WHITMER DECKS LLC

Whitmer Decks did a wonderful job building our deck. Their carpentry is superb. They were very professional and on time. Company communication was excellent. I would highly recommend their services.

Whitmer Decks was fantastic to work with from the very beginning. The crew was professional, respectful, and created an amazing custom deck to fit our needs. I highly recommend

Whitmer Decks, LLC just completed construction of our 1500 sq ft deck of wood and Trec material that exceeded our expectations. Cliff Whitmer, the owner, operator, designer, skilled engineer, and hands-on construction crew leader of his three skilled craftsmen. He and his team build our deck that exceeded our expectations in every way. Cliff Whitmer is a man of high integrity and honestly. He and his crew were a joy to work with from start to finish. Cliff keeps his word, builds on time, on budget, and to the highest level of quality I have ever seen. He and his team of full time, experienced carpenters pay great attention to detail that results in an outside living space of impeccably high quality and beauty. My wife and I have nothing but praise for Cliff Whitmer because he is a highly educated master deck builder and designer with enormous skill and experience. If you want it done right, we highly recommend Cliff Whitmer and his crew of fine carpenters.

Great! Cliff Whitmer, his crew and company treated us and the house with respect, but more importantly delivered a great quality product. Attention to detail was great and everything was above and beyond. Crew was great and cleanup after completion was immaculate. Highly recommend.

By far the BEST construction experience we have dealt with. Cliff and his crew were always on time. Showed up every day. Worked very hard. Everyone we dealt with was professional, courteous and clean. The workmanship is perfect. All the small details I never knew to ask for are included. Absolutely beautiful and better than we envisioned. Definitely worth every penny and would definitely recommend.

Without a doubt, the finest workmanship, work ethic, design, material quality, efficiency, promptness and crew quality of any contractor I have ever encountered. Just remember, you get what you pay for and you'll certainly get quality from Whitmer Decks.

Without a doubt this was the best experience I have ever had with a contractor. Cliff's work is incredible. The attention to detail produced a beautiful deck and porch combination. The crew was extremely professional, knew what they were doing, and efficient. I cannot praise them enough. Price may be a little more than other contractors but you will never regret your decision to have your project done by Whitmer Decks.

Owner Cliff just packed up the last of the Whitmer Deck trucks, and I can honestly say I didn't have a single complaint from the first contact to the completion of our project.
In our first conversation, he showed his commitment to creating an outdoor living space (aka, screened porch) that fit with the rest of the house and met our needs, and an experience that would be utterly painless. The crew (with our permission) started a couple days early; despite two rain days, they still finished in less time than Cliff estimated; the crew was friendly and polite; they left everything clean each night; and the project is beautiful. The tongue-and-groove flooring makes it feel polished and homey, and you should spring for the beaded cypress wall -- it gives it a lodge feel.
Overall, this was the kind of home addition that you dream of. I'd definitely recommend Whitmer Decks to anyone who wants an outdoor place to enjoy the warmer months without the bugs that come with it.

I contracted with Whitmer Decks last spring to replace my old deck. Cliff and Lisa Whitmer were great to work with during all phases of the project... the initial consult, design and planning, deck build and follow-up after the build. Cliff was the only contractor who correctly advised me - up front- of changes needed in my initial design concept to address Fairfax County building code requirements.  As issues came up during the build, Cliff readily addressed each one to my satisfaction. Overall I am very pleased with the outcome.  If you are planning a new deck, consider Whitmer Decks. The Whitmers are great to work with and they build quality products.

One week to complete job,  team very professional.  Cliff Whitmer very responsive to customer

Cliff and his wife are very professional through the whole process and worked with us on all the options. Very easy to work with and quick responses. Our new deck looks so professional and went very smooth and on time.

The end product did not turn out as perfect as I hoped it would. Had to call back a couple of times for small repairs. A piece of the porch board later fell off, but we just fixed it ourselves. To stain the porch, we basically had to dismantle it, paint it and reassemble. A VERY TEDIOUS AND FRUSTRATING PROCESS. A painting service had quoted me $5000 if I wanted it stained professionally. Trash was left under the deck, behind the lattice, and the dirt under the deck was left in piles (not filled in around the posts). I didn't notice until later that a panel of lattice is noticeably not level. Overall disappointed for the high price we paid. Looking back we should have paid about 20% less. I plan on trimming out the porch more to cover the imperfections in the initial construction.

The work performed entailed removal of damaged decking material, railings and stairs.  New composite decking was installed, new railings, new stairs.  Accent lighting was installed (all wiring is hidden).  Decking boards are connected with hidden fasteners...so no screws through the decking boards.  Work was done in a timely and professional manner.  Very punctual crew.  Cliff is a very good person to work with too!  No complaints....would hire him again for other work.  Quality of their work is extremely high.

All went very well. Work commenced when stated and completed on schedule.  He does not do other jobs while doing yours; consequently the deck was completed in about five days.  I recommend Whitmer Decks

They did an outstanding job.  One of the things I really liked is that they were specific in their quote as far as where the costs where coming from for the materials and labor.  He also provided samples of the materials he would use.  We knew exactly what we were buying and got what we ordered.  Compared to what the builder put in there is a big different, the quiality is A+.  He also worked on out time frame and he went out of his way to make sure it was completed before the end of year. Since this was a townhouse we had to submit plans to the HOA to be approved and he handled 90% of the required paperwork for them.

Cliff Whitmer was highly recommended to me by a friend whose opinion I trusted completely. Cliff and his son came out last fall to evaluate my old deck, which had deteriorated over the years. He found that the structure was sound, and presented me with options for resurfacing, railings, and lights. I did not feel pressured to go with the more expensive choices, or to have work done that might be unnecessary. Cliff scheduled my work for the following spring.
Communication was excellent throughout the process. I received frequent updates on the start date and what to expect during materials delivery and construction. Any questions I had were answered promptly.
Cliff and his crew put in long days and actually finished my project a day early. The result is beautiful, the quality is obvious, and it should last for a very long time. Everyone was respectful of my property, and all were helpful and professional. At the end of the work, all furniture and planters were replaced on the deck, and there was a thorough cleanup.
The price tag seemed high, but I did choose more expensive options such as Invisible fasteners and extra lights. And the quality of the work, plus the fact that I had absolutely nothing to worry about during the entire process, makes the cost worthwhile for me.

They had everything down to a science. In four days they had finished a beautiful deck. They left everything clean and neat before leaving.

We had a wonderful experience working with Whitmer Decks to add a screened porch and outdoor deck to our home. The planning process was exciting: Cliff, always pleasant and approachable, took our design ideas and added touches of his own, many of which we decided to adopt. He communicated clearly and we were grateful for his expertise where we really had none. As we waited for our start date, we were kept apprised of any changes that might occur due to unforeseen issues such as weather delays.
Building began right on time. Materials were delivered the morning the crew started and this efficiency was evident throughout the building process. They were on site every day and worked diligently and effectively. The guys were friendly, answered all our questions, and finished on time.
The final product is all we had hoped for. The joints are tight; every piece of wood meets another with no warp or wiggle or air. The railing nestles around the beams like puzzle pieces. It is snug. The comment we hear most frequently from our guests is how well built everything is. Critically also, the space is warm and inviting. Both the screened porch and deck have already provided many hours of relaxed living. We love our Whitmer Deck and recommend them with no reservations. We appreciated their expertise, professionalism and commitment to delivering superior service and products.

Cliff Whitmer is a true professional who worked with us over several weeks to come up with a beautiful design that gives us the most functionality. He was on site every day with his crew. They finished the entire project in just over two weeks. Ours was a complex project involving removing the existing two tier deck with partially sunken hot tub and installing a new screened porch and deck on a single level. We are now able to walk directly outside from our breakfast room into the screened porch area without stepping down. This also raised the height under the porch and deck giving us more useable space than before. Restricted access to the backyard prohibited the use of heavy machinery, yet they still managed to accomplish all tasks in a safe and effective fashion. Every aspect of the project from positioning of supplies and location of trailers to probable dates for county inspections was discussed with us in advance. They are craftsmen and show it by paying attention to the details like smoothing the edges on all posts including the 6x6 support posts under the deck and hiding the electrical wiring within the posts. We are also pleased with the under deck drainage system that keeps the hot tub and walk out patio dry. Their work schedule is Monday thru Friday, with weekends off which was much appreciated by our neighbors. They kept their work area clean, put away all their equipment and policed the area every day. We have had a lot of contractor work done in the past and by comparison this was the most pleasant, professional experience we have encountered to date. There are no surprises with Whitmer Decks. Truly a pleasure working with Cliff and his team.

I can’t say enough positives about Cliff and his team. When he came out for the initial consultationI told him that I love doing work on my house and that I wanted to be involved. I had a custom idea for the railing (using copper plumbing pipe that I would cut myself), and some things, like the electrical I wanted him to rough in as I would complete. I said straight out at the beginning that I would be there every day and if he was not comfortable with that I was not a good client for him. But he was fine with that and worked with me on the custom railing and on the full design and gave me really good ideas and options.

He even sent me the raw CAD files as he drew them so I could look at them in an AutoCAD viewer. Things like the new sliding door, I bought and stained myself and he put in, and he was fine with that, as well as my getting specific stainless steel screws to use. (Yes, I did do a good enough job of convincing him I knew what I was doing so that the door was the right size, screws were right and the copper pipes were all cut and prepped to the right amount and sizes on time)

I told him price was not my main factor, quality, dependability, honesty and someone I can work with were. But overall the price was fine. Not the cheapest, but you get what you pay for and I got what I paid for! The fact that he has no issue working with someone like me that will do some of the work (to keep price down, and I like doing it) more than made up for it anyway.

The crew was great. Cliff only uses his crew who work solely for him and build decks. No picking up people outside of McDonalds that don’t care about quality.

He was upfront on payment plans, and everything was done on schedule.

Couple of things that impressed me the most though was how Cliff handled a couple of things that didn’t go to plan. I wanted below the deck to be open, but his guys enclosed the front side. Honest mistake. I actually didn’t mind it, but it was not on my contact. Cliff would have taken it off, but we worked out a deal where we basically split the cost.

The other was the custom railing. They used a drill press to get them dead straight, but with one section to go the press broke and they did the rest by hand. When I got home it just did not look right, not to that level of quality I expected. Cliff came out, looked at it and said, you are right. They took it apart, fixed the drill press and redid that part of the railing with no complaining. Anyone can make a mistake, it’s a good contractor that fixes them with no complaining.

I have enjoyed my deck for 3 full seasons now, and it still looks great. The quality and attention to detail are fantastic. In the 3 and frac12; years it has barely settled. I had to make a slight adjustment to the screen door to the outside part of the deck once (my deck is 100% wooden, no plastic stuff for me, so I expect a little settling)

If you want the cheapest deck (both price and quality) look elsewhere. If you want quality, dependability, trust, someone with will work WITH you, not just tell you to buzz off, quality materials, great options, great design ideas then get Cliff!



Update May, 2014 - Have to bump Cliff down to a B. When I put in the deck I specifically requested that the screws for all the railings sit flush. I think it looks good, and it makes it much easier to back out the screws without ripping up the wood. But they ignored that and drove the screws in really deep (a normal practice, as the wood covers the head back up and you can't see the screws). At the time I just sighed and didn't mention it, as it was too late anyway. Now 5 years later I taking off the railings to re-stain and it is a real pain to get the screws out without ripping the wood. Not only that because they were drove in deep I can't put them back in flush, I have to go all the way, so now I have these holes that do not look good. The point is I specifically asked for something to be done and Cliff and his crew totally ignored it. Still recommend them, but if you are doing something non-standard (like asking screws to be put in flush instead of driven in deep) make sure you drive it in, and get it in writing.

. Cliff Whitmer met with us to discuss building a new deck. After indicating our preferences and discussing his ideas, Cliff presented detailed plans and costs.. After we agreed, Cliff and his wife were in continuois contact to update us on the planned start of construction. He correctly estimated 7 working days for the project. Cliff and his 2-man crew arrived every morning and worked full continuous days until the job was complete. All 3 men worked hard and with attention to detail, and addressed our questions and any concerns as the project progressed. This company is a very professional operation which takes pride in its work. His price was reasonable for the superior quality of the finished product. My wife and I highly recomment Whitmer Decks.

We are very happy with them. Everything was excellent. The owner of the company was on the job all the time. If we had any problems, it was taken care immediately. The finish part looks wonderful. We really had other estimate and they were all in the same range.

Thanks to Whitmer Decks we have a quality deck and screened porch that we will enjoy for years. Cliff provided detailed plans including visual representations and budget. He worked with us to get what we wanted within the budget we had set aside. He provided additional drawings and detail for us to give the Reston Design Review Board (DRB) and even attended the meeting with us on a weekday evening. Thanks to the level of detail and his participation at the meeting, the DRB approved the deck and porch without any changes. He and his crew worked at our home for about 2 weeks. They showed up on time and worked diligently every day. They addressed any questions we had and did a few little things above and beyond the items addressed in the contract--replaced stained siding with siding removed from the screened porch area and placed an extra post from which they hung our family's cast iron farm bell. We were completely satisfied with their performance from first contact through completion of the deck. We highly recommend them.

We very nearly doubled our cost by going with the wood composite option. (Mr. Whitmer uses EverGrain and is most comfortable with that product.) However, the relatively minimal maintenance that will be required (power washing once a year) is highly appealing for us and our busy lifestyle. The original estimated start date was delayed as I would expect for an outdoor job. Once the job started however, the crew was there punctually each day and early enough that we could talk with them before leaving for work and not arrive late for work. The progress was tremendous each day, so that the job finished up in less than the week and a half that was originally estimated.

Following demolition, there was a bad surprise in that our house type required an extra support beam be created, such that the deck wound up being freestanding rather than physically attached to the house. This cost about $500 extra, and we took care of this via verbal agreement and not through a written contract modification. It turns out the old deck was being supported solely through bolts into the chimney, which is not to code and could help explain why the old deck felt spongy in spots. This surprise was the only one of its kind, and Mr. Whitmer noted that about 1 percent of the time he encountered such surprises during demolition of the old deck after which you can see what is actually underneath.

When the deck was completed, Mr. Whitmer and his crew cleaned everything up well and hosed down the new deck. Mr. Whitmer met us upon our arrival home from work to give us the guided tour of the new deck and to show us how everything worked, including the remote control lighting system. I had some trouble that wound up being my own error with the lighting that Mr. Whitmer responded to right away to ensure we knew what to do after the job was completed.

We are overall very pleased with the quality of the job, and the new deck feels like an expansion to the living area of the house. Whitmer Decks uses one crew for all of its jobs, which is one reason they probably are so good. All of my interactions with the crew were positive; they were respectful and extremely professional. If only all of our contractor experiences were as good as this one. In several years we hope to put a screened in porch underneath the new deck to further expand our outdoor living space, and my intent is to call Whitmer Decks once again for that job.

Finished at budget and with about half a day to spare. Cliff and his crew understood what I had in mind and made it a reality. Cliff patiently went through three design changes while bidding, accompanied me to my housing association to approve the project (this was actually more difficult than I thought), and come out a day early to assess the conditions and park the supply trailer. I provided incomplete guidance on the gate. When I told Cliff what I wanted (a support and locking mechanism on the sling side), he came over the same day and made it so. This was AFTER he was done and under no real obligation to do so (these details were not in the original plans I submitted). I can be pretty hard to please when I have a strong idea of what I want a project to look like, but I can't say one bad thing about the experience. It was a pleasure doing business with Whitmer Decks: It's a rare thing when you get exactly what you wanted when you wanted it and at the price agreed to.