Affordable Decks of Washington County

The contractor contacted me shortly after I filed a complaint. He apologized for not getting back to me but he was behind schedule due to the weather. Also, the township held up the building permit for a reason unknown. Anyhow, once the township approved the permit, he had his crew complete the...

project on August 3rd and 4th.  The design and quality of work is what I expected.  Friends and neighbors have commented on how nice the deck is. After the delays in the start of construction, Affordable Decks of Washington County provided an attractive and well built deck.for the record, I called the township inspector and verified that the building permit was delayed in the zoning office.

In the spring of 2016, we had a terrible experience with Mike Hanley. He failed to uphold his promises and contract in multiple ways:
1. After he promised to build our deck in ‘a couple weeks,’ it was over 4 weeks until he started. Finally he sent his workers for a few hours one evening to dig holes, the next day to do the framing, and assured us the decking would be done the next day, which was a Friday. However, no one showed up Friday, and he left us for 4 sunny days over a holiday with only open framing so we couldn’t access our yard.
2. He changed payment terms from what was agreed upon verbally in person.
3. He did not call the township for inspections (twice) as he promised and became angry that we called the township ourselves, found out he hadn’t called, and got the inspections done right away.
4. After the 4-day delay, he demanded payment (without any kind of invoice) before proceeding with work and threatened to pull the workers off the job before they even started, literally waving the contract in my wife’s face.
5. He used No. 2 lumber instead of premium grade as he specified in an itemized email and in his contract.
6. He did not use joist support brackets as required.
7. He demanded final payment prior to completion of work and refused to send crew to fill holes and clean up as specified in contract. We had to contact the franchise director to get this completed.
8. He threatened us with collections and threatened to put a lien on our house for the materials prior to the completion of the work. He accused us of keeping food from his workers’ tables.
9. The day after completion of work, we sent payment. Again he gave us no invoice. However, he gave the wrong address on his contract. We took it upon ourselves to find out why the check wasn’t cashed, and then had to cancel payment and send yet another check.
10. He never came to do a final inspection on the project, nor did he give us the warranty as promised. A few pieces of wood warped within 1 week of the project completion.
11. He used subcontractors for the project, although the website says they have only employees. For this reason, he should be required to file a Release of Liens.
Mike Hanley did not follow through on anything he told us verbally and even denied what he had said. He was rude and disrespectful. He lied and blamed others for his own lack of planning and managing.

Review: We contracted with Mike H[redacted], franchisee for Affordable Decks, to build a deck on our house in 2008. On Memorial weekend of this year, the main supporting beam failed. The deck did not fall, but was not usable the rest of the day. A friend and I propped up the beam temporarily and I contacted Mr. H[redacted] on June 1. He came out to assess the situation on 6/2 and said the failure was due to water getting into the beam (double 12 inch laminated), and said a replacement would be 100% covered under the warranty for parts and labor. While he was there on 6/2, he put up (3) temporary posts and a temporary beam so that we could use the deck. After not hearing back from him for a few days, I contacted him on 6/7 to get a commitment on when the beam would be replaced. He said 7-10 days. Again after not hearing back I contacted him on 6/15. He said he had two new jobs in the area that were near completion and which ever crew finished first would be sent over to replace the beam. He also wrote (in a text), "It's probably going to be a week to a week and a half, but I won't let it drag on for you." We left for vacation and came back on 7/6 without hearing from Mr. H[redacted] in the meantime. The beam had not yet been replaced. I left a voice mail for Mr. H[redacted] on 7/8 asking for status. No reply. Left another voice mail on 7/11. No reply. I texted him on 7/22 asking for status. He replied that we were scheduled for the day before but 5 of his 7 workers were stung by ground bees. He assured me that the following week he would focus on loose ends and we would be a priority. I texted Mr. H[redacted] on 7/26 asking when he would be coming. He replied that the new beam would be dropped off the next day and he would get a crew there on 7/29 to replace it. On 7/28 the beam was delivered and left in our driveway...in the rain. I texted Mr. H[redacted] and asked if exposing the beam to rain would be a problem since the original beam failed because it was wet. Mr. H[redacted] said that would not be a problem. On 7/29 I texted Mr. H[redacted] to confirm his crew was coming. He responded that he would try and that his crew got stormed on the day before and was running behind. No one came on 7/29. It continued to rain on 7/30. I texted Mr. H[redacted] on 8/1 asking if he was coming. No response. I texted Mr. H[redacted] on 8/2 asking if he was coming. No response. The same day, I contacted Mr. Jeff V[redacted] the franchisor of Affordable Decks and Additions and gave the receptionist a few details of my situation and asked for Jeff to call me to discuss. Jeff did not call back. I texted Mr. H[redacted] the same day again asking for status. His response was he would be out late the same day or mid morning the following day. He never showed up. On 8/3 I went out to look at the failed beam and saw that it was much larger that than the beam that was delivered. I took pictures of the failed beam showing a ruler measuring it at 12 inches wide and of the delivered beam with a ruler showing it to be 9.5 inches wide and sent both to Mr. H[redacted]. His response was that the delivery crew brought the wrong beam. On 8/4, Mr Valperga called me and after explaining the situation, said he and Mr. H[redacted] would be out to assess the situation and, "come up with a plan". I questioned this as I thought the plan was to replace the beam. Mr Valperga responded that replacing the beam was only part of the plan, and that the entire situation needed to be looked at. He committed to respond back to me within 48 hours. We went on vacation and came back 8/13 with no communication from Mr. Valperga or Mr. H[redacted] in the meantime. The beam still has not been replaced and the wrong beam is still sitting in the driveway exposed to the elements.Desired Settlement: My patience has run out with Mr. H[redacted] and his company. We need the beam replaced this week.

Review: In early May 2015 I shopped around for a contractor to build a wooden deck on the back of my house. Mike H. of Affordable Decks came out and gave me an estimate. On June 3,2015 Mike and I signed a contract for him to build a deck for $4,400. I gave him a deposit for $1,467. On June 24th I spoke with Mike and he said the materials were in and he got the permit and that he should have the deck built by July 3rd. That was the last time I heard from him. I called him and left a message about every other day to get a status report. He never called back. For the last several days I've called and left messages twice a day hoping to catch him when he was available. Still no response.Desired Settlement: At this point I would like my deposit back so I can get another (reliable) contractor to do the work. If he's busy or doesn't want the work that's fine, he can at least call me and let me know what his intentions are.

Consumer

Response:

Review: Affordable Decks of Washington County installed a roof over my patio on 3/18/11 and it has leaked from day 1. It is now 2014 and I am no closer to getting my issue resolved. After several attempts to resolve this issue my roof still leaks. I was told that the roof has a faulty design when it was originally built. I was told by an other building professional that the pitch on my roof is not right.Desired Settlement: I would like a full refund at this point