OC Deck & Patio

Don't usually write reviews unless I'm very impressed or very unimpressed. We made an appointment for 8AM this morning. OC Deck and Patio never showed up. I got a call around 8:30, saying they had to cancel and sorry for the late notice. My husband took off work to be at the property - we are looking for a large deck to be replaced. Guess we are going to have to look elsewhere. If they can't even make the first appointment (and don't have the courtesy to call beforehand), probably can't rely on them.

Only made it through the initial design phase before deciding to mutually terminate the contract. Responsiveness, providing updates when indicated, and project management are not strong suits - from the outset. Vendor is strong at what he thinks the best aesthetic and materials are, but from a project management and time / cost efficiency standpoint falls very short. I think the biggest downside was the fact that he had us pay for structural design work before he had design sign-off from the city -- and when neither of us were 100% sure on certain city requirements that would fundamentally change the design. Not being experienced in construction, this seemed odd to us, but we were trusting guidance of the "professional". Later, in the conversations that led to mutually dissolving the contract ($2500 into worthless design work). One of the main sticking points that we raised as a concern was about how he didn't guide us properly given the issue with setback requirements. He verbatim said, "well you were adamant about knowing your setback requirements and so while I normally would complete structural engineering after city approval, I went ahead and had you go ahead and pay for and get them done now." Firstly, given that I've never done this before (and this was known to him) I would not be adamant about anything. Secondly, even if I was somehow firm and adamant that my city's regulations said "x", as a professional in this area, you should still manage to project to mitigate the risk that your client (not being a professional or city planning office employee) might be wrong. That's like an airplane designer saying to an airline client "well, you were sure that what you read on the internet said that the wings should be placed on the top and bottom of the plane instead of the sides, so I assumed you as a layman were right and had you pay to proceed with a design under that assumption". Vendor also said he wanted to dissolve the contract because he got 2 "angry emails" (his words) from my wife regarding the lack of project management, responsiveness, and the fact we had just wasted $1500 on engineering plans. The emails did indeed express frustration per above, but they were by no means inappropriate or threatening and should be expected when not delivering value to your client. The main positives in the experience were patience to ultimately get to a point when we were ready to engage in a contract, and relatively low pressure sales pitch all around. Unfortunately, for us, the cons far outweighed the pros and, again, we mutually arrived at a point to cut our losses and move on. As a busy professional who values the importance of clear expectations, responsiveness, project management competence, and honesty, I know what to look for moving forward now -- and a contractor like OC Patio and Deck - that wasted my time, money, and did not make me feel comfortable - does not fit that bill. Again, nothing personal here. However, no one is professionally perfect and I hope that they can take some constructive criticism because the pain points outlined really make a huge difference in a project and can make or break it (as evidenced in our experience). Frankly, was looking forward to the actual engineering and build as I do believe their quality (once you can get to that stage) is probably good. IF evidence of those negatives are addressed, would consider working with them in the future under a much better dynamic, but at this point, would not.

This is a difficult review for me. The negative nature of my review stems from one major issue: Before OC Deck did any work, there were no water leaks or water problems where the deck was added. After their work was complete, and after a major rain storm a month or so ago, a significant water leak was exposed. This leak came through the top inside of the new sliding door OC Deck added, replacing a master bedroom window, to allow access from the bedroom to the deck. Brian came out during that storm and saw the leak. So he had his stucco guy come out. This person "water tested" by spraying water against the door and areas above the door. He concluded that the leak was coming from a half-moon window that existed above the new sliding door. Now this window has been in place since the house was built and no leaks were EVER evident from it. OC Deck's stucco guy claimed it was this window that was the problem even though this window was not touched - well, except for putting new flashing and black paper underneath the window's bottom edge as part of re-flashing, papering and stucco between it and the new sliding door. I paid for a company to come out and look at t the window. I paid for having it re-sealed. However, there was still water leaking from the top of the sliding door after this. I then paid for replacing the half-moon window. During this process, several issues were noted with the flashing, paper and nailing done by OC Deck. I invited Brian to come out during the install of this so that he could see for himself if there were any issues.. He did not come out or respond to my invitation. I took photos as best I could and collected some items to show problem areas and that the leak probably stemmed from the sliding door install. Brian slammed me when I sent him this info - understand I am just the poor customer who paid almost $37,000 to OC Deck alone. He basically said that they did nothing wrong, did everything correctly and washed his hands of any responsibility. I, other hand, have shelled out $1600 more to hopefully fix this. REMEMBER, NO LEAK BEFORE OC DECK did their work! If you decide to use OC Deck, please demand a very, very detailed contract with all aspects spelled out and costed. Brian changed Progress Payments schedules on us without prior consultation - not a huge deal, but be prepared. When I removed some electrical work from the project, he did not deduct that cost claiming he did other things that were above and beyond and therefore it was a "wash". Good luck.

unknown

It was great, Brian was very professional, we had him look at the job several times over a year, giving us options on how to fix it right, while the job was delayed by other construction. He was just fantastic with working it all to the new schedules as it was a difficult project. He has amazing building skills with excellent precise workmanship with all details. We were thrilled he took care of everything !!!!!!

.

Brian Young is the owner of this company. He is very professional, does the estimates (as well as the construction), and is very thorough in his explanation of what he will do for you and how he will do it. . He is prompt in getting back to you with an estimate, his estimate is more in-depth than others I have received (many quotes involve one sentence on an email). He is very accountable and you can count on him to show up with his team and perform the duties as stated in his estimate/contract. I found his pricing to be fair and competitive. His team was prompt, responsive, and accountable. They did a great job and cleaned up after themselves -- it was flawless and did not require any supervision on my part, which was wonderful. He has the resources at hand to assist in associated tasks, such as brick work, etc. I would highly recommend him to anyone requiring the construct of an outdoor patio cover, outdoor room, etc. He was a pleasure to work with and did a great job.

.

unknown

Unrelaible

My 30 year old deck was in bad shape from dry rot and termite damage, and was becoming an eyesore. I looked into replacing it and was given estimates in the $20K plus range, so I decided to look into a renovation. My termite company gave me an estimate of $8500, but they stipulated that they would have to change the look of the deck, by cutting off the corbel ends to the 17 8"x10" joists and removing the decorative facia, essentially removing any of the elegance of the original design. The owner of OC Deck & Patio, Brian Young, was excellent from the start. Being aware of my cost sensitivity, he gave me a number of options for how to proceed with the job. I elected to have him not alter the existing deck design. I also opted to have his company do only the major work I couldn't do, like installing the 8"x10" joists that weighs around 400 pounds!. I opted to fix myself things that were within my ability (like replace some rotted railings and a few decorative pieces). The work took all or part of 6 days. I counted approximately 43.5 man-hours of labor (including breaks and lunches), and the breaks were few and short. Brian has only one work crew and he was on-site (and working) most of the time, so he not only did much of the work, he was constantly there to supervise, unlike other contractors I've encountered who rarely make an appearance once the job is accepted. Brian appeared to be genuinely interested in doing the work in such a way that it would last and not have to be re-done after a few years. I would definitely hire him again. February 2015 update: In December 2014, after removing for replacement some decorative wood from the deck posts I discovered the post bases were severely rotted and the anodized metal footings severely corroded. One was rusted off, so the post was not attached to the ground! I called Brian to schedule an estimate for replacing the posts and post bases, but he never called back.

There were a couple of "tweaks" that I wanted done and after explaining over the phone Brian was eager to make sure that I was satisfied with the job. The final result turned out very good and the quality that was promised was delivered.

The guy was very professional and knowledgeable; but I thought he was very expensive. He quoted $40000. The price was a lot more than what I wanted.

We had an outdoor corner of our yard where we wanted a deck built. Brian Young came to look at the area and gave us some wonderful suggestions. He brought samples of materials for us to see as well. The thing that impressed me most was how he listened to us and incorporated our ideas into the overall design of the deck. He's very savvy with aesthetics and has a good vision of how things will look when completed. Once construction began, both Brian and his employee, Sky, worked diligently and were very professional. It's easy to see that they take pride in their work and everything was done correctly and accurately. Every corner and every angle on the deck was measured precisely. The finished deck is absolutely beautiful! We also had outdoor steps replaced that had been rotting. Brian used the same wood on the steps that he used on the deck and they came out great! We had a funky stone structure in the yard that Brian cut and measured and installed a grill. He used matching wood on the opening in front. We've been in this house for two years and it's nice to spend time in the yard and feel that it is finally finished, thanks to this wonderful craftsman! I highly recommend OC Deck & Patio and would not hesitate to call them again for future projects.

The outcome was beautiful, and Brian Young was a pleasure to deal with, very professional and knowlegeable. The product is not inexpensive, but it looks great.

The project went very well and the result is great! Brian is a very good builder. He chose solid, perfect pieces of Douglas fir and was careful to carry out the plan as agreed upon in advance. We appreciated it that he asked questions and made suggestions because we don't have a lot of experience in replacing patio covers. Brian discussed details about his construction methods so that we would understand why and how he planned to work and he listened as we asked questions and gave our opinions. After the patio was actually constructed and beautifully so, he touched up every single smallest detail so that the entire patio cover actually shines now. In the process, Brian was also careful with our many plants and with the yard and house. The result is lovely. We are amazed by Brian's work methods, diligence and attention to details because these really matter!!

We hired Park Young to build an elevated ground level deck. Brian met with us several times before we signed a contract and provided several design options. It took us a long time to decide on a design and get multiple bids and Brian was very patient and professional throughout the process. When we decided to proceed with one of Brian's designs, scheduling was relatively prompt during the busy season and the project was completed as expected. The quality of work was exceptional and we are happy we followed Brian's advice on deck size, shape and railing style. We are very pleased with the way the deck turned out and highly recommend Brian and Park Young.

I originally contacted Brian Young last summer to rebuild a 2nd story deck on a home I had just purchased. Brian was out of the country doing volunteer work, but was kind enough to email me back and offered to discuss my project when he returned at the end of 2012. While I did not want to wait, other projects got in the way and by the time I was ready to do my deck, Brian was back, so based on his positive reviews here, I had him come out for an estimate. By that time, I had already had a few bids and Brian's quote was fair, so I went with him. His projected start date was right on time, and prior to that, Brian was able to obtain the necessary permits so that he could begin work right away. I very much appreciated his educating me on my building materials options and the related cost - it was apparent that he was not trying to get me to spend more - if anything, he suggested ways to save me money. Because I wanted a low-maintenance deck that was built to last, I chose to upgrade my materials using TimberTech Earthwood Evolutions decking and their Radiance Rail Express; so my total cost would certainly have been lower if I opted for Douglas Fir or cheaper materials. Overall Brian was great to work with. He showed up on time, stayed with my project until it was finished (rather than bouncing around to work on other projects as some contractors do), did his best to honor any requests I made for little details, and periodically asked my opinion before doing a stage of work, so as to make sure I was OK with the look of some particular aspect of the deck. Note: San Diego residents should be aware that included in my total was about $1,000 for the city permit (OTC) and inspections, so if you are planning construction that goes beyond standard city guidelines, prepare to pay even more for a permit. The result was a sturdy, beautiful deck (finished in just over 2 weeks) that I am proud to share with my family and friends while enjoying a margarita at sunset!

Once we accepted the bid, we signed the contracts and there was a 2 week lag while materials were ordered. Once work started it proceeded smartly. Brian did most of the work. The work quality was top notch. The finished deck looked more like a piece of furniture than what I thought of as a deck. The work site was kept reasonable throughout but we had to learn to live with sawdust. When the job was finished, the site was cleaned completely. I would have to say that this was the best contracting experience that I have ever had. Park-Young truly exceeded my expectations. You'd be crazy not to consider them.

They were able to work with my schedule, came in for three days and did the job, and left us with a sturdy cover that matches our larger patio cover. Kurt did a great job - working alone with no extra hands on - amazing. I was very pleased with their work and work ethic.

Ok, seriously? HIRE BRIAN TO BUILD YOUR DECK. You won't be sorry. I got estimates from 4 companies, but the minute I met Brian I knew he was the builder I'd go with. His bid was right in line with the others, but he was the only one who said he'd get permits and build the new structure up to code (the others said they'd do a direct replacement of the old). He was also so patient with me as I explored my options for the composite decking and railing. He is very knowledgeable and was always willing to stop and answer my questions throughout the job. I changed my mind about the spacing of the lattice on the patio cover ... he simply said "that's easy to do" and got the extra wood. He was also very good communicating with me so I knew how things were progressing and when he'd be working at my house. I had to take a business trip in the middle of the job, which delayed things since I don't like folks working at my house while I'm out of town. This meant he had to pack up all his tools before the end of the job, which I know was a huge pain, but he never said a word of complaint; he simply returned to my house as soon as I was back and started work again! Yes, he has a busy schedule and I had to wait a while until he could fit me in. But he did fit me in, and I now have a gorgeous new deck and patio cover. I wouldn't hesitate to hire Brian for another job at my house, I trust him completely.

Brian was exceptional. Clear on why he was doing what he did. Never did anything (extra) without consulting me on it first.

Brian Young did a fantastic job on our deck project. We couldn't be more pleased with the outcome. He gave us a fair estimate and explained ways where we could save money. Once he started the job, he consistently showed his expertise in his trade by helping to revise the plans and explaining more optimal alternatives to what was originally designed. Brian was extremely thorough in his work and very very clean. He is a very honest person which was very important to us. There were problems getting the railing system from the supplier and he stayed on top of it and worked through the shipping problems. I would recommend Park Young Enterprises for any deck or balcony project.

Brian arrived with samples of materials and listened to our needs. He presented design options and offered input about deck materials and associated costs. A design was agreed on and a quote was presented. Brian didn't waver from the quote cost and the schedual was met. We are delighted!!

Brian Young was very helpful with ideas and choices for our deck and spiral staircase project. Mr. Young was very diligent and thorough in every aspect of the planning, building and completion of the work. Mr. Young's team worked carefully not to disturb neighbors. Their work was completed with minimum disruption in regards to cleanup, noise and the safety of our children during the project. Our deck is beautiful and we have received many compliments. The completed project is even more wonderful than we imagined and exceeded our expectations. We highly recommend Park-Young Enterprises.