The Hungry Carpenter LLC

Great job using Hungry Carpenter LLC. Dod a great job and very happy with the quality of material and craftsmanship. We would recommend this company.

DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY!!!! On 5/5/23 we provided a large deposit to have a deck completed, start date on or before 6/30/23. Long story short, the contractor never completed the work (never even started). Instead, misleading statements and excuses for the delays were made for months. In November 2023, the company finally stated they could not start or complete the work because they are unable to attract and retain employees (not our problem). We asked for our deposit back so we could hire a reputable, reliable contractor to complete the work. In response to our request, the business is attempting to intimidate and bully us by refusing to return our funds, instead making up bogus, non disclosed fees to withhold our money (despicable!). Be wise and avoid this contractor at all costs. This is an unethical, dishonest, unprofessional business. AVOID!

Jim did an absolutely wonderful job on our deck.

The project went well after several days of rain. Jim is very responsive as well as taking pride in his quality of work. Although not cheap, we got this project completed in a reasonable amount of time. We would definitely use Hungry Carpenter again for any future projects.

It was excellent. They were very punctual. The communication was good. Quality work was good.

Everything progressed smoothly as planned. Jim worked very hard and steadily to ensure that it was a good investment, professionally finished, and did not take very long. We are very pleased the new deck is done, along with him taking care of the removal of material underneath and repairs on the house to make sure that the new structure lasts a long time. Would recommend to others for sure.

Once he started, due to back loads of jobs, he worked everyday and very hard. I would definitely recommend him to anyone who needed work on there house.

Very well. Jim is a hard working, do the right thing kind of guy with a ton of common sense.

Jim and his crew were amazing.. on time, courteous, and professional. Love the fact that he had a woman on his crew!! Our new deck is beautiful and would highly recommend them to anyone wanting a deck and more.

Start to finish a professional job. Old rotten deck tore off and new bigger one put in its place. Start to finish in two weeks. Took longer to get permits and go ahead than to do the work. Looks great and we love it. I highly recommend this outfit.

Job 1 (decking): prompt, pleasant to work with. Deck flooring looks neat, BUT: grossly inferior wood, full of large knots, which started cracking after three or four months. AND: Boards are spaced too close together, debris gets stuck in the cracks, blocking drainage. Job 2 (gable trim): When will it get done? "I’m thinking sometime in November." By March of the following year, still not done -- so we requested refund of down payment. He got the job done the following week.

Steven with Hungry Carpenter did a great job on our deck repairs. He arrived on time and got the work done quickly. The cost was efficient and I would definitely hire again for future deck projects.

Very well old deck removed new deck built builders enjoyed work very good atmosphere cleaned up wel Would hire again

Jim and his crew tore down our 15 year-old rotted front porch and constructed a gorgeous new one with composite materials. We added riser lights and an extra step to the original agreement, and we are very pleased that we did. The riser lights add to the safety of the steps along with looking so nice at night. We couldn’t be happier with our new porch; it has greatly enhanced the curb appeal of our home. Jim was very responsive to any questions or concerns. Although this job was not completed as quickly as we anticipated, my husband and I much prefer quality work over speed. We would be happy to work with The Hungry Carpenter if the need ever arises.

Great. Jim and his team removed the old siding and replaced with new hardie board, caulking the nail holes. Also replaced the trim surrounding the master bathroom window. When done the house looked good as new.

We had reached out to a number of contractors and the majority never gave us a bid. With Jim we had a bid within a couple weeks. He handled our HOA information, city permits, lien waivers and he had a much better approach with building our new deck. We recently replaced our driveway and I was concerned that it not get damaged and he respected that. Overall very happy with the deck. We added a gate last minute and there was some confusion on the price, but he fully honored what he told us. The price was competitive and the construction is far superior to our old deck. I had a few questions/punch list items and Jim addressed them the next day. We choose Hungry Carpenter because he built my sisters deck and screened porch a few years ago and they were happy. Once we gave Jim the deposit check they moved forward quickly and exceeded when I was expecting it to be completed. Ultimately we love the deck and the pricing was competitive.

Jim (the owner) was friendly and easy to work with. The tear-out went quickly and the dumpster was in our driveway for only one day, which was nice. The deck looks great, better than we had imagined it would -- it's a very professional-looking job. We were impressed with the sturdy and careful construction, and the materials are high quality. Scott did a super job on it, was friendly and helpful, and we really appreciate how he cleaned up the work site each night. Highly recommend.

Jim was great to work with. The finish work looks wonderful and he communicated throughout the process. He was extremely helpful in coordinating the electrical work and tv mounting that needed to be done. His suggestions on design of the roof looks amazing. Have already referred him to family and friends!

We needed repair work done on our balcony. The crews he sent were incompetent and caused additional damage. One of their initial errors was cutting the bottoms off our iron railings to reset the angle of the deck which caused water to flow back to the house. After firing 2 sets of workers, the foreman came to work on the job. The work was shoddy and unprofessional looking. Jim would not stand by the work when problems continued. we are having to have the whole structure pulled down and replaced. While Jim is a nice guy, this job was beyond his capability and he should not have accepted it.

Great experience all around. Jim and his crew were extremely professional and did and excellent job. They got started early every morning and worked almost non-stop past 5pm for 4 days on our new deck... They were courteous and professional throughout. I would highly recommend them.

As always with Jim Watson and his crew, it went beautifully! I have hired the Hungry Carpenter LLC on numerous occasions and will continue to. They have done everything from re-screening and replacing woodwork on a porch to putting in fences. In this case it was a fence job for our back yard in University City. It required demolishing an old fence and putting in new ones at the front and back of the yard. Jim gave a fair price and got to the job as soon as possible. His crew, Chris and Scott, were courteous and professional. We now have a safely fenced yard for our dogs and it is an infinite improvement over what was there before. As I said, we will be hiring Jim again as we have many projects needed for our older home. It is always a pleasure to work with Jim and we know we can count on a job well done at a fair price!

Outstanding - beyond expectations. From start to finish the job was done in a professional manner with meticulous attention to details. Jim Watson kept us fully informed, handled everything including proposal, construction permits, approvals from home owners association, demolition, construction, and work site cleanup. Even when asked to make minor additions to the project they willingly did so. Pricing was very competitive, service was excellent, and they were perfectionists on the work provided. I would recommend them to anyone.

The deck seems to be generally well made. However, four of the perimeter boards were installed backwards so that the rounded edge that should be outward and visible is facing inward and the grooved inner edge that should be hidden is facing outward. When I first brought this concern to the builder’s attention, he tried to blame the problem on the supplier, saying that the supplier had sent me two different types of perimeter boards. The supplier, however, told me that there is only one type of perimeter board and that the builder had simply installed half of the boards backwards. When confronted with his lie, the builder changed his story and said that it was my responsibility to tell him that I wanted all the boards installed correctly. But of course I wanted them all installed correctly! It never crossed my mind that I had to tell him that I wanted him to do the job correctly! Also, the bottom step on the longer side of the deck was bowed in instead of running in a straight line. When the builder corrected that problem, it made the gap between the two planks that comprise that step uneven; the gap is narrow on one end of the step, rather wide nearing the other end of the step, and then becoming narrower again at the very end of the step. Obviously, something is wrong with the way in which that bottom step has been constructed. Eventually, the builder acknowledged that what is wrong is that he used a warped board in the framing of the deck but he has refused to replace that warped board. One additional concern is that one of the miter cuts at the corner of one of the steps has not been done correctly. The problem is not that the cut is not tight; rather the problem is that the builder made the cut in the wrong place so that the joint does not align with the other miter joints in the adjoining steps. When I brought each of these cosmetic issues to the builder’s attention, he insisted that he was not going to fix them unless I paid him to do so. I can see that I am going to have to pay someone to fix this builder’s sloppy finishing work; however, it most certainly won’t be him! Clearly, this builder is not concerned with producing a good-looking, nicely finished product. He is simply concerned with collecting his money. His business card states, “Failure is not an option,” but obviously, he does not regard sloppy finishing work as failure. I beg to differ; cosmetically, my deck is a failure. We chose this builder because he had been both Certified and given the Super Service Award by Angie's List; our experience with this builder, however, was anything but "super service." This builder will tell you anything he needs to tell you in order to get your business, but when it comes to backing up his talk with quality workmanship, it doesn’t happen. Find someone else who cares about quality.

Emailed to request a free estimate on re-working the porches. I received an email response a couple days later saying: "Thank you for the opportunity, however we only work on complete new jobs." This should be stated on their Angie's List Profile. Not a very "Hungry Carpenter!"

Work started on-time and completed quickly. They encountered a permit issue and worked with the inspector to quickly resolve it. The work performed was great!