Backyard Living

Do you value your time, your money, and effective/timely communication? If so, I would strongly advise AGAINST using this company. We had a large deck built in 2019, and within months we were having serious problems with the deck installation (boards coming up, among other issues). Unfortunately, these multiple issues still remain, even two years later. The owner does not communicate well. It would often take many days (and sometimes weeks) to respond; if we were lucky enough to get a response at all. A few years ago, the previous owner (who was reviewed well) sold this company to the current owner. Unaware of this, we hired the current owner’s company based in part on the high quality reviews the previous owner had accrued. This was a huge mistake. Take a hard pass on this company—you’ll be happy you did. Again, if you'd like to hire a contractor who values your time and money, and produces the high quality workmanship that you pay for, look elsewhere. Please feel free to message me if you'd like more information. I'm happy to share my experience with you.

Well to say I've been unhappy with Craig Carlson and Backyard Living is an understatement. I started discussions with him about building a whole new very large deck at my home back in April of this year. He finally came out to our house and gave us a quote which was middle of the road price wise. However because he could do more detailed work than the other companies, we wanted to go with him. During the process I wanted some changes made, and it was literally impossible to get ahold of him via email or phone. When he finally came back to our house to finalize the contract, he made the excuse that it's ''just him'' running the company and he has no help. Gosh Craig if that's the case maybe hire someone to help you, or even consider working a few more hours per week to respond to your customers. I'm mean it literally takes a few minutes to simply respond to an email or a phone call, so quit making excuses. Needless to say we decided to sign the contract and was told that he would build our deck in mid August. However when I officially signed the contract and sent in the check to him, I was told that it would now be late September!! Talk about a classic bait-and-switch maneuver!! Promise one thing but then negatively impact the customer once you have their money?? Wow. Then since finding that out, I have been emailing and calling him to try and discuss this, but he simply WON'T return my emails or calls. Truly a classless, shady ''businessman'' who only cares about making false promises, providing horrible customer service, and being ''all talk'' but no action. Pathetic and ridiculous!! Avoid Backyard Living and Craig Carlson at all cost.

We have a signed contract, I made the down payment and now I can’t get anyone from the company to return a phone call. I hope others learn from my mistake and DON’T hire Back Yard Living

We are very happy with our porch and deck, and have enjoyed it immensely! When we first contacted Ron (the owner), he went over all of the materials and plans, and had a thorough portfolio to discuss options with us. We were pleased with his quote and the plans he drew up for us. What I didn't realize at the time and was a surprise to us was that he uses sub-contractors for the work. They did a good job on the carpentry, but some of the finishing touches could have been improved (for example, siding kept falling off, but Ron addressed that within a few weeks of bringing it to his attention). Other concerns I had with the sub-contractors were in professionalism and punctuality: just a few issues that I brought to Ron's attention. Overall, however, we're very pleased with the work and have had many positive comments on our addition!

Had him out in spring to quote replacement of existing deck with Trex and remodel of existing covered porch. We were wanting to actually attack the project in the fall. He was out in spring of 2016 and never gave us a quote. We followed up with emails and phone calls. He never returned a phone call. If he wasn't interested in doing the project I would have just appreciated that response up front.

I can't believe a job this size is not even worth a visit, or a discussion. He decided from a 3 year old picture of the house that the job was not worth the effort to talk to us. His loss. I hired one of his competitors, and the project was extended to include a new concrete driveway and new roof.

Had large deck, approx. 500 sq. ft. renovated with Trex decking, two additional stairs put in and a platform from house onto deck. Decent to a point company and the carpenter was excellent. Very pricey, I thought. I corrected deck after work was done - they put a 2 X 4 as the top riser on each of the 3 stairs. It looked ridiculous with the extremely nice Trex decking. I got my own materials and replaced the 2 X 4's myself. Just didn't want to hassle, as at that time my daughter was having her first baby and needed to get to hospital. I would have thought that was included in the price. Additionally in the contract I wanted the stair steps done with the Trex decking. Contractor said the steps were included. However, well into the project I found that didn't include the risers on the steps, so I had to pay an additional $245 for that and then on the top riser of each step, instead of the Trex, a 2 X 4, as previously noted, was used instead. There is no place to put "maybe" on whether or not I would use this company again, but I likely won't.

We had a great experience with Backyard Living. They were prompt, courteous, helpful with the permitting process, professional and competent. When unexpected damage was found they fixed it and gave us a great deal on the repair work. The deck looks beautiful and we couldn't be happier with it.

The entire experience with Backyard Living was extremely smooth and pleasant. Ron, the owner of Backyard Living, was wonderful to work with because of his attention to detail, punctuality, and the quality of work that his team delivered. He came highly recommended by several people in our neighborhood. This was a pretty big project as the screened in porch is14' x 14' and the attached deck is14' x 12'. The porch was constructed with wood and the deck with composite decking material (Trex brand). The person working on our build was at our house promptly in the morning and worked all day, every day for about a week. The owner also came during that time to check up on the work and install some of the accessories. I really appreciated that they seemed fully dedicated to our project for that span of time so that our backyard wasn't under construction any longer than it needed to be. We are so pleased with the outcome of our deck and porch and would recommend Backyard Living to anyone!

I have used several contractors for various projects over the years. Ron Clark is by far the most professional and most reliable contractor I have ever used. Working with him was a true pleasure. He is an outstanding communicator. There is no calling and waiting days for a response as is the usual contractor mo. He always contacted us whenever we had questions. He came to the site every day to check on the progress of his carpenter Matt, to deliver product and help clean up. Ron has an engineering background and understands structural mechanics and code regulations better than any other contractor we interviewed. You really get the feeling that he has a great deal of experience and knowledge. His carpenter was great. Matt showed up every morning at 7:30 and typically worked until 5:30-6:00 in the evening. He proved to be fast and very skilled. All this and the price was the best of four estimates! You can't go wrong with Backyard living.

Very positive experience. Timing was tricky due to weather but it was completed as promised by Memorial Day. Ron adjusted well to some issues that required some modifications to the original plan due to unforseen issues. We have an issue with one of the boxes built and Ron has been responsive in returning to address it.

They were nice folks to work with. They helped a lot with the porch design and in choosing materials.

The experience really wasn't what I had expected. We had gotten several estimates for the porch project and I chose Ron because of his connections with Angie's List. The slab of concrete underneath everything had a natural slope to it for water drainage. His carpenter chose to make everything level, which caused the pitch of the roof to be reversed. This created many problems. Most importantly being the fact the gutters would not drain the water from the roof. We went round and round about things. He tried to make things right, and he became a bit frustrated. He came back numerous times to fix things, but it was just never corrected properly. Whenever there is a seriously heavy rain water comes in. The experience was not a very positive one and I would not recommend him.

Overall, the experience was excellent. There was a problem, but they came out to fix it. We're very happy with our deck!

The experience was fine overall. One man owns the business, and he hires out contractors. Their price was reasonable. Ron was a nice guy to work with.

Overall, the experience was mediocre. The carpenter's work was what I was more dissatisfied with; the owner was able to correct the workmanship. I would recommend the company, but only if a different carpenter was used.

The price they quoted me was $12000. They were very punctual and professional. The quote was very timely.

It worked out well. They were out to my house and done within 2 days. They were very responsive. I would use this company again in the future without a doubt.

Matt and Brandon completed work, no shortcuts. Company owners communicate often and provide detailed documentation on all changes from original plans. Quality design and quality workmanship. I highly recommend. Very polite and professional people.

Their work was excellent. They completed the work within a couple weeks. The project involved a couple of our neighbors. The price was fair.

All of the work was satisfactory. I ve recommended them to others.

They did a good job. The price was competitive. The person that built the deck seemed to be very skilled. They worked with us on the design. The quality of the construction is what we liked best.

It was OK. It was an involved project. I would use them again.

Extremely professional. One man completed the 16 X 16 porch. Very knowable. He built us what we asked for. I did ask a couple of times to come back for some extra things and he did with no problem.

RON WAS VERY THOROUGH IN HIS DESCRIPTION OF THEIR BUILDING TECHNIQUES, AND WAS VERY RECEPTIVE TO WORKING WITH OUR IDEAS. WE RECEIVED APPROXIMATELY 5 ESTIMATES, AND HE PROVIDED THE BEST PRICE AND WORKMANSHIP. HE IS VERY CONSCIENTIOUS, AND ANY PROBLEMS THAT WERE BROUGHT TO HIS ATTENTION WERE DEALT WITH IMMEDIATELY. WE COULD HAVE BUILT THE DECK FOR MUCH LESS WITH AN INDIVIDUAL, BUT WITH THIS BEING OUR FIRST DECK, FELT MORE COMFORTABLE GOING WITH THE REPUTATION AND GUARANTEES WITH THIS COMPANY.