Long Island Decking, Inc.

Review: Long Island Decking was hired June 2010 to build a Trex deck in the rear of my home. I consulted with the [redacted] to design the deck. I had asked him if we needed to obtain permits to build the deck. He had said it was not necessary to obtain a permit being the deck would take half a day to build, and he could book the crane that would be needed to haul in the steel beams. He stated, if I wanted to get a permit it would take months, and it was unecessary. The deck then would not be able to be built until August. He stated, I would have to legalize the deck if I decided to sell my home.

In April 2013, I had the Department of Buildings come to my home. The [redacted] had told me there was a complaint filed against my deck stating that my deck was "unstable" and "shaking". The [redacted] examined my deck and determined that to be untrue. He asked if I had a permit for the deck. Unable to provide that, I was given a summons for no permit and had to hire an architect to draw up plans to obtain a permit and legalize my deck. Infuriated, I contacted my architect who had previously drawn up plans for the renovations done to the front of my house.

When my architect came to my home and inspected the deck, he could not believe how Long Island Decking could have built this deck without permits. It was declared unsafe. Prior to my architect coming to my home, I had tried to contact [redacted], the project consultant - who no longer worked with Long Island Decking. I then tried multiple times to contact "[redacted]" the contractor of Long Island Decking, but he never returned my calls. I left many messages with [redacted], the secretary, regarding the issues. My architect also, left [redacted] messages on his cellphone and tried contacting him while he was at my house. Needless to say, he never returned my architect's phone call. My architect needed to know exactly what types of beams he used so he could put it in his plans.

The deck was not up to NYC code. Long Island Decking never placed four feet of concrete footing under each beam. Instead, they laid these heavy duty metal beams on concrete that has a thickness of about 3 inches. The deck is erected from the back of my first floor and is 10 feet from the ground. My architect stated that the deck could go right through this thin concrete and collapse. Furthermore, NYC does not allow trex, or wood decks! If I would have known this, I would have a concrete deck and not have spent $25,000 on building this deck. Trex decking does not meet fire code standards for NYC.

After, my architect drew up plans to fix this, it took him 9 months to obtain a permit. The Department of Buildings kept requesting other alterations be made to the deck, such as enclosing the botton with concrete board for fireproofing, adding more steel stabilizing beams underneath the structure and much more. Finally after many appeals, and meeting with the commisioner of the department of buildings the permit was approved. My architect and Department of building fees alone come to $3,600.Desired Settlement: Long Island Decking should send a licensed contractor to fix the deck up to NYC code standards.It is now in the blueprints. Paying such a high price Long Island Decking should render good service. If not, they should pay my contractor for fixing their mistakes.

Business

Response:

Good Morning [redacted],

Just a quick follow up to our phone conversation earlier this morning.

As stated on the phone I just today became aware of this complaint or I would have addressed it earlier.

It looks like the homeowner [redacted] did reach out to our office once that I am aware of back on 6/**/13 to let us know that she was cited for work without a permit for work that was completed back in 2010. I directed [redacted], my [redacted] that day to refer her to one of two architects to draw the plans for the deck and get it legalized.

That is the last communication that I am aware of before opening your letter this morning.

We are currently looking for a copy of their contract and addendum pages that should look like the attached pdf

Please note page 3 bottom Plans and Permits.

Due to Hurricane Sandy we experienced a full 5’ of water in our old offices and consequently lost a lot of paperwork in that time frame. The attached form has been in use since at least early 2010 before the [redacted]’s contracted with us and would have been used at their contract signing.

Is it possible for you to request copies of their contracts be sent to you including all pages so we can see if this matches what they were provided?

We always clearly spell out the need to file permits and the possible consequences of not doing so.

In the meantime we will continue to look for their original contract on our end.

Was there anything else I need to do to address this complaint right away?

Thank you,

Nassau ###-###-####

Suffolk ###-###-####

Fax ###-###-####

Consumer

Response:

See additional contract documents Revdex.com contract 5,6,7. A mail reply was also sent on 3/**/14 to ensure coverage of all documents.

Business

Response:

To All Concerned,

Although I do understand and sympathize with the frustration of [redacted] and [redacted] and their current situation I have to point to our contract that clearly spells out the policy of our company as it pertains to permits.

Long Island Decking has a 15 year history without a single complaint against our company. One of the main reasons this is true is the way we explain the entire process in our 5 page contract. Significantly, on page 3 of 4, we explain the plans and permit process. We carefully reviewed those provisions regarding permits with [redacted], the signer of the contract, who initialed the page after everything was explained to him..

The contract reads as follows:

Plans and Permits

It is safe to assume that your construction project requires permits to build. We leave the decision to file this project solely in the hands of the homeowner. All fees associated with permit filing, such as, but not limited to, blueprints, permit fees, engineers reports, and surveys are not included in contract price unless otherwise noted in writing. The design service that we offer is strictly a visual aide, and may not be used to file or obtain permits. You agree to hold LID harmless, defend and indemnify LID from any claim, action or proceeding resulting from any failure to file any document required by any Federal, State, or Local Government authority. We will do our best as professional to build your project to current building codes, but as zoning and building regulations change dramatically from town to town, we can not guarantee that you are in full compliance upon completion without filing.

We include this language in our contracts for 2 reasons: first of all, as noted, we do not have specific knowledge of every building code and ordinance for every location we work in in the tri-state area and second, we want to make sure that our clients understand their obligations.

In this case, the clients were absolutely advised that permit issues might need to be addressed in the future. The client chose to proceed, noting that going through any permit process would significantly delay the project. Moreover, the client was given options for the manner in which the deck was to be constructed and chose the method shown in the photo as a new driveway had just been installed and they did not want to disturb the newly poured concrete.

As for the alleged phone calls, I am only aware of one attempt to reach me last year regarding this issue. [redacted] my [redacted] informed me of their situation and I referred the [redacted]s to two independent architects that could help them with the proper paperwork. To my knowledge that was the end of it until now.

Long Island Decking simply followed and respected the wishes of the homeowner at the time of the build.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT

Unfortunately, I was on vacation when I received the response from the Revdex.com, and now the case is closed. I would like to respond to Jay's response (from L.I. Decking).

I am stunned by his unprofessional manner in dealing with this issue. He claims multiple times that he had contacted me in regards to our problem with the deck. My husband and I were never given the names or even referred to any independent architects. This is a complete lie and I am willing if possible by my phone company to retrieve any records that prove so. If he claims to be so forth coming with information, then why didn't he call back my architect and give him the information he needed in order to draw up the blueprints correctly?

He claims I stated, I did not want my concrete broken up in the back. That is completely false, being he would had to only break up the part where the footings needed to be placed. In fact, I was told by the project manager that it did not need to be done because they were putting a metal plate around each steel beam.

He also states, we were against the permits for the deck, another false statement. Once again, we were told they were not needed.

I am so disgusted with his response. Although we signed contracts, does that mean that a licensed contractor can still build an unsafe structure?

Sorry for my delayed response.

Thank you,