RBJ Home Repair and Remodeling

This contractor inspected my old deck framework and said it was in good shape and it would be no problem to work with. I made it very clear my main goal was getting it done right. Whether the old framework could be used or not. There is not one straight cut on this elevated deck. None of their mitres fit together properly. I chose to use 2x6's for decking, the majority of them are too short or cut crooked and when they were screwed down too tight the wood has split or is not attached to anything. There are boards already bowing up on the deck as well as the steps. The railing is falling apart because they shot one screw in the top of the 2x4 and split the wood and the 2x4's are falling off the screws. They ripped holes in my Hardiplank siding over my door when they replaced the brick molding around my front entry door, along with ruining my limited lifetime warrantied paint on my home. The brick molding mitres do not even begin to fit together, and they used a circular saw to cut it and chipped the wood on the top piece. The 1x4's used for the underpinning was warping after one month, due to the fact they did not put in proper supports and only used one screw at the end of each board. The whole deck is a safety hazard, and I would not recommend this contractor to anyone. The deck was finished on 04/13/2017. The first time they had to come back out was on 05/17/2017 to put some kind of support behind the underpinning, of which they only put support behind some of the sections, not all. They also replaced one 2x6, however, it was too short so a small piece was cut and frankensteined into the gap. Neither were happy to be back at my home, this was made very clear. The second visit was on 06/13/2017 to replace more boards and fix bottom railing. The solution, shot one screw into the side of the 2x4 on the rail. Then he shot six screws into on 2x6 deck board bowing up and said my wood was rotten, to which I replied "that is not what you said when you came out to give me an estimate". He then got somewhat belligerent with me and my 78 year old mother, so I told him to leave. I went under the deck and out of the six screws he shot in that one 2x6, he did not hit the 2x10 bolted to the house once. He didn't hit it because not one of those deck boards are flush against my house and they are all different lengths at the outer edge. I can see part of the 2x10 support in a lot of places on the outer edge, which means the screws are too close to the edge of the 2x6 splitting the wood or not attached at all. He had full access under the deck at the time of his estimate and he raised no concerns at all. This is an elevated deck, so you can walk around under it. I hired a Professional Structural Engineer to inspect this deck and his words were, "The deck was found to be in need of additional repairs and with the amount of work performed previously should have been brought up to current standards. As discussed, we consider the workmanship performed to be below average when compared to the other work seen on a daily basis".