Mike Davin Construction

Amended review: Mike D*** did come back and resolve the initial issue with our deck He also responded right away to another problem we hadWe are regaining our trust in Mike and now feel comfortable recommending him to neighborsThank you, Mike, for doing the right thing

Review: We had a contract with Mike Davin Construction DBA Deckmasters to put a $15K deck on our house. On 9/3/15 the final payment was made with the understanding that the township would need to come and inspect the deck for approval. A few days after the deck was "completed" I noticed that the railings were cracked and the pipe balusters were falling off. I called/texted Mike and he did return to fix them, but not soon after that they broke again. When I went to the township office to obtain my $250 deposit back on the permit sign, I was advised that they were never notified that the project was finished and to come and inspect. So, I had the inspector come to my house and inspect the deck and it did not pass inspection as it needs a stair hand rail, per code (which Mike knew was a possibility). Numerous attempts have been made via phone and text since October to have Mike come out and complete numerous actions on the deck per the contract, to no prevail. A certified letter was sent to Mike Davin on 1/8/16 with a list of contractual obligations that still needed to be met : 1) multiple stair railing brackets are still cracked and/or broken and in need of replacement, 2) one deck board needs replaced due to a 3" gouge in it, 3)one of the two top stair railing posts is not secure and needs repaired, 4) stair hand rail, per code, needs installed, 5) final inspection needs scheduled per Section 8 of the DeckMasters contract, 6) Delivery of certification and warranty documents per contract obligations. To date, no response has been received from Mike Davin.Desired Settlement: Complete the job, per above, so that we may obtain our $250 permit sign deposit back from the township building inspector.

Review: I purchased a composite deck from Deckmasters Technology that came with a lifetime warranty. I contacted them in late spring to discuss several issues with boards that were cracked. They visited once claiming they would see what they could do. Now they will not return my calls or assist in having my deck repaired.Desired Settlement: I simply want them to repair the few areas that need attention.

Review: I finally feel like I must go on record with my experiences with Deckmasters Technologies Pittsburgh Northwest, a franchisee of Deckmasters Technologies Inc., [redacted]. I first contacted Deckmasters Technologies Inc., [redacted] via their website requesting a quotation to replace and expand our existing deck. [redacted], owner of Deckmasters Technologies Pittsburgh Northwest, [redacted] contacted us in July, 2013. We liked him very much and were impressed with his demeanor, salesmanship, and product knowledge and the fact that he was a young, energetic and ambitious entrepreneur. We liked the Deckmasters story, their experience and knowledge about deck building and design. We, [redacted] and I, designed a replacement deck which we liked very much. [redacted] was full of good ideas and patience in this part of the process. The pricing was straightforward and we liked the whole process so well that we did not negotiate price. I decided to go with Deckmasters because I was convinced that the engineering and design of their decks was well thought out, coming from their years of experience in this field. We signed the contract on July 30, 2013 and expected construction to begin about 4 weeks later.Construction actually began on/around September 20, 2013. We were told construction would take about 3-4 weeks. It actually finished November 12, 2013. Im not so much complaining about the construction time as I understand our requirement for plate glass added some delay and we were impressed with [redacted]s efforts to locate the required glass for a better price. During our initial discussions with [redacted] we discussed sealing the treated lumber and how much time between construction and sealing was optimal. [redacted] told us we should not seal less than a month after construction to give the wood time to dry out. Finishing construction in November precluded sealing until the spring which [redacted] said should be no problem. We weathered a very harsh winter and during the winter I discussed sealing with a few companies that advised sealing should not occur until the wood dried out from the wet winter, April at the earliest. And so we scheduled the staining for late April which stretched into the summer, finally completed at the end of June, 2014. This delay was mainly caused by repair work that [redacted] needed to complete caused by wood issues that developed over the winter. The sealing went ahead without the repairs being completed and thus my dissatisfaction with Deckmasters and [redacted].My first communication with [redacted] was on March 29, 2014 regarding the left over construction debris in our yard that was not removed (in fairness, when the project was completed in November there was snow on the ground covering much of this problem) which he said he would take care of. I conducted a more thorough inspection and found splitting floor boards, posts and a support beam. He said he would take care of these issues on April 14. (In actual application, the carpenters, and perhaps due to the quality of the materials, constructed the deck in my opinion in an inconsiderate if not haphazard manner, that is, not taking advantage of ways to use this wood so as to minimize the location of knots and other imperfections.)I texted [redacted] a detailed list of issues on April 13. By April 26 nothing had been done and I texted [redacted] again on April 26 informing him we would be out of town May 3-4 and May 6-13, asking him for an appointment. He said he would come the week of April 26. By May 2 he had not arrived. I texted him again on May 2, phoned on May 15 and left a message and texted again on May 16, expressing my frustration with the lack of communication. On May 19 he said he would be here on May 20. On May 20 and May 27 [redacted] arrived and did complete the initial work, 6 weeks after his initial commitment. We discussed the other issues I had noticed including the fact that the long winter (and Spring) had caused severe cracking and checking of the exposed wood. The railings could not even be sanded to the point where there were not splinters reoccurring. I could not use the railing on the steps without getting splinters in my hands. [redacted] agreed to replace the railings and rebuild a portion of the railing that was obviously constructed incorrectly. I am still waiting to hear from [redacted] when this work will be completed. I have initiated contact with [redacted] numerous times by text, cell phone voice mail and calls to his office, leaving messages with his assistant. I sent [redacted] a letter on July 1, 2014 and did not receive a response. I sent the same letter to Patrick Nicholson CEO of this business, Deckmasters Technologies Inc., [redacted], the franchisor, on July 15, 2014. I called 3 times, on July 22, 24 and 29, 2014, leaving messages on their answering machine and never received a response to my letter or the phone messages.I am being ignored. I am and have been very patient and understanding however this disrespect to a customer is unexplainable. The FOREVER Workmanship Warrantee that is advertised on the website and referenced in the contract, is useless when the company will not ever respond to letters, calls, texts, etc. I feel like I have a new deck that looks 10 years old. We should be proud of this new deck. Instead, we are just disappointed. At this point I feel my only recourse is to contact the Revdex.com and place my comments on Angies list, Facebook and whomever else deals with Contractors that dont live up to their agreements. [redacted] built up so much goodwill at the beginning and has squandered it the last few months. We could have been excellent references for future business. How detrimental to an entrepreneur is a disappointed customer?Desired Settlement: I want the unfinished repair work completed and a satisfactory resolution to the wood that due to exposure to the winter is cracked and aged. Replacement may be necessary.

Review: We contracted with Mr. D[redacted] to install an aluminum railing on our front porch. The work was completed on August 26, 2015. While he was finishing up, I noticed that there was a rust-colored mark on the existing concrete slab near one of the posts he had installed. I asked Mr. D[redacted] if that would come up with a power washer, and he said he thought it would. At the time, I thought it was just dirt or iron dust from the removed post; most of the rest of the porch was covered with his materials and equipment. It wasn't until he had cleaned up all of his work materials and left that I realized that this same mark was at every one of the 8 posts he had installed; in most cases there are two marks, each one about 2" wide by 8-10" long. Power washing them did not even lighten them. I called and requested that he call me back, which he did two days later. I explained the problem, and he said he would look into it. Another note, since I have had a better chance to examine the railing he installed, I have found that one railing section is not straight; this discovery was after I had spoken to Mr. D[redacted]. Since then, I have called their [redacted] number four times. The phone number for his North Hills location is answered by the same machine message. Each time, I was only able to leave a message on an answering machine; none of the calls have been returned.Desired Settlement: We would like to have our porch returned to its original state, without the stain marks., and the railing section straightened.