well. Horacia - who did the masonary, is an artist! It looks wonderful.

Noelalee, was brilliant in her design ideas and in keeping with what we wanted. Tony, was a thorough project manager with follow up, accommodating changes, and polite. Construction crew, was neat and efficient(Bubba). Mason crew, needed to re-work several items, but did so with out complaint (Horacio).

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