SUNBURST CONSTRUCTION

We didn't have a good experience at all with them. The workers that came everyday were great. The guys whom we worked with were absolutely phenomenal. There was an issue with the co-ordination part between the management and the workers. We also had issues with the materials and the mold stains. They were supposed to waterproof certain parts from underneath my deck and that was done poorly, and it dripped and drained and leaked really bad. They came out a couple of times and looked at it and then they never came back. They just stopped calling me and stopped coming back. They never returned my calls. They basically disappeared. I thought they just ran out of business and just two weeks ago I saw them doing a deck up the street from my house. The construction aspect of it was great but the owner, the managers, the foreman's and the sales guys on the job were horrible. Their price was average. The workers were punctual and here everyday. However their managers never got the materials here and the workers were waiting three or four hours for the materials to be delivered. The materials were not delivered. They would come here three or four days in a row and just sit here and have nothing to do. The guy who owns this place doesn't care about building decks, he just wants his money. I would never use their services again in the future.

We highly recommend Sunburst Construction. We asked several contractors to give us proposals and then viewed their ratings on Angie's List and on Consumers Checkbook. Based on a customer review, we were not sure that we wanted Sunburst to quote. We notified Chad from Sunburst, who had visited us, that we weren't going to ask them to quote on the job after all. Chad expressed his disappointment in a very professional way and said that he would pass our concern to Sunburst's owner. Sunburst's owner called and explained that the customer review that we had seen was old and that Sunburst had since that time made changes including hiring a new field manager. The owner was very concerned with ensuring that we were aware of the quality of the work that they were doing now. He assured us that if they won the job, we would not have to pay until were were completely satisfied. We did let them quote.

We talked with the references provided by the various contractors and looked at the work that they had done. We were impressed both by the quality of the workmanship that we saw at the Sunburst locations and by the customer's satisfaction in dealing with them.

Based on a review of the references, Sunburst's assurances and a good price, we decided to let them have the contract. We couldn't have been more satisfied. They provided a timeline for starting and completing the job, and despite the fact that it rained almost every other day in April, they kept very close to their original estimate for completion. The crew which worked on the job was extremely courteous and professional. Chad, who had prepared the quote, called several times to ensure that we were satisfied with the job as it progressed. When the job was completed, we couldn't have been happier. We are very exacting when it comes to the quality of work performed on our house and were very pleased with the workmanship of Sunburst's crew. We would not hesitate to have them work for us again.

Not only were they the best price but they had the best customer service I have ever had in the home improvement field. Fred and Dennis were incredibly courteous and professional and answered all my questions without any attitude. Fred gave me a phone quote based on the measurements and there was no last minute increase. He came to our home to sign the contract where he answered even more of my questions and addressed all my concerns. The gentlemen showed a week later, they were all very polite and hardworking. They cleaned up after themselves and actually left the street where the had the sand and gravel cleaner than they had found it. We have never had this pleasant of a home improvement experience. Fred and Dennis kept us informed as to when the work would be done and exactly how they would be putting the patio down. And if I haven't mentioned it we LOVE our new patio. I can't wait until the weather starts cooperation so we can enjoy it more. Thank you Sunburst!

I would not recommend Sunburst as it was the most unpleasant experience I have ever had with a contractor. The time and effort I spent dealing with various people at this company in order to bring the project to completion was extremely frustrating After a lengthy ordeal, the job was completed to specifications, but the deck looks rickety and more than once people (including one of their own workers) have asked us how old our deck is, because it looks aged beyond its actual years. Part of the reason for this is that there wasn’t much attention paid to details. For example: in several places the handrail was poorly secured and sagged; screw holes were left unfilled; the safety gate was poorly built and wouldn’t latch; the wood they used is low quality has a lot of unsightly splits and imperfections; the paint job was very sloppy; and nails protrude. Another issue is that Sunburst did not do a very good job explaining the options concerning materials up front. We knew we wanted Trex flooring but weren’t sure what to use for the railing. Joe N., our salesperson, gave us a choice of vinyl or wood and we chose the latter based on his input that it was sturdier and, considering we have young children, would be safer. Regarding appearance, we were told “as long as you’re willing to do some touch up painting once a year, you won’t be able to tell the difference between painted wood and vinyl.” We also visited the showroom before we made the decision, but they only had a vinyl railing on display, so it was difficult to make a comparison. In retrospect, we wish we had used vinyl-wrapped wood, but that was never presented as an option by Sunburst and we didn’t learn it was something that could be done until after the project was complete. While I would grade the quality of the product as a bit below average, it was the poor responsiveness and professionalism of the people at Sunburst that is the real source of our dissatisfaction. Our initial dealings were with the manager, Bo K., who would fight tooth and nail every item on the punch list. He even attempted to argue they weren’t going to paint the entire deck even though it was a specific obligation in the contract. At some point we learned Bo had left Sunburst we were hopeful that the new manager, Andy G., might be more amenable to work with us. Unfortunately, Andy would repeatedly say he would do something only to fail to follow through. For those who only want the short version, seven months and dozens of phone calls and emails later the project was finally complete. In our opinion, the bottom line is you should avoid Sunburst Construction at all costs. For those who would like the longer version, with specifics of how absurdly Sunburst treats their customers, read on. After four unreturned messages I finally made initial contact with Andy and arranged for him to come out and review our deck. At this point I was still willing to give Sunburst the benefit of the doubt. I hoped to go over the remaining punch list as well as to discuss hiring them to upgrade some things we wished we had initially done differently. Andy told me he would email me a proposal by early the next week. Two weeks passed and there was no word from Andy so I began to call and left 10 voicemails over 12 days. When I finally reached him he said he didn’t return my calls because he didn’t like the tone of my voice and that he didn’t email me the proposal because they were having technical difficulties with their email. Andy said he would print out the proposal/punch list and leave a hard copy at my house within a few days. A week passed and there was no sign of the paperwork. After a couple messages, I reached Andy who claimed to have left the paperwork on our doorstep but that “it must have blown away.” I asked him why he didn’t leave it in the mailbox and he told me he “didn’t want it to get crumpled up.” He then told me to email him and he would reply with the documents attached. I emailed him that afternoon and I never heard back. As winter turned to spring, I decided to make a final attempt to close out the project and I was able to get the contact information for the owner of Sunburst Construction, Mr. Fred Small. Five months after I had emailed Andy a request for proposal, Fred came out to review my deck and brought Andy with him. We went over the list of warranty items to be fixed and Fred said they would have the work done in 5 to 10 days. Fred asked if I was still interested in a proposal for them to do some upgrade work, but by now I had concluded I would never again give Sunburst anymore of my business. Andy emailed me 11 days later to follow up and said they would be out the next sunny day (in fairness, it had been raining a lot). No one ever showed up and I never heard back from Andy. Three weeks later I called Fred to notify him the warranty work had not been done. He said he had presumed it was finished, and would check on it. Later that day I heard from Andy who said he would send a crew that day and that he would be there in person to make sure everything was complete. I left work early to check on things and when I arrived home a couple of workers were there, but not Andy. They didn’t have some of the materials to do one of the warranty items (support blocks to help with the sagging handrail). I spoke to Andy on the phone and he said he could come in three days to complete the final item himself. Eleven days passed and no one ever showed up (see a pattern developing here?), so I emailed him to check the status. Two days later he emailed back and said it would be done that day, but it was another no show. Nearly three weeks passed and when I called Andy he said he wasn’t aware it hadn’t been done (I’m not sure how he couldn’t know, since he said he was going to put the support blocks on himself), but that he would get it done “in the next day or two.” Six days later no one showed so I left three messages over the next week that were not returned. At this point, it became a matter of principle so I called Fred Small since going through him seems to be the only way to ever get anything done by Sunburst. He said he wasn’t aware there were still outstanding issues and he would have it taken care of. The next day, the support block was installed, the warranty list was complete, and that was the last I ever heard from Sunburst.

We signed the contract on June 12, 2009. Work was supposed to start on July 13, 2009. Work was expected to take 5 to 7 business day to complete, depending on the weather. After we started calling in mid-late July, our phone calls and e-mails (to "Andy" the foreman/engineer, and Fred the owner) were usually ignored, except for promised start dates that did not materialize. Sunburst began to remove the old deck on 8-4-09, but left piles of wood on our back lawn for about 1 week prior to removal. The real work started on Aug. 8th. The crew (which did not speak English beyond 6 or 8 words) had only a 2-dimentional drawing showing length and width. There was no drawing showing height (elevation). Consequently, we were constantly being asked what we wanted them to build. Phone calls to the foreman went unanswered most of the time. Work would continue for 2 or 3 days, and then the crew would disappear for 3 or 4 days. The crew was not provided restroom facilities by the company, so the crew occasionally relieved themselves at various places in our back yard. Most of the time, the crew chief would leave the other workers and go to another work site. Again, nobody spoke English beyond "hello, yes, and no." Work continued through the end of August. After the patio stone was installed, we realized that the color of the stone was different from the stone that we had ordered and was specified in the contract. After discussing this discrepancy with the owner, we were told that the installed stone was "the same stone" that we ordered. We were told that the difference was that different companies called their stone by different names, and the stone that we saw at the distributor's office was "weathered" and therefore had a different color. After investigating, we were able to determine that the installed stone cost $4 per square foot compared to the stone that we specified in the contract ($8 per square foot.) After the patio was completed in the first week of September, we again questioned the difference in the stone prior to making the last payment. I asked for a $1,600 credit/refund to account for the difference in the cost of the stone (400 square feet x $4 per foot). The owner became hostile and abusive, and threatened to send a crew over to rip out the patio unless he was paid immediately. We made the final payment on 9-17-09, approximately 2 months after original planned start date. Overall, the final quality of the stone work is very good. However, since the "wrong" stone was installed, we can never be totally satisfied with the project. The process was painful. The crew was usually cooperative and eager to please, but the management was not.

Experience went very well. I found Sunburst and several other companies through mail ads and referrals. Jon P, a design consultant, provided an estimate for the deck and fencing. We missed the first appointment, which was a minor annoyance for me. However, Jon's presentation was very professional and well-prepared. He even had Trex samples ready, as well as photos from other Sunburst jobs. Jon provided an itemized estimate with the deck, deck w/Trex, and fence. Estimate was hand-written and then followed by an email. Sunburst's estimate was (surprisingly) the lowest of the handful of estimates I received. I agreed to go with Sunburst wood-only deck proposal and started the HOA process. The HOA design application proved to be the longest lead time item. Meanwhile, Doug S, the project manager for my build, called ahead to line up permits and to get a feel for when the HOA approval might come. Doug was flexible in start date for construction, which we agreed to be at 10:00am on the following Monday. Builders were at my home at 10:00am SHARP. The contractor knocked just to let me know they had arrived and were starting work in the back. Crew was self-sustaining the entire time, as I had to leave soon after to get to work. We came across an engineering change which Doug walked me through in a very polite and informative manner. We agreed on a reasonable price to cover materials since it was an oversight in the initial estimate. Builders completed there work in 1.5 days. Clean up was satisfactory and included removal of scrap lumber and trash, hauling of excess dirt, and also tidying up of the work area. Doug followed up with my phone calls by COB of each day. Overall, experience was excellent. High points to Sunburst for professionalism in the sales, proposal and in project execution. Crew were friendly and answered the questions they were able to. Good staff, excellent follow-through. I will likely go back for fence and hard scaping.