BANELL CUSTOM DECKS & BASEMENTS

They did exactly what they said that they were going to do. The design and workmanship were absolutely excellent. Excellent materials, polite and respectful to my property, great clean up. What more could we ask for?

This was our first time building a deck and we learned a few lessons on this job. First, the quote provided lacked any specific details about a fire pit and wit was priced about 9,000$ The description given verbally was a lot of puffing, which we didn't realize until t he fire pit was completed and it was basically a 4 foot by 2 foot pit, with river rock provided by us that requires manual ignition. Very far from what was described verbally. Get a detailed contract, don't rely on their verbal description of how fantastic it will be. Another problem I had with these builders was they failed to put any type of safety tape or anything to secure the unrailed deck and stairs! The deck, on the second level, along with a flight of stairs, were left without railings for weeks, there was nothing put to prevent someone from walking right off the edge!! There was damage to our stucco and damage to several screens as well. Also the gate we requested as a safety feature at the top of the stairs is broken. It has had a broken latch since install, despite numerous requests it has never been fixed and at this point I'm probably going to have to pay another contractor to fix their inadequate work. We paid about 40,000 for a job I feel pretty sure should have cost half of that. After paying that amount, we still have a gate that doesn't lock.

Excellent, Banell provides both 5 Star quality and service. They make minor repairs as needed and are very reliable.

We were happy with the design ideas and the presentation of pros & cons of the various remodeling options. Most of his subcontractors were excellent, showed up on time, and did not create suspicious change orders. We were a little bit skeptical of one of the subs (the framer) after some high cost change orders, but the workmanship was good. We had a little trouble with our tight schedule but Brian kept the process moving, and when there were problems (there are always some manner of problems in a construction project!) Brian handled them promptly and fairly.

Brian drew up a nice rendering on his computer and his price quote was much more reasonable than the other three we had received. His job site manager was very attentive. They worked every day and it was done quickly. They seemed to have a good relationship with the building inspectors too. We love our new. Outdoor living space!

The projects were completed in a timely fashion and with the utmost quality. The thing I like about Brian and team is they have a high standard of quality and won't settle. A prime example of their workmanship was when an inspector came in and said, "every time I'm called for an inspection and I find it's Banell, it's always the same quality of work and they know what their doing." I've found this to be true for all 3 projects we've used them for. I contually have people making comments about our current backyard space and our basement and the level of craftsmanship. I won't hesitate to use them in the fure if needed! Keep up the good work.

We hired Banell Custom Decks & Basements to redo our existing deck. We initially only wanted the decks boards replaced with high quality Timbertech Legacy planks. Brian Bell and team went the extra mile to not only replace the boards but repair structural issues with the framing and provide additional weather proofing to frame. The end result now compliments the home and enhances the overall outdoor living space. The pricing we received was bit more expensive than other bids we received but none of the other contractors were doing any work with the framing. Their expertise and value shined through by improving the deck for many years to come. This has been the second major project Banell Custom Decks & Basements has done for us in 7 years. This experience was just as good as the first. I would recommend them to anyone who is looking for high quality and expertise.

We called Banell and they were very responsive. They returned my calls right away and answered all our questions about our deck job. Very professional and knowledgeable. Appreciated that they they took the time to contact us during the busy season.

they came out to the house and seemed excited to work on our deck. It was pointed out that their company came out to our house prior for a quote on our basement remodel and we didn't use them, so I'm not sure if they didn't want to work for us because of this. We were told they would email us an itemized quote in a week and never heard back. I attempted to call but no one ever answered the phone. After I left several messages I just gave up and left a final message that we were didn't want their services. I won't waste my time again with this company

We are still so happy with our deck. My husband commented the other day what great workmanship they did. Actually one carpenter, Kristof, did most of the work. Amazing the custom fitting details around the stairs and railing. We recently had a big party with 50 people on the deck, very solid.

From the design work through the completion of the project the Banell team worked to understand what we wanted, suggested options and worked with us to ensure it exceed our expectations. Brian, Jason and team addressed issues quickly and fairly. Overall, great work and professional crew. We highly recommend Banell and a very please with the final product.

Between Brian, Jason and Chris our project went like clockwork from start to finish. It started with Brian developing a deck design to our exact specifications to best optimize our view. Next came the pre-construction phase of building permits, bill of materials, HOA approval etc. which all when without issue. The dumpster showed up the Friday before demolition began. Demolition took all of 3 days in bad weather and the site was prepped for new construction. All materials were delivered 2 days prior to re-construction and was completely on hand from the beginning. Chris did an excellent job framing and constructing the new deck, Pergola and Garden Wall. As with all projects you open up one thing and another pops to be fixed in the process. We were in need of a paver repair to complete the deck and Brian & Jason came through with a quality contractor to make the repair and keep the project on schedule in a mater of days. In total framing took 3 weeks, paint followed immediately afterwards and again a high quality contractor showed up to perform the work. In the end we finished on time with an amazing new Cedar Deck, Pergola and Garden Wall that are truly well constructed. High quality materials went into the construction of our project and we couldn't be more pleased with the outcome or our decision to hire Brian Bell and his company.

My experience with Brian of Banell was not the best experience I've had with contractors. It took Brian 5 days to return my message seeking to set up an appointment for an estimate on a deck. By the time he finally called me back I had assumed that he didn't want the business. However, he did call back and he came out on May 9th. He was on time and was professional while he was at my house but I didn't get the feeling that he was listening to me and he seemed in a bit of a hurry. I asked him for 3 price quotes. One for a pergola, one for a simple platform deck with some type of privacy walls because in my development there are at least 3 houses that can see into your backyard, and one for a more detailed deck off of a second story. I explained exactly what I was looking for and why and I reiterated when Brian was leaving that I wanted the above 3 quotes. Brian said that he would email some drafts and pricing to me by Monday. Monday came and went and by Friday I wondered what happened so I emailed Brian on Friday afternoon to ask about the designs and pricing. Several hours later I received an email back from Brian with one design and pricing for a deck that would have cost $27,000.00! I guess that I should have told Brian up front what I had budgeted for a simple platform with privacy walls - but he never asked and I never imagined that something that cost other friends about $5000 - $8000 to build would cost $27K. (This is for a 165 sq ft deck with 2 walls and a slatted roof.) I never received a quote for the pergola and his only remark about the deck from the 2nd floor was that "it will cost more". I did not reply to the email because I frankly felt that he wasn't interested in my business. A few days later Brian emailed me to check and see if I wanted the deck built and I emailed him back to politely tell him that I was surprised at his price quote and that I could finish my basement for $27K but I felt the price was way too high for a deck. His answer to that was very professional and he explained that decks these days run about $40 per sq foot and $45 per sq ft of roofing and that perhaps he should be asking what the budget is up front. I liked Brian as a person and his ratings on Angie's List were so high (altho I did notice that that the last comment was negative and scary, in fact) that the experience with him and his company took me by surprise.

Brian Bell came out in middle of January, did measurements and came back a few days later with computer simulation of deck. Brian took time to answer questions in person and over the phone. Price was more then I wanted to pay, but Brian was more professional then most and we really liked the fortress metal balusters that matched our window well covers. Bannell was about $2k higher than other quotes we received. We signed contract Jan 28 and took HOA about 1 month to approve. Brian did not mention he needed the Improvement Location Certificate (ILC) until it was about time to submit to city. Jason Blesser was the person who I was in contact while building started on March 4, 2013. Chris Howard did everything and Chris did a great job. I think the deck came out very nice. I couple of disappointments was the handrail going down the stairs looked cheap compared to the rest of the deck and trex skirting did not cover underneath an overhang. Wife likes the deck and was very pleased that Chris cleaned up at the end of every day. Took 5 days to complete and so far I have really enjoyed it. The inspection passed the first time. I would probably use again, but get bids in the future.

TERRIBLE! No one told us that Banell builds nothing. All subs. And the subs worked from 11-2 most days, if they showed up. We were given a quote of 2-3 weeks. I had a complete melt down at 2.5 mths so Brian gave us $1,700 off. The next day one of the subs showed up at our house telling us he was going to out a lien on our house because Banell cut his wage by $1,700. Our backyard was unusable for the whole summer due to lack of management, poor workmanship, and bad business practices.

They were not the lowest cost out of four bids we solicited, but they were within reason and definitely listened to what we wanted and gave us the best custom design. The work was done according to schedule. The quality was good. They were responsive to my questions and some changes I made after the work began. Very few things were on the "punch" list after the major work was done and they cleared these items very well and rapidly. The communication with subcontractors was not always timely or accurate so I had to be more involved with assuring things were done correctly. Sometimes the owner thought workers were on my site and they were instead on another site so I wasted some time waiting for them to arrive only to find they would not be there until the next day or two. However, in the end we are quite pleased with the results and will enjoy our new finished basement with new bedroom, bath, entertainment/media areas, and enclosed storage areas.

Brian Bell designed a great deck for us to fit our small space. He helped us choose a great material that will last us for years to come and compliments our house. The deck is beautiful with a border and lights and the stamped concrete patio they installed is a great addition to the overall space. Once the work began it went very quickly and the builders were great and easy to deal with. They worked hard to get the old deck removed and the new deck built in a short period of time so we could be enjoying our new space sooner. This was a great company to work with and we would highly recommend them to others in the future.

We had written a previous negative review because our initial call wasn't returned. Brian was out of town. We'd like to erase that negative review. Once we got connected, and planned our deck with the help of Brian we were extremely happy with the quality of the work. Jason, the supervisor, was timely and professional. The actual carpenter was an expert with many years of experience. He experienced a few delays with a long commute, ankle injury, transportation issues, hence the B for punctuality. The outcome is beautiful, awesome and we would definitely recommend BDB. They went out of their way to make sure we were happy with the whole deck.

Brian provided firm estimates and professional as-built drawings. The payment terms were very acceptable (small down payment - final payment upon owner's approval and acceptance.) I didn't require speed, so the job was a little longer than the one-week install plan, but part of that was due to the holiday coming in the middle of the week. The crew worked efficiently and appeared not to waste alot of time - there was little disruption to my family other than the expected noise of construction. I had questions all the way through the project and, because I am out of state, this always had to be done via e-mail; Brian was prompt and knowledable, answering every concern with answers that I was able to verify as correct from local sources. I chose a composite material to minimize future maintenance and, for something that is basically recycled milk cartons or something, the finished product is surprisingly beautiful. I would say we are 100% satisfied with the work and finsihed product.

Banell Custom Decks and Basement were very prompt in getting back to us and the proposal that they gave. If we were at that time to do the job, we would mostly likely would have used them.

We were first impressed by their professional and quick response to our request for an estimate. The detailed computer sketch they did right at our house made visualizing their ideas very easy. Once we agreed to use them they did everything for us - even submitted design to our HOA for approval which was one less headache we had to do. Once we were approved to go they got started right away and finished ahead of the promised schedule. Every day they cleaned up their stuff and kept us up to date on the progress. It was so easy and nice to use Banell I highly recommend them to anyone. We loved the finished product and it got approved by the inspectors with no problems.

Because of the reviews on Angie's List, I chose Banell as one of the few companies to get a quote from. Brian was extremely responsive intially and made an appointment to come look at the project. He was a bit late but phoned to let me know he would be. The interaction with him during the initial appointment was great and I looked forward to getting a quote. This is where it went bad. Brian indicated he would have a quote to me the following Tuesday. Tuesday came and went and no quote arrived. I emailed and phoned him to ensure he had the correct email and was indeed going to provide a quote. No response via email and no return phone call. It has been over a month now and I still have not heard back from Banell. Though they may be an outstanding deck builder, their customer skills definitely need some improvement. I will not be recommending them to anyone.

They were timely, professional, and responsive. They were just much more expensive than what we had in our budget. I had the impression that they would do a good job.

Workmanship was impeccable. Materials were high quality. Everyone who has seen the finished product has been highly complementary. The only small glitch was that when the job was estimated, I was told that the new deck would be the same overall dimensions as the old one. When the crew showed up to mark the foundations for the new deck, I noticed that it was obviously not going to be as wide. It turned out to be 15 inches narrower. I was given the choice of going ahead with construction or restarting the process--new price, new building permits,cancelling the materials on order and reordering--with corresponding delays. I chose to stick with the narrower deck and avoid any delay. The installation crew was punctual, hard-working, extremely conscientious, and had obvious pride in their work. The finished product is a thing of beauty. I would definitely recommend the company, but would caution to go over the bid drawings very carefully.

We got estimates from several companies, but we were impressed with Brian's creativity and enthusiasm for making the kind of deck we wanted. He is very creative and looks at the deck area in new and different ways. He really listened to our input and we went through several design changes before settling on the final plan. The cost was comparable to the bids from the other companies. The construction supervisor, Jason, and his helper, Jared, were fabuous! We were really impressed with their work ethic. They arrived promptly at 8:00am and worked hard all day. Their work was neat and meticulous and they cleaned up every day before they left. They were always friendly and were patiently willing to answer questions. The sub-contractors for the masonry work, the gas line work and the electric were all very polite, prompt and competent, and they all did a good job. The deck turned out beautifully and every detail was finished. We needed to have some repair done to our siding because the new deck had slightly different dimensions. The siding repairman (not connected to Banell in any way) made a gouge in one of the decking boards. Jason replaced the board, even though he had nothing to do with the gouge, so that everything was perfect before the job was completed.