ARH Decks and Roofs

The deck was in terrible condition and the homeowners were getting ready to list the home. Tony was quick to respond and had the job done in record time for a great price. Although the job was originally a "repair" it ended up being more of a "replace" but Tony honored the quoted price. The new deck was beautiful and during the home inspection the inspector was impressed with the quality of the work. He commented that all of the neighbors should hire ARH decks to replace their decks as well!! The purchaser was planning on renting the property out had some questions about the deck and Tony was able to not only show me where to print out a cooy of the code but also directed me to the Baltimore County Inspectors office for clarification. I was able to provide documentation to the the buyer that satisfied him completely. As a Realtor I will definitely refer Tony to my clients for deck repair or replacment!

I don't know much about deck construction, but having worked with many contractors over the years in our Baltimore row home, dealing with ARH was not what I expected. First, most contractors seem to take a long time to get started, regardless of when they say they will start, and take an even longer time to finish. (Why contractors seem to not want to finish the last 5% of a job, I'll never know.) ARH sent someone out to tear down the existing structure (deck, roof over the deck and stars) and dig holes for the supports, which took about two days, as we had discussed and planned with them. A few days later (as discussed and planned) an army of people showed up and finished almost the entire deck, roof and stars in one day. My wife and I likened it to an Amish barn raising, tho not as complicated. They next day two or three guys finished everything up and cleaned the area. Second, while we initially told ARH the deck looked great, over the next two weeks we noticed two small items that could have used a little more work. With every previous contractor I've worked with, once you sign off on a job, they do not come back. ARH sent someone out right away for no extra charge. Third, having had many contractors come to our home to offer estimates on work to be done always seems tricky. A third won't return the phone call, a third will visit but never provide an estimate, and the final third offer wildly varying estimates for the same work. One quick example, a complete gut and refurbish of a small bathroom had us estimates from $7,000 to $24,000. (And yes, the $24,000 guy said it with a straight face.) ARH gave us the best price for the work. We had a very old deck and were trying not to spend an arm and a leg, and attempted to see if we could salvage the deck and just replace the roof. I note the old deck and roof were each 12 feet wide and 6 feet long. Roof estimates were coming in around $4,000. To us, a 12x12 deck, a 3x4 landing and an entirely NEW (12x7) roof for $6,500 was a good deal. The only other contractor offering a similar price had some issues with bad reviews. Lastly, in our dealings with Tony and they guys that came out to work on the deck, everyone seemed professional and courteous. If we had a question we always got a prompt response. They even came with their own generators for their tools and didn't need to use our electrical outlets, which we would have been happy to let them use.

From start to finish it was a good experience. Tony gave us the estimate and listened to what we had in mind. Jarred the foreman supervised as well as worked on the deck. When some small issues arose Jarred and Tony took care of them. The deck is sturdy, very attractive . They replaced the old lattice work with a tighter pattern which gave us even more privacy from the nearby road. We have received several complements on how the deck and lattice work look. We would recommend ARH Decks to anyone who needs a new or refurbished deck.

I contacted ARH Decks after a contractor had constructed a pergola over an existing deck. The pergola was not constructed to code and was in danger of collapsing. The contractor manager was never on site to supervise the workers the result being an incredibly sloppy job and not to code. ARH came out promptly and verified that the existing pergola needed to be removed - it could not be repaired in that the framework was not to code. Anthony Hessler, the principal, came out with his project manager and together we created a plan to completely remove the old pergola and construct a new pergola with the proper framework and to code. I was expecting the job to be very expensive especially since the existing pergola needed to be removed. The cost was more than reasonable and I was told the project manager would be on site to not only supervise the construction but to also be involved in the construction. The project manager was obviously experienced in constructing decks and pergolas and came up with a design that certainly had a "wow" factor. Everyone who has seen the pergola has remarked - "Wow, this is really nice." The construction was done promptly and professionally. The framework is so strong that I could probably put a hot tub on top of it - not that I plan to do that. All of the personnel involved in the construction were professional and the cleanup was excellent. After such a bad experience with the first contractor, it was a pleasure dealing with a company that cares to do the job right and takes pride in the result. The disaster with the first contractor was the reason I joined Angie's List to find a reputable contractor and I found one. I plan to use ARH Decks to stain the pergola now that the wood has dried out as well as to restore the deck surface. I was able to recover most of the money paid to the original contractor after ARH gave me an invoice for the removal of the old pergola and stated that the framework was not to code. I guess the original contractor did not want a court fight over the improper construction. The new pergola is quite a nice addition to the house and I am sure when I one day sell the house, the "wow" factor will certainly play a big part in the sale.

Maybe this was a confluence of bad circumstance. But our experience was problematic and drawn out. Everything started great, but when we came home to see the finished product (which we received a call saying it looked great) there was a stop work order on our door from the city and the deck was 2 feet short of being built all the way to to the end of the roof like the existing deck they were replacing was (you could clearly see the outline of where the other deck was built to, it looked city and nobody would think that was what it was supposed to look like... unless they did not have the proper permit and were trying to get out of there as fast as possible). Then, it took 3 MONTHS for them to get through all the red tape from the city and finally get out here to fix it, which at that point still was not done correctly and left about a foot short of the edge of the roof and where the existing deck was (it was never finished correctly or how we agreed to with the original estimator). Their fall back was 'the contract says 16 foot', however everyone was on the same page when they were estimating the project of where the deck was supposed to end, and they in fact just mismeasured. I did not feel I needed to double check a professional contractors measurments nor do I think they should be using that as an excuse. We all agreed up exactly what we wanted. There were numerous other issues, including split boards, debris left behind, and the staircase up to the second level left not attached at one attachment point (we were told their was nothing they could do about it and they secured it in several other places). Big point is we still did not get what we paid for and it basically took all summer to get the issue to the point where we just gave up trying to get it done as we agreed on.

A super responsive builder, Mr. Hessler called or e-mailed back promptly. When it came to the walk-the-walk part, he started the building process as quickly as his talk-the-talk part. Even though one of the decks didn't initially pass a strict Harford County inspection, he acted on it as soon as it was possible. The first order of business after that long Labor Day weekend was his call to the County inspection office and his crew at the job site in the meantime. Both decks passed the final inspection within hours on the same day. Overall, the whole contracting, preparing the site, building and passing inspection was a smooth, swift and successful operation. It took him just two days to build two decks (an 8x16 and a 4/x4). The first inspection took place almost immediately after the completion of the decks. In addition, during a walk-through to inspect the work, Mr. Hessler was very nice to, upon my request, put in his pick-up truck a large, heavy wood board left by my other contractor. It was not in the contract that he had to help me dispose construction debris left by someone else; he pleasantly did it anyway. I was very pleased with his positive attitude and professionalism. ARH Decks impressed me not only for what fine decks it made but also how ARH made them.

The well trained team of men completed the entire deck in a matter of 2 1/2 days. They arrived on time went to work and took care of all the minor details professionally with no errors or set backs.

The ARH Deck Company exceeded our expectations - they were thoroughly professional, had some great design ideas, and the workmanship was first class. They were very professional and all the members are as good! I was very impressed by the speed of their installation. We are very satisfied with the beautiful composite deck!! I strongly recommend them to anyone who may be in the market to build a deck on their property.

Tony is super responsive and uses technology to assist with this from text messages, email, phone calls to keep us informed of the project status. He answered all our questions. Pulled the permits, had the engineer sign the drawings, we did not have to do anything. It was great. The price did increase to higher then expected including the material cost, and engineering costs. This was due to the team doing the build found areas which either needed reinforcing or replacing to enable the shift to composite. The staircase being rebuilt is that example. Now, we have a safe, beautiful, low maintenance roof deck. The weather was the only hurdle to completing this project in the time quoted. The team kept us posted on whether they were coming. Everyone was very polite, quiet and cleaned up before they left each night. I would absolutely refer Tony and his team! He took the work no one else wanted to do and left us very happy.

A few delays due to weather but once it started the process was fast. Wood was delivered 2 days prior to job. Day one the existing top deck was removed,discarded, and new one began to go up. Day two they removed the lower deck and continued building upper deck. Day 3 they completed both decks and cleaned up after they were done. Had a few loose board, called and they came within 4 days to put in the missing nails. I called them a year later due to water leakage. The deck was also very shaky. They came back They came back and put a long board underneath to stabilize that deck. Overall the quality of the deck is cheap and I am very unhappy. They have been unresponsive to my attempts to message them.

From start to finish, ARH decks made this entire process exciting, easy and stress-free. This was a huge investment for our family so we met with numerous companies, all highly recommended by Angieslist, before deciding to go with ARH. Tony responded to all of our contacts within hours, gave us a very competitive estimate, and met with us several times prior to signing the contract to answer all of our questions. He also agreed to complete several additional requests we had without increasing the initial price quote. The entire crew worked SO, SO hard each day until the project was completed and often worked well into the evening to ensure that progress kept moving forward. They were courteous, respectful and demonstrated such an impressive work ethic and commitment to quality. The crew followed up to ensure that we were satisfied with every single detail of our completed porch, and the finished product has more than exceeded our expectations. We have an amazing outdoor space to enjoy and are so happy we chose ARH to complete the project. We have already recommended them to family and friends who are completely impressed with our porch.

The team worked extremely hard. They worked long hours and rarely took breaks. Their work was meticulous in spots. They hand crafted a few pieces of our deck and discussed things we us. Whenever we had a question about something, the team stopped, explained the situation and made sure we were okay with things. It was refreshing to work with a team that understood the scope of the project, shared our vision, and worked the project like it was their own home they were working on. They started the project on Wednesday and finished on Friday. The only delay was tied to something beyond their control. In reality it cost us about 1/2 day. The team rebounded and started early the next morning. They were organized, professional, and worked like a well oiled machine. The team lead Jarrett worked just as hard as his team. The bottom line is the deck looks great. It blends perfectly into the existing footprint of our very modest house. We credit this seamless look to Tony's vision, his team's hard work, and their dedication to producing quality work. Anyone who knows what it is like interviewing contractors knows what I am talking about. Some think you are a moron and try and talk you into things you don't want, some never return your phone calls, some think it is a privilege for you to do business with them, some just don't show up and some just want to take your money. ARH and Tony's team are none of these! I would recommend ARH and Tony to any homeowner. Thanks ARH!

excellent and responsive; we decided not to proceed now but would recommend him

He was very good and very responsive. His price was a little more than what we anticipated so we didn’t go with him. He sent a person here who was a very nice gentleman who walked around, listened to what we wanted, took measurements and all of that and in a very timely fashion he emailed a quote with options which would support something else and was very responsive. He also followed up with us after that. Our deck was deteriorating and it was important to pour concrete on the important piece of it. So that going to cost $10000 or $12000 like if we wanted sand concrete it would be one price and if we wanted pavers it would be another price.

The discussion went well, but to mentioned I had several other companies give me an estimate on same design indicated. Their quotes were approximately 4K. His quote came in at almost 10K. That was absolutely outrages! I would never use this company again for anything, not to mentioned the $25.00 that I had to initially pay. If this is how he gets his money is to advertise just to get your $25 and price it so high so the work could not get done. Angie, I think you need to do some investigation. For someone to come in and give me a quote for double the amount of what it should be had me to believe that its a sleezy company.

I emailed Tony from the Angie's list website. He responded within one day and came out to estimate that day or the day after. Tony looked at the damage - from the top and bottom (structural) and explained what needed to be done. I received a written estimate that evening via email. I had received estimates from others but they were either higher or I didn't feel comfortable with the work they said needed to be performed (either too little or overkill). Tony came back with the guys who would be doing the work and explained what needed to be done. They came the next day and fixed the deck. Tony called that day to ask how things went and how the repair looked. I would recommend Tony and will call him for any future decking needs.

Despite a few rain delays the process was very smooth and pain-free. They came out very quickly and around our schedule for the initial quote which was below the two other companies we reached out to. Despite new codes requiring the redesign of the original plan, they secured the permit and neighbor petitions within a week and a half of our engagement and were on site within two days of securing the permit. Rain kept them from doing more than demolishing the old lower deck the first day, but they made up the time working long (seemingly no break) days to catch back up and complete both decks within three days. The crews were timely, hard working and very friendly, keeping us informed of their progress and what their plans were each day. They absorbed the cost of having to redesign the stairs and adding a small landing that had to be changed after the initial quote. Workmanship was beyond top notch! It came out looking even better than we had imagined and they pointed out several things they did that go beyond the basic codes that show they really are the most experienced rooftop deck builders in Baltimore. Additional things like double stringers on the steps, additional posts for the railings, a second mid-span brace on the step run and the additional bracing in the lower structure show that they're concerned more about a long life for the deck rather than knocking out a basic deck. They worked cleanly, straightening up after each day and doing a great job cleaning up both inside and out when they were finished. I don't know how they do all of these extra things to make it an enjoyable experience for the homeowner and still come out as the cheapest quote! I'll be recommending them to EVERYONE interested in a new deck, rooftop or not.

Anthony said they wanted to take my railings down and put more up and it would be around $4,000.00. He said they would not be able to complete the work how I wanted it done.

What a great company to work with! Please note that I am not a relative or friend or anything like that. Tony was the first contractor to respond to my Angie's list email and the first to get out there for an estimate. This is a really well-educated guy who left a corporate/tech environment to work doing what he loves the best. And it shows! He's really a PROFESSIONAL and unlike most contractors I've worked with - has INTEGRITY and when he says it will be done, it's done. He and his team were SO RESPECTFUL of my religious observance where they had to quit work and/or not schedule work on my Sabbath. Even when they were in the area and had one little thing to do, he called and left a message and when he didn't hear back from me he chose to wait until after my Sabbath rather than take a chance and show up. You and I both know that that cost him money because he had to send the team out on a different day for that one item. He also made sure his team left prior to my Friday evening Sabbath no matter where they stood in terms of project completion. He took care of preparing drawings for the permits and of course went and got all the permits and met the inspector at the house at each interval (after footings and upon completion.) I also have 2 big dogs who can go in and out of the doggy door at the back of my house. The workers loved the dogs and even played ball with them! And little things - like I needed a special hook to keep the gate open on the deck and he told me not to worry about it, he would get it and install it. PLEASE don't hesitate for ONE SECOND to use ARH. I hope to use them next year to rebuild my front porch.

The crew was very professional. Tony was excellent to work with. Some of the scheduling could have gone a little better, but we had weather issues to deal with that affected some things. The deck is great and we look forward to many years of use. Thanks Tony and ARH decking.

Tony Hessler was very through when giving the estimate for the deck; I was particularly concerned about the safety of the deck. Decks need to be anchored to the house with bolts and not just nails for structural safety reasons. In addition the support posts needed to be 6" x 6". The entire project went without a problem. The construction crew was very professional; I did not observe any member of the crew taking a break.

We were shopping local contractors for a screened in porch on the rear of our home. After interviewing a few different companies we decided to go with ARH because of their promptness on the day of the estimate and overall plan of what we wanted. They did a very good job of highlighting all the important factors we had to consider when purchasing a porch. As we were talking to Tony we thought he was going to be WAY higher priced than the other contractors we had out because he just seemed to know what he was talking about, but low and behold he was the next to cheapest out of four contractors. With that said, we did not hesitate to go with him. When we called him and told him we wanted to proceed, he stated "Ok, I will get everything ready and get it to you in the morning", and when I woke up the next morning it was in my inbox. Everything went smooth through the whole process and he never asked for a dime until all the material was in the driveway. It took them two days to build the deck and screen it in, which seemed really fast, but we didn't care because it looked GREAT, and it was exactly what I wanted when we set out to get it done. Job well done. I have given there cards to everybody I know. Tony said they don't advertise much because of how busy they stay without advertising and now I know why. Don't think twice to go with these guys.

ARH Decks was great to work with and followed through with everything they said they were going to do. They started on time, priced the deck accurately and finished on time. There were no surprises and they answered all of my questions. I have recommended them to many of my friends.

Tony and his team built a beautiful deck for our home. From the start Tony worked with us and delivered a better product than we imagined. He captured and exceeded our vision for what we wanted. His team was always on time and worked through finishing the job on time and on budget. A very professional and affable group. The quality of the material was great. The cost was reasonable because we enjoyed the deck everyday since. ARH decks responds within a day if there are issues or questions. They are efficient. Highly recommended if you want a great job and something you will enjoy and which pays for itself in satisfaction alone.

Tony (ARH Decks) built my wife and I a wonderful sunroom and attached deck. He was there for every step along the way and everything was completed on time and to my liking. We are picky people and he made sure everything was perfect. This was a very big project for us and we felt comfortable the whole time. We have and will continue to recommend ARH to our friends and family.