Archadeck of Suburban Boston

Communication: They did a great job, were very communicative. Gave daily updates via email, pre-construction meeting to go over the details was about an hour long for a simple project, they really care about the interaction. Workmanship Carpenter was meticulous. Even the plugs that cover up the decking screws were ALL aligned in the correct direction to go with the grain of the material, great example of attention to detail. Finish detail on the front entry was great! Overall, highly recommended!!!

It was just one meeting to walk around and it was fine. He made an appointment. He showed up, we walked around, and that was it. The quote was competitive.

The execution of the job went poorly (at best.) During the sales pitch, they were unable to give an itemized list of all the different jobs that were needed. So we couldn't really get any details for the job. This was the first red flag. We continued to utilize them even with this. By the end, we realized that they don't show the itemized list because they built in a few thousand dollars for all the mistakes that they were going to make. They include their mistakes as a buffer because things will go wrong with any job, and boy did they go wrong when working with Archadeck. The biggest issue we had with Archadeck was that we had a project manager watching over our job that didn't have any time to watch over our job. There was maybe 1 or 2 unprovoked updates that we got from them over a 3 month job. For example, their concrete guy left our job, but we were not informed of this. So they had demo'ed our walls, and our deck was left like that for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, and a few of my emails/voice messages, they finally reached out to me to let me know what was going on. It was crazy to me to think that they didn't even call to inform us that our project was at a complete stand still. From here on, I had to email/call regularly if I wanted an update on what was happening to our deck. Another example of their lack of project management: We were supposed to have a 34"x80" door way so that I could install a screen door in that slot. This was in our plans. They originally build the doorway a foot wider than it was supposed to be. Upon noticing it, they had to demo and reinstall the posts next to the door so it would fit. On this second attempt they built the rough opening 78" tall which wouldn't fit the 80" door. They never noticed this. I had to do my own measuring and inform them that they needed to redo the door frame again. They were able to rebuild the door frame because they had over charged us in order to handle all these mistakes. Another example: I was originally informed to buy a certain sized door to the house. Archadeck, over the course of my project, gave me at least 2 different measurements to buy. I reached out to them 3 times to let me know what the right size doors should be. The doors were going to be cut specifically to this size, and they knew this measurement was important. After purchasing the doors at this size, I did some measuring of my own, and informed the door/window store. He thought I was crazy and told me there's no way the doors I custom ordered would fit in that opening. He was great by stopping the doors from being cut and deciding on the right size for these doors to be cut at. He saved me a few thousand dollars that Archadeck would've cost us. Another example of poor project management from Archadeck: We had a temporary window that was going to be throw away in about 2 years (since we had a second job that we would start in 2 years.) We decided that we didn't want to pay extra money for a temporary window, and wanted to change the plans to just make a basic wall instead. Archadeck understood this request and made the change. However, they never informed us how much money we saved. After a few more phone calls and emails, they finally informed us that we didn't save any money because of this change. So they left us with a worse looking product without any savings. If we knew that we weren't going to save any money we would've kept the temporary window. But they went ahead and installed the wall, so now it would cost us even more to have the temporary window back. This was the last screw up that I gave them. At this point, I was on the fence of cancelling the remaining work with them and finding another team to finish the job. I was really frustrated by their incompetence that I had no faith they would be able to complete the job at all. One last project management blunder: I demanded at the start of the project that they get a building permit for the work they were doing. They were going to be working with our structural posts holding up our master bedroom, and concrete footing of our house. They didn't get a building permit for the majority of the project. Only after they completed the replacement of the structural posts and concrete work did they actually get a building permit for the work. I felt that I was in the right to take them to court for a failure to do so. However, the moment I was going to seriously confront them with it was the same time I was about to walk away from our contract all together. That meeting, they showed up with building permits. The permits did not cover the structural work, nor the concrete work. Honestly, with how draining the project had been, I just wanted them to finish and leave so I could fix the problems they had caused. I still worry that our structural posts are safe to live above. Sometimes I lose sleep over it. I'm thrilled that I no longer have to deal with Archadeck. The incompetence of their project management and builders was shocking. They had to rebuild so many different pieces of our deck (more than what I've listed already.) I'm glad they over-charged so that they can handle their own mistakes because they were not going to get another dime from my pocket.

Overall, it went very well! Jim, the owner, is a man of his word. The few snags we hit along the way were addressed directly by him (or his team) and he worked with us to find a solution that we were happy with. Larry was the architect and did a good job visualizing options for us. We had an easement to worry about, so we had to come up with a few ideas to work around that. The crew was professional, polite and approachable. They cleaned up after themselves every day. People who see the deck admire the craftsmanship, the sturdiness of it and the way details were taken care of. We've already recommended Jim and his team to two neighbors.

I hired Archadeck due to the reviews and the excellent work they have in their showroom. The design process was pretty straightforward and I liked the feedback from the architect that was working with us. The project started rapidly and was on track until we got to the electrical work. There was a bit of a scheduling snafu and I ended up having to hire an electrician myself. Aside from the additional hassle, there were no real problems coordinating work. Unfortunately, on the last two days of work, the carpenter did a crap job and botched some final work (Ex: took a chisel to the threshold to get it to close, etc). Additionally, he had done a por job on the sill for the knee-wall. I was pissed, took photos, expecting a long battle to get the job finished. Archideck sent out someone to look over the work, declared it was unacceptable and got it fixed. It now looks great and I'm impressed that they stood by the quality of the work. Overall, the carpenters/managers/architects were great guys and did excellent work. They kept the property clean and were respectful.

Excellent in every way. Design, scheduling, demo, deliveries, high-tech footings, quality of materials, quality of workmanship, construction, communication - all handled by Jim and his team of very professional men and women who are really good at what they do and take pride in their work. Although they worked very efficiently, they did not rush, skip steps, cut corners or compromise quality ever. We wanted a beautiful and durable deck and got one even better than we had originally envisioned.

Overall I would highly recommend Archadeck. They deliver top notch service. Our carpenter, Eric, was amazing and was meticulous with his attention to detail. We love our new deck! The only constructive feedback I can offer is that I asked Archadeck to handle the permit process and for some reason they waited until the Friday before the Monday that the project was scheduled to begin to submit the permit request to the town. As a result, the project was delayed a bit due to not having a permit. My advice would be to make sure they submit the permit well in advance. My town recommends submitting the paperwork 30 days in advance of the anticipated start date. All that said the deck was definitely worth the wait and I would use Archadeck again!

Archdeck removed our old deck and built an updated and sturdier one in 2013. Then in 2014 they constructed a terrace with stone wall and fencing. The deck and terrace are now connected to our pool area. We have been very happy with every aspect of their service, especially their expertise and communication. We have been enjoying our new living spaces.

The whole process went very smoothly. We gave them a general idea of what we wanted and they were able to represent our idea with a 3D model. Once we were happy with the colors and measurements, they were very good with reiterating and verifying what we wanted. They are good in keeping constant communication with their progress, which made us comfortable with their work. We were lucky enough to have our back yard be featured in a magazine which showed their carpentry skills and the use of a new innovative ground contact wood. After everything was complete, the deck and patio looked amazing and were very pleased and happy. I would definitely recommend archadeck to our friends and family.

We used Archadeck to add a deck and French doors to our new house. From the very beginning as we were getting quotes Archadeck was the most prompt and responsive group we talked to. We selected them for many reasons, their great reputation, the fact that they would help us design the perfect deck and the fact that they were very accessible. Krisoula designed our deck for us. She was fantastic, really listened to what we were looking for and gave us exactly what we wanted, she also helped us pick materials, and make sure that the deck matched the character of our home. We never would have been able to do it without her. Mike was our project manager and he was also great, he was very available in whatever way was most convenient for me to communicate, whether by email, call or text. He always got right back to me, and always kept us informed on what was going with the project. Jay was our carpenter and I can’t say enough great things about him. He was very professional, kept our yard and home clean, and most important of all he did fantastic work. He was meticulous with every detail and our deck is gorgeous. We are so happy with everything that Archadeck did – and we are so happy with our new deck.

This project went as well as I could ask for, and I would absolutely recommend the company. People coming to our house, even those who've see it before continue to comment on how fabulous the deck looks. The master carpenter on site was able to handle questions, and effectively coordinate with the project manager, and designer. There was only one unexpected issue, and it was handled promptly and without substantial deviation from the original budget. They were also able to handle a change in requirements mid-project, both in materials, and design choices. Even with these modifications, the project ran to schedule. Again, I would absolutely recommend Archadeck.

Archadeck was so great to work with from start to finish. Starting with designer Larry, who spent a lot of time listening to what we wanted, discussing our options, etc. Once we agreed to move forward, Jim was very thorough in going over the whole process, and was very present in terms of checking in throughout the build. Finally, Jay did a beautiful job constructing the deck itself, We have gotten so many compliments, and comments by people with experience in building who have all said it is incredibly well constructed. This was definitely an investment, but the final product is a beautiful pieces of craftsmanship that will clearly last us a very long time. We can not recommend Archadeck enough!

It was, in a word, awesome. The architect spent quality time looking at our house and where the deck would go, and crafted a beautiful design to support how we wanted to use the new space. There was a wide range of options for materials and additional features and services (lattice, balusters, railings, treads, dry space, dumpster, porta-potty) as well as designs (moving the stairs, cantilever, built-in features) and so on. We knew by reading other reviews that their services were a bit more expensive, but that people really liked their work; that was also our experience. We spent about 10% more than we had planned for, but feel that we got much more than that in quality and attention to detail. The carpenter's work was exceptional; if you get Andre you're in for a real treat. We chose cumaru for the deck itself, with cedar and mahogany for other woods. Every day we go onto the deck and comment that we can't believe it's OUR deck, and how nice it feels under our feet. It feels like a work of art attached to the back of our house. They did ask, and we told them, one thing they could improve on was communication; when we called them three weeks before the estimated start date, we learned the estimated start date had slipped three weeks. It wasn't horrible, and we knew it was only an estimated date, but still. We would absolutely use them again, and recommend them without reservation.

This is a wonderful company and we are very pleased with the outcome of our deck. It is a beautiful deck and they communicate well.

We hired Archadeck to build a cedar pergola over our existing deck. The finished pergola has an approx. 13x13 ft footprint. A photo is available here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/katn77/20411798638 Larry, Jim, and carpenters Mike & Zach were all great. I'd agree with other reviews that called them "intense" - they are very detailed and thorough, and are very attentive to the homeowner's vision/needs/etc. They had scheduled us for October, but when other projects got delayed, they moved us up to August and completed the whole thing in just over 2 days. Mike did beautiful work, and they were very careful about adjacent landscape plants and completely cleaned up the work space. The trade off was cost - this was more expensive than other bids, but we feel it was worth it.

Everyone who has seen our deck says "that's the nicest deck i've ever seen!", even the inspector. The design process was fairly long up front and that may have been the largest factor in the end result being so satisfying. Many initial decisions were altered or dropped after mockups proved them not to be what we thought they would be in our heads. They were flexible and creatively helped us created a playspace underneath one corner of the deck for our 4 year ould daughter, while leaving easy access to the rest of it for storage. The project, once building started, took a bit over three months. This was about what we discussed and it was all coordinated with another company to asphalt our driveway upon deck completion. We love to show it off and strongly recommend Archadeck to any who enquire. Thanks to, Larry, Jim, and Eric of Archadeck

Archadeck was one of 3 companies we contacted and received bids from. Archadeck fell in the middle of the three in price range. All three companies were "A" rated by Angies list. We chose Archadeck over the lowest bidder because we felt they had a much superior construction plan. For example they used larger support beams, larger joist, (spacing same 12" on center compared to 16") chose a much stronger way to attached deck to home, etc. They came prepared and were by far more professional. When speaking with the lowest bidder, they did not like the fact we would ask simple questions concerning the framing of their construction. They said most people just want to have their deck look nice. I feel that we ended up with both. Excellent construction and a beautiful looking deck. I would not hesitate to recommend this company for anyone considering having your deck done.

It went very well. Jim responded quickly to our phone call. And the repairs was done shortly afterward .

The old adage goes - you get what you pay for, with Archadeck this is no exception. While I rated them an A for price it was not because they were the cheapest it is because of the immense value they bring to the table for what you pay for. If you are interested in partnering with a professional team that will meet or exceed every expectation from start to finish then this is the right company for you. When I began my project six months ago I attempted to get quotes from six contractors. Of those, 2 were local ads, 3 were Angie's List recommendations and I don't recall where I got the third. Of the six, four showed up and three actually followed through with a quote. Archadeck's quote was thorough, included every cost, material and consideration that you would expect on a $22,000 job. The other quotes I got were lower, but there was nowhere near the level of detail or understanding. After a few discussions and reviews of their work and prior customers I signed my contract. We agreed on a start date that would allow us to be on our new deck at the end of April some 5 months later. The winter was terrible and my first sign of spring was a call from Larry telling me that they had pulled the permit to start my deck. We met in person to discuss the process which ensured that I didn't have any questions or issues. We mapped out the site plan - not only re-confirming the deck design but also where the materials, dumpster and other items would go. Now - I should have checked that with my wife but didn't and when she saw where a few things were placed she needed them moved. I made one call and the next day the problem was solved. No question, no issue just results. The build went without incident, it was fast, clean and efficient. The deck was completed a week prior to my deadline and exceeded every expectation. My only complaint is that now we need to buy more deck furniture because we've been spending so much time out there since it has been completed. I have nothing but praise for Jim and his team - they are truly exceptional and worth every penny. You will not be disappointed. Oh, and did I mention they are coming out next year to do a tune up on the deck, inspect it and make sure everything is still OK? They continue to exceed my expectations.

Great, they are vey professional and met with me multiple times in advance of the work. They were actually able to start two months earlier than planned. The job took much longer due to all the snow this winter, but they continued to work whenever they could. There was good communication via email and phone throughout the process, as well as mid-project consultation. The work was of high quality and they are honest/accurate in their estimates and tried to re-use as much of the existing material as they could. I would use them again and highly recommend them.

Demonstrated careful and considerate service. Very responsive. Impeccable work. The deck work was done under difficult snow conditions: snow in garden area was 4' deep.

Enjoyed working with Archadeck very much.

We hired Jim, one of the owners of Archadeck of Suburban Boston, to inspect our deck, which the previous home owners had built. Jim inspected the deck using a deck safety inspection check list covering a few dozen construction checkpoints based on Archadeck's national experience with deck building practices and codes. He identified numerous structural enhancements to strengthen the deck frame and a change to make the stairs safer. Others, carpenters and home inspectors, had failed to identify such structural shortcomings. Enhancements included blocking, a V-brace, brackets on angled girders, and column braces. Also, the wooden planks on the long narrow leg of the deck had to be removed because of rot. Jim's showroom exposed us to decking options we had not known about and we ended up choosing a hardwood plank option, smitten with its beauty and durability (He showed us weathered samples.), rather than synthetic, composite decking, which we had expected to use. Jim was knowledgeable about state and local building codes and deck construction issues. He maintained good communication throughout the project, brought in another carpenter to do much of the construction work, and was organized in the inspection, discussion, planning, construction, and cleanup phases. Our deck repairs were fit in among other larger projects that he was managing and so occurred over a couple of months. He offered to obtain payment at intervals during the project rather than all at once and applied the payment for the inspection report to the final cost. Over the past year, the new decking has held up well to all four seasons and looks beautiful. The enhancement to make the stair hand rail more graspable is used all the time, making it easier to go up and down the stairs. We also like knowing that the deck frame is more stable and that drainage on the deck has significantly improved with the gaps between planks, which had been missing in the original construction. Our only concern, during the project, was how, into the repairs, we had to make repeated requests for a design change that we thought would best maximize unobstructed water drainage and drying potential of the deck near the outer edges. Ultimately, the change was made and done well.

It went well. Their specialty is decks so they can walk you through the whole process. We met first with a salesperson who drew up plans on the computer for the deck. He also showed us all the different products available. They have a nice showroom in Burlington where you can see all the different types of material. We met in June I believe. They said they would start in August which they did. The president and construction supervisor is Jim Finlay. He was very available and helpful. We had a water problem beneath the deck because the ground was not graded properly and water would get into the basement. Once the old deck was removed, he had a landscaping company come in with 4 cubic yards of dirt to correct the problem. He and the carpenter Jay Hayden also devised a system to improve run off of water from the drainpipes. Jay Hayden is a terrific carpenter. He arrived at the job around 7:15 AM daily. He did a beautiful job constructing the whole deck. He was very responsive to whatever request we had. The deck turned out great. The price was fair compared to the one other estimate we obtained.

The men worked very hard. And it was a great construction crew. Would hire the company again. Would refer them to others. The owner is wonderful and stays on top of the job. The clean up work was great.