Advanced Deck Cleaning & Restoration Systems

Review: August 16, 2016

To Whom It May Concern,

We have had a relationship with Bob, the owner of Advanced Deck Cleaning for 15 years because he has hung our outdoor Christmas lights. We liked him and when we needed a new deck we thought he was our guy. He came over and we looked at materials and stains and signed a contract. It was supposed to take a month to do and ended up taking several. (granted there was a lot of rain last spring) The project was supposed to start in June, but when I called and asked about an estimated start time he said he could start tomorrow. So of course I said great. So the contract was signed on April 24 and the actual work started at the end of May and finished in mid August. His guys removed all the furniture off our existing deck and hid it in our shrubs. He used the old footers from the previous deck that lasted 26 years and just applied new wood on top. One of the footers needed to be replaced because it was deteriorated at ground level and he added an additional charge to our contract. Ok. We had agreed to make 3 payments so I held the last payment until I could talk to Bob about the items that we were unhappy with. The wood was not cut correctly on the corners with large gaps and the railing has pieces of wood that are on an angle, that should be flush and not gaps where the railing meets. If you sit down and look at the railing you can see through all the the gaps. Also at the doorway to our kitchen we have a sliding glass door and he left a piece of the old deck in front of the door that doesn't match the color or the wood of the new deck. It should have been replaced. We are also unhappy with the color of the deck. Our old deck was dark brown to match our tudor home and the new deck is an orange dark cinnamon. The wood on the floor of the deck is curling and holds water from the rain in puddles. Also some of the boards are split and it hasn't been a year since finished. The floor boards are not evenly spaced with wider gaps in some areas and the stain is not applied evenly with drips showing. The nails and/or screws that were used are pushed so far into the wood there are holes through the entire deck including the railing. Some areas still have nails sticking out. The edges of the the wood are not cut smooth or sanded and there are knots on the tops of the railing that have scratched people. The simple fix would have been to flip the board over. As old as our last deck was, it never looked like this. I took pictures of it after it was completed before anything was put on the deck.

Bob finally came over to our home to look at the deck and I could see that he was so angry about me holding the last payment due, that he wanted nothing to do with the unsatisfactory work that I was pointing out. He said that wood shrinks and moves and that he would do nothing to rectify the problems. He just wanted the final payment. I could see that I was not going to get anywhere with him. I waited a bit and tried to talk to him again after he calmed down but still nothing.

This is so out of my behavior to file a complaint against someone. I have had my family and friends over to entertain on our deck and everyone is shocked at how bad the work is and how much we paid. I am a person of my word and since I signed a contract with 3 payments I sent him the last payment. I know that Bob is a good person and I'm sorry that it has come to this but I would like compensation for the cost of who ever we decide to make the necessary changes. I am not sure of what that cost will be but I do know that we payed $16,763.00 for poor workmanship. If I need to do so I will get estimates for the repair work to the deck to submit. I could also supply photos. Thank you for listening and your help with this matter.

Most sincerely,

[redacted]Desired Settlement: As stated above, we would like our deck to be finished correctly and that cost to be refunded by Advanced Deck Cleaning and Restoration. I am in the process of getting estimates to have that work done. So we are looking for a refund in the amount of the cost of the deck repairs.

Thank you for your help.

Most kindly,