The Hungry Carpenter LLC

Jim is very personable, honest and hardworking. We prefer to work with people like Jim and we enjoyed it. He had great ideas for our yard. The price was very good as we had other estimates that were much higher. We love how the entire yard turned out- the deck is gorgeous. Jim answered our calls promptly and answered questions anytime, willingly. He was very receptive to ideas or changes and corrected any issues that we brought up promptly and responsibly. That was refreshing! The timeline is was the our only complaint. This project took the entire summer: May-August. When we committed, we didn't think we were going to lose our yard for the entire summer. We assumed he'd start right away but there were other jobs they were finishing then there was lots of rain. That was a probably a big factor, but it felt like it took a long time to get going. Once they got going, it seemed to go pretty slowly. Work was done to high standards but the team was very slow. Over time, there were some personnel changes that corrected the problem and then work was lightning quick! That issue is resolved. I would reccomend this crew for work. At the end of the day, it took much longer than we thought, but it was worth waiting for the quality and look we got and the trust that we had that Jim's team was going to get it done right. He was a pleasure to work with.

They did a very good job. The new deck is an outstanding improvement to the house and ties into the overall look and design of the house much better than the original design. They suggested a nice border inset and lattice for a very attractive final product. There were a few issues where mistakes were made, but all items were corrected and the company did an outstanding job addressing all issues (even to my wife's satisfaction - a very tough condition to meet). Additional note: The city inspector approved the review the first time (of course) and made several very nice comments on the quality of the work. There were cheaper options, but the quality of the final product makes me very glad that we went with the Hungary Carpenters. Punctuality could have been better (started on a Friday just before the 4th of July break) and went on through August, but again the quality, attention to detail and willingness to please was worth the wait.

I got several bids and his was the best bid. They were on time. They responded timely. He came out, gave me a bid and we got the job scheduled. His guys were on time and they did very good quality work. Any adjustments I needed, they took care of it right away. I'm very pleased with the overall job that they did.

I contacted few companies via Angies list sometime in March. Jim from Hungry Carpenter was very prompt in responding. He stopped by at my home explained me how different way the deck can be built and provided me estimates for wood, composite and PVC deck. I was looking for PVC deck and estimates was above my budget , Jim worked with me to adjust the features and gave me estimates for different options. After a few rounds of discussions and estimates, we settled down on final specifications. After the contract was signed it took around a week or two for Jim to get a drawing and after my review, he submitted it for county approval. He was also ready to work with my subdivision for approval but I took care of it. It took around two to three weeks for Jim to get the county approval. One fine morning I heard some noise from outside of my house and I saw Jim unloading all the materials! His crew started digging the ground and they scheduled county inspection for post foundation holes the next day, within a day or two the deck frame was ready! His crew was starting work around 6.00 am, mainly two carpenters were working on the site with additional two or three helpers. The desk took around four weeks to complete. At the same time I scheduled concrete patio with another company, Jim was very flexible to adjust his schedule to accommodate the concrete work. Overall, I am very happy with quality of work and Jim's professionalism. When I gave contract to Jim, I was thinking I might have paid slightly more but now after work is complete, I'm sure the money I paid was worth. I'm happy that I choose Hungry carpenter.

I had a good experience with Jim. He's a good honest guy to work with and reasonably responsive getting back to you when called. Some of the negative reviews I see I think are attributable to him being overwhelmed with business now. The work turned out great and I'm happy with the results at a good price. Jim fixed 5 Deck posts that settled on my 20+ year old deck. He worked well with me on the scope of the original quote and helped find solutions. We changed some of the work content during the middle of the project and that went well also. During the early stages of the project his carpenter Mike found an alternative solution to one of my problems that saved me money from my original estimate. His workers we all first class and easy to work with. I'd use him again for sure.

I am concerned enough that I am not comfortable relating all details-suffice it to say that they were the reason Angie's list was invented. I cannot believe that this business is still on this list given their business practices

I chose this provider based on the great reviews he had. After he provided an acceptable bid, we discussed payment options and he let me know he was in the process of getting access to accept credit cards. A week later, I sent him an email accepting the bid, and told him I would put the initial down payment on a credit card, then would pay cash for the balance when the work was done. A week after that, the owner stopped by to start the transaction (signing the contract/making down payment) and it was at that time he said he had to pass along the credit card fee - nearly $250. I was pretty shocked - he had had ample time to alert me to this fee, but didn't. I had no other choice but to either cancel or pay the fee, so I paid. I then asked him the amount of time it would take for the project and asked for his commitment that he would stay with the job until finished. I got an answer of 10 days (weather permitting) and yes, once a job is started, the crew stays until it was finished. That was at the end of March. There were some weather delays - but it took nearly 3 months for the porch to be completed. Some product was ordered late in the game, the order was lost, the order was shipped but was incorrect....then getting new product took another 10 days. A very large bolt holding the structure to the house went through the wall - into the kitchen by a couple of inches. Additionally, a concrete pad was torn out for no reason, and had to be put back in (now a different color than the rest of the concrete walk way), and the stairs into the porch were put in an area that I felt was wrong and should be changed. My fault here - I never did see a drawing of what the porch would look like - and I didn't insist on the stairs being moved. But the location makes it much harder to arrange furniture on the porch. A fan was installed - and it wobbles like crazy when on "high" speed so I only use it on the medium or lower speeds. The quality of the work (the main structure) was very good and his crew is very talented. I have read other reviews since signing on with this provider, and it seems that some folks get dedicated attention and others do not. I have to say I would recommend the provider, but with reservations.

The visit went well, I thought, but three months later I do not have his bid.

We contacted Jim Watson from The Hungry Carpenter from Angies list recommendations based on reviews and overall ratings. Jim, who is the owner of The Hungry Carpenter sat with us for some time and gave us a number of options to consider. He made suggestions to make the deck look better with a solid design based on our budget. The Hungry Carpenter guys showed up when they said they would, worked diligently and got the deck finished in the time frame that Jim stated. After the job was done we examined the entire deck carefully and could find nothing to complain about - it was put together solid as a rock and looked great. At the end of each work day the carpenters cleaned up the work site and left it as clean as they found it. The overall price was better than any of the larger companies that we had received bids from by a significant percentage. We would recommend Jim Watson and his crew to anyone needing a new deck or any carpentry service especially those of you that want something more than just a "plain Jane" job.

Hungry Carpenters were identified and requested to bid, based on their reviews in Angies list, and selected to do the work based on their favorable bid. The start of work was delayed several weeks due to rain. Once Scheduled, the crew completed the work, including complete removal of all old timber in less than three days. They used screws for fastening rather than nails as used in the original work. Jim Watson, owner walked thru the finished work, readily identified some remaining discrepancies, and even pointed out some additional areas he wanted to fix. He offered reasonable advice on finishing and sealing. From that first experience, we asked him to also quote a price to replace our rotting stairs. That work as well as the fixes/discrepancies first identified was all completed within the next five days. My impression of Hungry Carpenters throughout the project was their desire to do things right, and get things right that would make their customer happy.

Jim Watson promptly responded to my email request for a quote and set up an agreed upon time to meet. During our meeting, my wife and I were very happy and impressed with his ideas to do the job. The ideas Jim came up with enhanced what we planned to do. His quote was very competitive and since we had used him before signed the contract. Jim told us up front he was busy and would try to get to are job ASAP. The work began about two weeks after we signed the contract. Both my wife and I were happy with the results and Jim's crew. Jim came by the job site twice and fixed a few minor items that I had identified from the job. During the whole process Jim and his crew worked with us to ensure we got what we wanted. I would use the Hungry Carpenter again.

Initial promises were fantastic. The estimates were well below most others. The worked was started and progressed on schedule. Some of the Problems: Lumber used appeared to be the cheapest available Lumber and posts had splits in it Many floor boards had to be replaced due to huge holes in lumber Some lumber had to be replaced because it was so badly warped Gutters had to be taken down and reinstalled because they did not hold water at all Downspout was cut too long and had to be recut and reinstalled. Concrete was poured but not finished and had to be sanded in order to not trip on the roughness Screen enclosed had to be complete take down and reinstalled because it was not installed correctly The Hungry Carpenter used our house pictures as part of their company advertisement without our permission The one issue that was tops on the list is that the non-leak ceiling system poured down gallons of rain during a family gathering and everyone got soaked. The Hungry Carpenters seemed reluctant to do the repairs as they claimed that they have never installed a system that leaked. They finally came out and made repairs. This only reduced the leaks by 50%. They came out once again. Once again they were able to only reduce the leak. When we called again, they came out and did some testing and said that they did not detect a leak. They are correct, it only leaks when it rains. To this day, the ceiling system still leaks significantly; to the point where we are now looking for someone to repair it. This means additional out-of-pocket expense. We have since had others in the building profession give a host of incorrectly constructed items related to the work performed. One of the professionals even told us that we will not get nearly the life that we expect from the deck due to the poor construction. The Hungry Carpenter offered a very good price for the proposed work, but in the long term it will cost us more than if we had gone with other estimates. This is not a company that I would ever use again.

It did not go well. It's been two weeks and I still don't have an estimate. There's been no contact with Jim unless I emailed him to ask where was my estimate. He said he'd have an estimate in two days. In five days, I emailed him and he said a couple more days. Several days later, I emailed again and got a similar response--I'll type it up and get it to you. That was 6 days ago. I had told him if he didn't want the work please just tell me so I could more on. My experience with the Hungry Carpenter has been bad. He might need to rename his business; he doesn't appear to be "hungry" for business.

He's a guy who wants to work, honest,down to earth, and has great ideas. He gave us options and suggestions that made sense. You could tell he loves to do what he does. The price was amazing as we were quoted $25,000 for a deck that would not be nearly as nice from a different company. We need yard grating and he suggested Tom Watson (Finishing touch landscaping), his brother. We met with him and he was just as impressive. They are a great duo- nice to have the 2 linked since the projects are interdependent. We have given a down payment on the deck and he will do the work in the next few weeks. We are really excited!!

He was prompt, courteous and knowledgeable.

Jim was very puntcual about contacting me to come and view the job. He gave me a very fair estimate. His service was done promptly and we were very satisfied.

This was quite a tricky job as the old frame had sunk in the middle and a 90 degree angle was hard to find! There was also a raised concrete pad in the middle of the deck where a hot tub had once sat. The frame had to be raised back high enough to lay the deck boards above this and to make it all level. Amazingly, they were able to account for all of this and have restored the deck back to it's original shape, if not better than when it was originally built! There were two carpenters that performed all of the work deck work. The owner (Jim) even came out and helped with some of the demo and pouring of the concrete step. They arrived a little before 8am daily and worked near non-stop until 3pm. The project in whole took a little over 1 week to complete and that was with a spring snowstorm thrown into the middle of the job.

Jim was at my home promptly to measure the area and gave a very reasonably priced bid. I did get about 6 more bids and he outbid them by almost $4000 - $5000. The deck did take a while to be built, but it was winter and I was not able to enjoy it anyway so I did not really mind the wait. He did check the construction regularly and the people who were doing the construction were very professional.

The large deck behind my house was badly in need of repairs. It was getting near to being a complete tear down and replace which would have been extremely expensive. The owner, Jim Watson, came out to take a look. He was very knowledgeable and confident that he could get the deck back into good shape at a reasonable price. Two handy men started the project right away. And, Jim Watson came out everyday to check on their progress. They were all very professional, courteous and skillful. After a few days of hard work, the deck looks even better than I imagined that it would. I'm extremely satisfied with what they were able to do with it. I would recommend them to anyone.

We needed repair work for an existing deck. Most of the decking boards needed to be replaced and the understructure of the deck around an oak tree needed to be rebuilt to accommodate the increasing size of the oak tree's trunk. We met with Jim to get suggestions and an estimate. Jim helped us determine which parts of the deck needed to be replaced and which parts could be saved. We determined that the whole deck surface and the top railing should be replaced with redwood (the original decking material) and the entire understructure surrounding the tree that part of the deck surrounds should be rebuilt. Jim agreed to keep all remaining pressure treated understructure that appeared to be in good shape and agreed to take down and reuse all existing balusters since the vertical structures seemed to be in good shape. During the estimation/planning process we also asked Jim to tear down and completely replace an existing structure to surround/hide trash cans. All the estimation and planning process went well and Jim provided the lower of two bids. Jim's two workers did an excellent job rebuilding our deck and made a lovely structure matching the deck to hide the trash and recycling cans. The workers started early each morning and worked full days. The did a wonderful job repairing and rebuilding the deck. They worked through freezing cold and even one very snowy day. Both structures look wonderful, and we are very happy with the work. We would certainly recommend Jim and his crew and would use this company again ourselves!

He had all high ratings on the list but he turned out to be an absolute disaster. Ultimately he came back and made it okay, but initially he did get a lot of things. I had a porch or balcony off the front of my house, they told me oh no problem we can fix it. They get into it and they go ahead and they fix it and the balcony slanted back towards the house and that was a problem they were supposed to fix. So water ran off of the balcony into my house. They took everything off and he said they would fix it. They took it off of my house, this balcony ran the whole 30 feet of my house and so there's 2x4s sticking out and there's about 2 feet apart and there's 25 of them. They said, okay we are going to fix this, we are going to shave down the beams at the front so that the balcony is right. Then I get a call, essentially , no we can't do that, we have to cut all the beams off. and put a deck up instead of a balcony. I had already given him $4000.00, I'm going to have to do something so I said okay. When he put up something, we went through multiple rounds. They put up flashing and instead of being smooth it was bent, I said you need to fix that. When they put up the new posts to support the new decking instead of the porch, they dug the concrete that would go under the supporting beams and they dug them and the beams were below ground which is totally against code. So he came out to fix it and rather than dig it up, the concrete up, and cut the beam off and put the concrete in the ground above the level of the ground, what he did was he came in and put a canister up and concreted up higher. So, I'm sure I will have rotting eventually and it cost me another $2000.00 I dropped the service. He did finish the job but I look at it and wince. It was important to me that they cleaned up and when they were done I went through my yard and there were roofing nails and all kinds of stuff. He didn't come out and look at it until I called and complained each time.

We signed the papers to do this project around Thanksgiving and Jim thought we'd have a new deck by Christmas. That was a little optimistic, given that we gave him the final check in the middle of February, but they did have to work around the holidays and winter weather. The demo was done before Christmas. The quality of the deck is excellent and we were impressed with the professionalism of the crew. As they worked, if we saw any potential issues, they were always resolved. Jim and his brother (a landscaper) had excellent ideas, which we utilized, for the design of the new deck. City inspectors were out several times to check on work in progress and the only problem found was that the back of the risers needed to be covered instead of left open - and this was easily remedied. We even picked out the wrong kind of lattice to cover the bottom deck--Jim knew it was not what we would want and got the correct lattice and it looks great. The crew had to work in some cold weather to get this done. Materials were kept in their place and cleaned up when the job was done. All in all, we are very happy with our new deck and can't wait for warmer weather to begin enjoying it.

Jim, the owner, was very responsive and he came over promptly for an estimate. He emailed an estimate to me and we set a date for service. Jim arrived on time, as scheduled, with the carpenter who was going to perform the work. The carpenter did an excellent job with the repairs and the shelf installation in the closet. He even did a little extra touch up painting in the laundry room to finish things off nicely. I can definately recommend them and will use them again.

Jim Watson, the owner, arrived promptly to provide the bid. We had an idea in mind of how we wanted the new porch to look and provided a picture. We reviewed the existing structure as well as the desired look and materials. Jim provided a bid very promptly and was also happy to quickly adjust the bid when we changed our minds on some of the materials from the original proposal. Of 4 bids, theirs was the lowest and we were also very comfortable with the good feedback we had seen on here so we accepted the proposal and scheduled a date to start. On the start date, Jim's team arrived promptly and worked efficiently throughout the project. They were very courteous and also very flexible in working through some unexpected items that came up. The only delays in the project were waiting on special order materials to come in after we changed our minds on a couple items in the middle of the project. They even worked weekends to help keep the project moving quickly which we thought was impressive and unusual. Overall the porch looks fantastic and we are VERY happy with the final product and the service provided by The Hungry Carpenter. We highly recommend them and plan to refer them to friends and family as well.

Very professional, prompt, detailed estimate. I wanted to have the work performed (i.e., new deck) but incurred some other expenses and could not afford it at the time. I do plan to contract with Hungry Carpenter next spring though.