Archadeck of Chicagoland

Overall we had a very pleasant experience. Archadeck was very professional throughout our entire experience. We are very happy with our deck, and plan on using them again for our patio.

Kristen and David Berryhill, and their crew, were a pleasure to work with. The deck design they presented to us was based upon our needs and wish list within our budget. We are very happy with the finished product and look forward to enjoying our deck this summer.

Kristen and Dave, from the beginning were professional, friendly, and listened to our needs. They know their business and provided great ideas. We could not be happier with the service and the overall result of our patio! Such excellent company to work with!

They take the time to educate the customer from start to finish, keep the customer informed, and make sure the customer is happy.

We were extremely pleased with our completed project with archodeck. Everyone was very professional and easy to work with. We would highly recommend archodeck!

We were extremely pleased with our completed project with Archadeck. Everything was very professional and easy to work with. We would highly recommend Archadeck.

Very pleased with the results. Kristen and Dave took the time to coordinated with landscaper schedule and my schedule. Everything came in on time.

The project went great, Archadeck was on time, The job completed in the agreed to time frame ( about a week). The crews worked hard, cleaned up each day, and were very flexible with changes that we wanted to make. We have received many favorable comments from friends and family.

Excellent communication. Archadeck met several times to review and refine the design. They scheduled the demolition and construction and organized the delivery of the dumpster and the new materials in a very timely manner. They kept the job site neat and tidy at all times. Further, much to our surprise, they managed to do all of the work and not damage the flower beds and the existing plantings any more than was absolutely needed. They corrected items that we pointed out and overall, the experience was a great one. We would heartily recommend using them again.

Deck was on time and professional throughout the project. All questions were answered in a timely manner. We are so happy for everything.

Both Dave and Kristen were very professional and I would certainly recommend them to anyone considering a deck. We chose not to use them and took advantage of a competitive proposal provided by a local contractor.

The workers were extremely polite and professional. They were always on time and were flexible. They offered suggestions when some of the plans were changed.

Iran into problems with another contractor and archadeck saved the day. In they came and finished the project which had been abandoned! I am forever grateful to Rob Haeslip and David Berry Hill of archedeck for their very professional approach and their responsiveness to my problems.

David, John and Sonny the crew were great to work with. The quality workmanship and excellent communication were all I needed and got.

Very good to work with. Excellent craftsmanship!

From design to build David and his team did everything we had hoped for. They were professional and the craftsmanship was excellent.

Dave, was a true partner in the project, including innovative design ideas. The quality and workmanship was highly satisfying.

The crew was very professional, on time, courteous, neat. Great job.

We got a fast response and install the entire crew and company where easy and great to work with. Very thrilled with the quality and service.

The time that David spent with us to listen to what we wanted was extraordinary. The people who came to our home to build the deck and to put in the patio were kind, respectful and did excellent work. Time was honored and anything we were not happy about was immediately taken care of.

Called for an estimate on a deck for my above ground pool. I arranged an appointment and took off work for it and that same day as the appointment, the guy canceled and had to reschedule for the following week. They ask for a budget first, which none of the other deck companies did so I found that odd. Then after he came out, he told my husband they really don't consider jobs for less than $10,000. The estimate came back - surprise, in the over $10,000 dollar range for a small deck. The other companies were for 1/2 that, one company bid even less than half.

They are very professional and they did exactly what they said they were going to do.

The design phase with David Berryhill (company owner) went very well. The construction phase was extremely frustrating and was filled with multiple problems. To summarize: 1. The crew nicked our electrical mains when digging for the concrete footings. The cut was not evident until weeks later when a heavy rain storm resulted in water intrusion through the nicked power cable. The cable literally blew open and we were without power and water (private well) for several days during the hottest part of the summer. This was despite the fact that JULIE clearly marked the location of the electrical mains. The crew initially denied cutting the lines. Eventually, the crew chief said that maybe they did cut the line. He shrugged his shoulders and said that these things happen sometimes. Like, oh-well, it's no big deal. Well being without water, A/C and electricity for several days in the middle of 90 plus degree heat and humidity IS a big deal. David defended them by saying it is very difficult to avoid cutting the power lines when digging a foundation. (!!!) They ultimately paid ComEd to fix the lines. 2. The crew did not install two 42" deep concrete footings at the base of the 11-step staircase, despite the footings being clearly present on the latest drawings. Then they tried to say it was not really necessary to have the footings. Thankfully, the village inspector insisted on the footings. So the crew had to come back and re-do the work. 3. Several support posts were offset from the concrete footings under the porch, so large portions of the posts were hanging off of the footings. They had to pour more concrete to extend the footings under the posts. This is careless measurement work (or lack of measurements?) before pouring the concrete, 4. Several of the support posts had long and deep cracks/splits. The crew should not have installed these posts in the first place. Did they even look at the wood before installing it? The posts had to be replaced. 5. The electrician did not wire the porch per electrical code and the village inspector made him come back to re-do it. 6. The new porch gutter was spliced into the existing house gutter but the rainwater water did not flow to the downspout. As a result, almost an inch of water sat in the new gutter. They had to come back and fix the slope so that water would flow down. 7. The crew left an old, non-functioning post hole digger in our driveway for several weeks until David had to came by and pick it up. 8. There were other items that collectively showed a lack of attention to detail. I would describe the overall construction as "rough carpentry". The crew was supposed to be David's oldest and most experienced group of carpenters. Perhaps experience brings indifference. I know that David was frustrated with them, too. He mentioned that he was having problems with the same crew on a different job, too. On the positive side, David took the time to design a porch to our specifications, that contained design elements we wanted, and was functionally and asthetically pleasing. We like the design a lot. He was responsive to our phone calls and emails. He scheduled return visits (to fix the problems) at times that were convenient for us. He let us keep some of the extra lattice trim and boards, even though he was entitled to keep the left-over wood per the contract. He let us use the dumpster for some large items that our normal garbage pick-up service would not take. I think he truly wanted to do a good job and he was concerned about our overall satisfaction. Toward the end of the project, he sent a different carpenter to fix the remaining problems caused by the original carpenters. The new guy (John) did a good job. But as the project dragged on, David developed an edge to his attitude that I did not appreciate. I'm sure he felt that he worked hard and bent over backward to solve all the problems and bring the project to a satisfactory conclusion. But his hard work was a direct result of the problems caused by his own carpentry crew and his sub-contractors. Don't take it out on me. I know that any construction project will have some hiccups. But this project went far beyond the normal collection of minor problems. This project demonstrated a lack of attention to detail, an inability to follow written design specs/drawings and an overall lack of pride in workmanship. Everything worked out in the end, but the journey was much longer and much more painful than it needed to be. ********** Rebuttal to David's response: ********** I work with facts, not emotion, so here are the facts. The job was 99% complete for over 3 months because that's how long it took David to replace two defective window panels and pay ComEd for the electrical mains repair. David agreed, in writing, to wait on the last $3000 (out of $45,000 total project cost) until the window panels were replaced and until ComEd was paid for the repairs. So why is it an issue now? I held back $225 from the final payment for an air conditioner service call that was caused by the low voltage condition from the cut power line. This $225 was the "short" referenced in the final check. I should not be expected to absorb costs that were incurred as a direct result of the cut power lines. Documented Time Lines: 9/16/10: I requested two new window panels to replace defective window panels that were ordered 1.5 inches too short. 9/21/10 : David emailed "I am willing to wait 60 to 90 days for the final $3000 payment" (until the ComEd bill is paid and the window panels are replaced.) 9/21/10 to 12/1/10: No contact from David during this 2 1/2 month period. 12/1/10: Received email from David saying window panels are available and he wants to schedule work for week of Dec 13. 12/16/10: I received proof that ComEd was paid for the electrical mains repairs. 12/16 to 1/6/11: We made multiple attempts to schedule the window replacement. This was nobody's fault. It was delayed due to the weather and the Christmas and New Year's holidays. 1/13/10: New window panels installed and final payment given to David immediately. Therefore, we did not "become unresponsive" nor did we make him "wait several months for the final payment". It took several months for the replacement window panels and his payment to ComEd. Neither of these items were under my control. I paid David $42,000 of the $45,000 several months before the work was 100% complete, even though I would have been justified in holding back the last 25%, per the contract, until all the work was done. When he completed the work, he immediately received a check on the spot. These are the facts and they speak for themselves.

We felt we wasted our the time on the first appointment since what we had discussed wasn't included in the quote. I also would have liked to have had a quote in writing.

They were good guys, a very professional organization. In general their responsiveness was good, the only negative is that they didn't seem to want to leave a written quotation for review.