The Deck Dude LLC

DO NOT HIRE THIS CON ARTIST!! Do a simple background check first!! He makes everything sound great until he gets your deposit and then you’ll never see him again!

If I could give 0 stars I would. I gave him money for materials because he was “starting work in 2-3 weeks and it would take that to get materials”. That was in May. I still have no deck, in fact I asked not to have my old deck ripped up until he was ready to do the new deck; and I have NO deck bc he ripped my old out and has worked 2 days in 3-4 weeks. He refuses to bring the materials I paid for, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have them. He leaves a vehicle at the house for weeks even though I’ve asked him not to because they LEAK. This has been an absolute nightmare! I’ve reached out to my lawyers so we’ll see where we go. Oh, and he took money from my boss as a deposit as well and won’t return his calls. Do not make the same mistake I did or you’re pay for every excuse in the book of why he can’t work.

This has been an absolute nightmare! Delay after delay. Little or no communication. Excuse after excuse why he couldn't come to work. No integrity or honesty. At first I thought he was just irresponsible but now I know he is a scam artist.

Recently had a new deck put in. Very satisfied with the work that was done. I have used the Deck Dude several times in the past ranging from hanging new doors, installing new locks and cleaning up a flood in my basement a couple months ago. Highly recommend this business.

Jonathan Cherup (AKA The Deck Dude) is a crook. He took my $17K deposit for a deck re-build w/ Azek material. He gave excuse-after-excuse for why he was a no-show -- ranging from "he hit a deer" to "his transmission fell out and is in pieces all over the road" to "ate some bad pork" to "covid" to "broke my foot" to "feeling worn out and doctor says to rest". These are the times he actually gave excuses. There are many more times when he said he was going to start that day -- but simply never showed up, no explanation. This guy stole $17K from me, $5400 labor (which obviously was never performed) and the balance for materials (which, obviously, were never delivered.) Yet, he refuses to refund the $17K, or any portion of it! The Michigan State Police have investigated and have confirmed 100% my story. But, the DA has not prosecuted yet. I am hoping for prosecution to begin after 1 yr from date of contract. If anyone else out there has a similar complaint about Jonathan Cherup/The Deck Dude, please contact the State Police. Aside from embezzlement as my main complaint, I can further corroborate what others have stated re: communications with this guy: TERRIBLE. His emails and texts are often incomprehensible, and he talks "in circles". It is often difficult to understand what he has "communicated" -- because the grammar and the misspellings and the general random thoughts are simply not understandable. His voicemails are similarly incomprehensible. Many times he stated he would show up at a certain time . We'd wait all day -- and, of course, he's a no-show. But he does not even call to explain! Seriously!!!! DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!

First the Pros: --The Deck Dude can build a beautiful deck. They have an eye for design and overall exhibit good workmanship. When meeting in person they are pleasant enough to work with. The Cons: --Be prepared for some rather extensive project management to get the job done, a fair share of unprofessionalism (particularly in texts and voicemails), multiple no-shows after you rearrange your own schedule to meet, and a project that just might not get completed. --Whatever you do, make sure you withhold a substantial amount of the final payment pending the final walk through and completion of open issues. We made the mistake of bending to the Deck Dude’s repeated requests for cash and left too little for him to bother getting the job done. As a result, our project which started in Nov 2018 is still uncomplete more than three years later. This, with multiple attempts to schedule the wrap up, only to be met with no-shows after commitments had been made. We are left with a mostly complete deck, save for the following: --A $2,600 LED lighting system that never worked --Posts and light fixtures that were never screwed down --Railings that are unsecured and keep springing up --Spongy areas of the deck, including troughs and warped boards. Some of this is due to areas that were never screwed down and framing with joists that exceed the 16.5—17 inches on center that Azek recommends in their installation guides. --Holes with missing plugs In short, be prepared to spend extra money hiring a professional builder to finish the Deck Dude’s work. Note: I alerted the Deck Dude on numerous occasions that I would be filing a complaint with the BBB and posting candid reviews if our issues weren’t resolved. No response to voicemails, texts, and emails.

Once he finally showed up--took from August until November before the work was started--everything was fine except he failed to replace a horizontal handrail that had been there previously. Kept putting me off on replacing it until the end of May. Still not done. Reference Western Michigan BBB Complaint Case# 37074011 for complete details. I filed this complaint after he threatened to sue ME for harassment AND wanted $300 to replace just this one board!

Jonathan is clearly passionate about his craft—that's why I hired him. He walked me through an inspection of his own pointing out technical flaws with the existing build. He gave me a quote right there, and I gave him a downpayment. Contractors like the Deck Dudes are usually in high demand, so it's good to call them in the off-season and try to get on the spring and summer schedules. The small crew worked through the rain and cold to finish the deck in early May. Jon was really responsive, keeping me posted via text messages and phone calls. They did a beautiful job and structurally reinforced the deck as well. I'll enjoy this beautiful and safe deck for years to come.

Jon and his crew were communicative and listened to what I wanted to do with the deck. He offered a very competitive price. Completed the project in a few days. I am very pleased with how it has held up over the past year. I will be using the Deck Dude for a ramp project this summer as I am so pleased with how things went summer.

'It went great. We are so happy with the deck Jon built!.

I contacted John (The Deck Dude) about helping me design my deck. I wanted to build the deck myself but wanted a professional to design the deck for me which I would purchase the design for a fee. John was very responsive after several companies said they were unwilling to help me. He came over a few days later and we plotted out the dimensions of my deck, sat down and ran through a rough outline. Upon him receiving my payment, he organized the material list, all I had to do was call Home Depot and pay for the materials. Once the lumber was delivered, John came over and laid out the deck plans with spray paint so I could start digging out the holes for the supports. He walked me through the next couple of steps over the phone. John came back in person and help me for over and hour with the next steps. He showed me how to replicate what we did together. From there the deck came together very quickly. Its now complete and we absolutely lover it! I would recommend the Deck Dude to others not only for decks but and general home improvement odds and ends!

It went really well. Within days of my initial call, John came to our home and spent over an hour with my husband and and I discussing what we wanted, our time frame and our budget. We received quotes from several contractors and felt John was the best fit for our job. Once we made our decision, he came back to meet with us a second time to finalize the design and pick up a check for half the cost he had quoted. He showed up as scheduled with his crew of two other men and finished our deck in just over a week. I was super impressed with how courteous they all were, and how hard they worked. They spent several very long days even working through lots of rain to finish the job on time. These were all guys I was happy to have at our home. John communicated with us throughout the project and asked questions on our preferences for finish certain areas. He even took it in stride when I accidentally wrote his check for the wrong amount. There were a few design details that were not done perfectly that he later fixed without question. He was great to work with and did a good job at a fair price. I would use him again anytime.

AWSOME! Great communication! All the guys where Pro's! We had to make some changes during the build and Jon from the deck dude made it very easy. They really went out of the way to make sure we where happy. We have already passed his name along to one of our family members to have a deck similar to ours built, and the deck dude gave us a free Deck cleaning service in the spring for the referral.

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Didn't return calls.

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Everything went smoothly and professionally. He communicated well and got the job done quickly.