Deck Doctor

I would hire these men again. They called back quickly and had the job completed within a week. The decks look fantastic. I called a few places but this company was the only one that listened to my concerns about stain getting into the pond below the deck. They covered the entire pond while they worked and hand trimmed where necessary. They were top notch!

unknown

This is the second time that I have used the Deck Doctor. When I used the Deck Doctor two years, I was satisfied with the work. This time I was very unhappy with the quaility of the work. The work is poor quaility and not worth the price. I have 2 cedar decks, one very large one and one small one. I have some cedar benches and a teak patio table with four chairs. The work took approximately 1 1/2 days with two workers. It took 1/2 day for the workers to steam clean the decks, benches, and furniture. It took another day for the decks, benches, and furniture to be stained. Unfortuantely, they did a very poor quaility stain job on the main deck. Some areas are not well covered with stain. On the furniture they did a great job. It looks nice. But the deck looks like someone did the work in a hurry. When they stained the patio furniture, they put a tarp/drop cloth on the lawn. They ruined a 4 ft by 8 ft in our lawn. It looks terrible. They also stepped all over a bunch a perinnials that go around the deck. I would not recommend this work crew. They did a poor job and didn't care about the landscape damage they were doing.

unknown

It was a nightmare. I had requested to schedule the job AFTER my contractor constructed a second handrail for the deck stairs. I explained that my contractor would be out that weekend, and I would call Terry to schedule. His crew came out to seal the deck before the rail was built, and they did not power wash the front stoop. I paid Terry the $275, which he came to collect, and he agreed to send the crew back to seal the rail; he reluctantly agreed to power wash the stoop. My newly sealed stairs are full of ground-in dirt from the contractor, who had to step on them to install the rail. I was advised to wait several weeks to seal the new handrail; the sealant and power wash were completed as promised by the end of June. On July 3, Terry the Deck Doctor came to my door to collect $50.00, for having to send his crew back to finish the job. I stated that we had neither discussed nor agreed to an additional $50. I was taken aback and angry at this ridiculous request, since the crew had to come back because of the owner's mistake! Terry then asked for $25.00 instead, and regrettably, I paid him. Terry the Deck Doctor, I hope the $25 was worth this negative advertisement on Angie's List. Next spring, I will be looking for an honest company to seal my deck and fence.

I called the Deck Doctor, Terry Smurawski, on 3/31. He called me back the same day. We sat up an appointment time which he honored. Then the job was started on Apr 12th in the afternoon with a crew of 2 men. They worked Apr 13th, Apr 14th, and did not work on Apr 15th because the weather was bad. Then they worked on Apr 16th. The Deck Doctor came on Apr 19th to collect the check and review the job. I told him that the teak chairs needed to be resprayed with teak oil and that the stain wasn't evenly sprayed on a small section of the deck. His workers came back on Apr 20th and did some touchups that I requested. So I was very happy with the job. The contractor stands by his word. The job was completed in a timely manner and the quality of the workmanship was overall good to excellent. I have never seen my deck look so good.

He was very professional and did a very good job. I was very pleased with the whole process.

He came out for the estimate. We set the appointment for the work to be done on Tuesday. They did not show up until we called back. They came out on Thursday to power wash. He came back out last night to inspect the work, and we paid for the service. He kind of a smooth talker, and gives a good sales pitch. He did good job, but you need to stay on top of him. My husband found a few small problems, and he sent someone out to correct them.

Professional sales rep / owner - could be considered a smooth talker. But the job was done right for the most part. Staining could have been better but the deck was quite old and I just needed temporary fixes to last a couple of years. Workers who came to do the job were professional, clean and good. Price is on the steeper side.

TERRY CAME TO THE HOUSE AND WAS PROMPT AND HAD A VERY POLISHED PROFESSIONAL MANNER. HE CAME TO GIVE AN ESTIMATE ON DECK PRESSURE WASHING, STAINING AND SEALING AND, THOUGH I WAS OUT OF HIS NORMAL SERVICE AREA, AGREED TO DO THE WORK BECAUSE I AM AN ANGIE'S LIST MEMBER. I WAS A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH OUR COMMUNICATION. HE WAS GIVING ME A TRADITIONAL HARD SELL, ALA 1950'S DOOR TO DOOR SALESMAN. HE OFFERED UNSOLICITED AND KIND OF INSULTING OPINIONS ABOUT MY LANDSCAPING. HE MADE A SELLING POINT THAT HIS WORKERS "SPEAK ENGLISH", WHICH I DON'T CARE ABOUT, AND ARE ALL IN THEIR 30-40'S BECAUSE HE STATED THAT HE BELIEVES THAT YOUNGER WORKERS LACK THE WORK ETHIC THAT HE REQUIRES. HE MADE AN UNSOLICITED STATEMENT THAT THE CONDITION OF MY PRIVACY FENCE AND CHILDREN'S PLAYSET WERE SUBPAR AND NEEDED REFINISHED. HE ADDED THEM AS LINE ITEMS ON THE ESTIMATE. I JUST FELT UNCOMFORTABLE WITH HIM, PLUS HIS PRICE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN OUR OTHER ESTIMATE, SO I HIRED A DIFFERENT COMPANY.

TERRY MADE AN APPOINTMENT TO GIVE AN ESTIMATE, THEN CALLED JUST BEFORE THE APPOINTMENT AND CANCELED WITHOUT EXPLANATION. HE SHOWED UP TO THE 2ND APPOINTMENT BUT PROCEEDED TO TELL ME THAT I NEEDED TO GET A 2ND JOB OR A RICH BOYFRIEND WHEN I TOLD HIM COST WAS A CONCERN. UNBELIEVABLE. AND HIS PRICE WAS 20% HIGHER FOR LESS WORK AND LESSER QUALITY MATERIALS THAN THE COMPANY I HIRED. THE COMPANY THAT PERFORMED THE WORK CLEANED THE DECK TWICE AND USED A 4 YEAR WARRANTY PRODUCT (CABOT'S SPF) THAT THEY HAND APPLIED WITH BRUSHES.

THE PRESSURE WASH DID A GREAT JOB IN RESTORING THE COLOR TO THE WOOD. THE DECK SEALER DID NOT FILL IN ANY OF THE WOOD, SO WHILE IT IS SEALED, IT DOES NOT APPEAR RESTORED PER SE. I AM DOUBTFUL IT WILL LAST THE TWO YEARS PROMISED. WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE GREASE SPOT ON THE DECK POST CLEANING, I WAS ADVISED THAT IT COULD NOT BE CLEANED AND WOULD REQUIRE BOARD REPLACEMENT. HE LEFT A BAD IMPRESSION REGARDING PAYMENT. WHEN I WAS NOT AVAILABLE, HE MADE A BIG DEAL ABOUT IT AND GAVE MY 13 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER A HARD TIME.

COMPANY OWNER WAS PUNCTUAL, COURTEOUS AND GAVE AN ESTIMATE. HE THEN PROCEEDED TO EXPLAIN THE STEPS THAT WILL BE TAKEN AND A BIT ABOUT HIS COMPANY AND POLICIES. HE ALSO SHOWED ME HIS INSURANCE POLICY. EMPLOYEES SHOWED UP ON TIME AND DID A TERRIFIC JOB CLEANING A DECK THAT WAS JUST ''CLEANED'' BY ANOTHER COMPANY THAT DID A POOR JOB. HE ALSO THREW IN CLEANING A BENCH FOR FREE! THEY CAME BACK TWO DAYS LATER AND SEALED IT PERFECTLY. THE OWNER PERSONALLY CAME TO INSPECT THE WORK. PRICE WAS 15% LESS THAN COMPETITION AND QUALITY 100% BETTER!

WHILE TERRY DID PROMISE THAT NOT ALL STAINS COULD BE REMOVED, I WAS NOT DELIGHTED WITH THE RESULTS. THERE WERE STILL STAINS. IN ADDITION, THE CLEAN-UP WAS NOT GOOD. (SPLASH MARKS ON THE FRONT DOOR AND SIDES OF GARAGE WALL.) I POINTED THIS OUT, AND WHILE AN ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO CLEAN THIS UP, IT WAS NOT GREAT. TERRY MENTIONED DURING THE SALES PROCESS THAT FOLLOWING SEALING, THE DRIVEWAY WOULD BE LESS PRONE TO TIRE MARKS. I HAVE NOT NOTICED MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE. THE GARAGE FLOOR IS BETTER THAN THE DRIVEWAY, AND OVERALL, I'M PLEASED WITH THE GARAGE FLOOR. THEY RAN OUT OF POLYEURETHANE FOR THE INSIDE OF THE GARAGE DOOR AND HAD TO RESCHEDULE TWICE TO COMPLETE THE JOB. (THIS, AFTER RESCHEDULING THE ORIGINAL APPOINTMENT TWICE.)

THERE WERE SCHEDULING PROBLEMS DUE TO HIS CREW BEING UNAVAILABLE AND A MISUNDERSTANDING ON THE RE-SCHEDULED TIME. EVENTUALLY THE WORK WAS DONE. THE QUALITY OF THE WORK WAS OK. JIM, WHO COMPLETED THE WORK, WAS HARD-WORKING, PARTICULARLY GIVEN THE HEAT WAVE. UPON INSPECTION AFTER THE WORK WAS COMPLETED, I NOTICE A FEW BOARDS WERE CHIPPED OR SPLINTERED BUT CANNOT SAY FOR SURE WHETHER THAT WAS DUE TO THE PRESSURE WASHING (MAKE SURE YOU CAREFULLY CHECK OVER THE DECK BEFORE THE WORK IS DONE AND NOTE ANY IMPERFECTIONS). ALSO, THE CLEAN-UP WAS OK, BUT NOT GREAT (THE SCREEN DOOR HAD BITS OF WOOD ON IT AND THE OUTSIDE OF THE DECK HAD BITS OF WOOD STUCK TO IT (THAT COULD BE FLAKED-OFF).

WORK WAS DONE FAST AND EFFICIENTLY. ONE AREA ON DECK BY POOL DIDN'T MATCH OTHER 1/2 OF DECK. I TOLD THEM ABOUT IT AND THEY WERE TO COME BACK THE NEXT DAY TO FIX IT. THEY CAME BACK THE SAME NIGHT AND IT WAS ALL FINISHED AND MATCHED PERFECTLY. THEY CORRECTED A SLIGHT PROBLEM FASTER THAN I COULD HAVE EXPECTED. HOORAY FOR THEM. THEIR PRICE WAS IN LINE WITH ONE OTHER BIDDER, AND 50% LESS THAN ANOTHER FIRM, THAT BID ON THE JOB.

TERRY, FROM THE DECK DOCTOR, WAS VERY RESPONSIVE VIA PHONE, TO SET UP AN APPOINTMENT FOR A FREE ESTIMATE. HE CAME OUT AND PERSONALLY MET WITH ME. HE GAVE AN ESTIMATE TO POWER WASH AND RESTAIN OUR BACKYARD DECK. UNFORTUNATELY, COMPARED TO THE 3 OTHER ESTIMATES I RECEIVED REGARDING OUR DECK, HIS WAS THE HIGHEST PRICE. HE ALSO RUNS A HANDYMAN SERVICE.

TERRY, THE OWNER, MET WITH US AND WENT OVER THE WORK TO BE DONE. HE WAS PROMPT AND PERSONABLE. THE WORKER(S) TOOK CARE OF MOVING ALL OF OUR DECK FURNITURE OFF THE DECK PRIOR TO WASHING (THIS WAS INCLUDED IN THE PRICE), SO WE DIDN'T HAVE TO BOTHER WITH ANY PREP WORK. THE WASHING AND SEALING WERE DONE VERY THOROUGHLY AND CAREFULLY; NO PIECES OF LATTICE WERE BROKEN. TERRY'S COMPANY DOESN'T USE CHEMICALS; HE IS VERY COGNIZANT OF KEEPING PLANTS, GRASS, AND ANIMALS SAFE. THE WORK ON THE PAVERS WAS ALSO DONE WELL.

EVEN THOUGH HE DOES NOT SERVICE MY AREA, HE TOOK THE TIME TO EXPLAIN MY OPTIONS, PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS, AND GIVE ME A GOOD EDUCATION ABOUT DECK REPAIRS SO THAT I WOULD BE MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE WHOLE PROCESS. I FELT THAT HE WAS VERY GENEROUS TO SPEND 10 MINUTES ON THE PHONE HELPING ME EVEN THOUGH HE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DO THE WORK FOR ME.

WE HAD A SMALL PROBLEM WITH THE JOB NOT BEING DONE CORRECTLY THE FIRST TIME AND THEY NEEDED TO COME BACK. THEY ALSO BROKE A FEW LATTICE BOARDS ON THE SIDE OF THE POOL DECK, THAT WERE NOT REPAIRED.

TERRY, THE OWNER, MET WITH US AND PROMISED THAT HIS MEN COULD RESTORE OUR DECK TO IT'S ORIGINAL CONDITION. AS PROMISED, HIS CREW DID A MARVELOUS JOB IN RAISING AND LEVELING THE DECK, REPAIRING AND REPLACING THE BOARDS, AND APPLYING 2-COATS OF STAIN. THEY WERE ALSO VERY CAREFUL OF OUR LANDSCAPING. IT WAS A PLEASURE WORKING WITH TERRY AND HIS CREW.

I CALLED A COUPLE OF THE COMPANIES FROM THE COUPON BOOKS, BUT THEY WERE HIGHER IN PRICE AND I JUST HAD THE FEELING I WOULD BE SCAMMED. TERRY WAS WELL VERSED IN THE 'SALES PITCH' BUT THE WORK WAS WELL DONE AND THOROUGH. I ACTUALLY HAD THEM DO SOME WORK AT MY PARENTS HOUSE TOO.