Cedarbrook Outdoor Design/Build

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What stood out to me about them is their responsiveness, professionalism and punctuality. They were super people to work with.

I liked Mike the owner initially when we signed the contract, he seemed honest and personable at that time. He did warn me in early May that they had a large backlog and it would be two months or so before they could begin. They began around mid-July 2011. As they were laying the floor boards of the deck, we noticed that about 2/3 of the way down, the color of the Trex floor boards looked different. We called Mike immediately and asked the installers to stop. They refused to stop till they spoke to Mike and I'm not sure when they finally spoke with him but by the time they stopped they had finished the rest of the floor boards and had started on the railings. Mike came out and looked at it and did not immediately agree that the color looked different, plus he said it was a Trex issue and he was not going to pay for additional boards and also complained to us that it would cost him to remove the railings and the additional decking boards. We felt that wasn't our problem, especially since we had asked his installers to stop immediately and they did not. Also, we asked him if he was paying $12,000 for something, wouldn't he expect it to be correct and all the same color? He didn't really have an answer for that. After some discussion, he agreed to get a Trex representative to come and look at it, but really made it seem like he was doing us a big favor and kept complaining about how much it was going to cost him in labor. In any case, the Trex guy came and after much discussion, he agreed to supply new boards. The main issue we have with Mike and Cedarbrook then started. Mike told us that due to the delay he was not sure when he could work us back in to the schedule because he had "other" customers. We said that we were also his customers and had already been waiting more than two months and it was not our fault about the color problem with the Trex boards. He just kept telling us he had other customers. Another month went by with the deck partially completed before they came back, replaced the discolored boards and finished the job at the very end of August. We really feel this was unacceptable. Then of course we received the bill for the remaining balance almost immediately. I wrote Mike an e-mail that since he felt his other customers were more important than we were, I felt my other creditors were more important than Cedarbrook and I would pay him when I could work him back into my payment schedule. He of course threatened to start a lawsuit, etc. I waited the same month that we waited for Cedarbrook to finish the deck, then I paid in full.

They did a $50000 deck and porch for me. They did everything I said. They are going to do two other decks in my cul de sac.

My wife had canvassed several contractors at home improvement shows and through word of mouth but felt most comfortable with Neal after having him and several others visit and offer quotes. Neal was very patient with our changing requests as things evolved, and finalized a plan that met both our wants as well as the community standards necessary. Several of his different crews were involved in the construction, and all arrived in a timely manner and things were completed just about exactly as promised This was a long time in the making, but once we decided on Neal it came together pretty quickly. Couldn’t be happier, we seem to be the envy of the neighborhood and the decks certainly have a “wow” factor.

In the quote process, they went through the entire building process by laying out various materials and helped us determine what styles would look good. He was very good about getting the quote out quickly and did a great job to be responsive to changes that we wanted to make. When we compared our quote to others, they came in significantly lower and also provided higher quality materials.

The interaction was great. They were prompt and the proposal was very professional. They came in a bit higher than some of the other providers.

The deck is beautiful, was completed on time and is very well made. The gentleman who built it was courteous, and kept mess to a minimum. The quoted price was very competitive and exactly the same as our final costs. It took about 6 weeks from signing the contract to beginning of the project and was completed in less than 2 weeks. Neil Forthman, the owner, who did our consultation and estimate was great. He helped us choose the perfect materials and design for what we needed.

Cedarbrook Deck & Patio did a wonderful job on my walkway. They were absolutely punctual and did it within the stated time frame. They were nice and friendly and always returned phone calls quickly. I also had a coupon out of a value pack which saved me $300 on the work.