Custom Construction Inc

He seemed nice and knowledgeable, but all that changed. He didn't seem to know very much about construction. His workers knew much more. He kept talking about meeting code, which is all well and good, but why stop there? Don't you want something of more quality than just meeting code? He couldn't seem to get over this. Bare minimum is what he wanted to do. Thank goodness for the experience of the extremely underpaid, under appreciated workers he had or else I would hate to see what we would have ended up with. When we asked any questions about Trex, he would refer us to the written materials and their website--all of which Ihad looked at and can read myself--he couldn't answer our questions. Standard decks on the cookie cutter houses are built with the wood into dirt, we wanted concrete between the wood and the ground, as the area inour yard is very wet. Wet wood will rot in time (the deck frame was wood, the floor and railings were Trex). We felt we had to keep a very close eye on the construction to make sure it was being done in a way that the deck would last. We would go to the store and purchase items wewanted used in the construction, as it seemed he was upset that he was being asked to do something other than the basics and would charge us anoutrageous amount for any extras. I told him I was not paying him anything extra, and would get supplies myself. He mentioned that he had an extra bracket laying around that my husband was about to purchase, and said he would bring it by. I said ok. Upon completion of the deck, we paid him in full. A couple weeks later we got an invoice for $50. It was for the bracket. We were not going to pay it. He called a couple weeks later asking for payment, I told him that as I told him before, I was not paying him anything extra. I told him my husband was about to buy the bracket and you said you had one. He began to SCREAM at me over the phone, acting in COMPLETE DISBELIEF that I was not going to pay it. He made a KILLING from what he paid for materials and labor. Was he seriously yelling at a customer over $50??? 1% of the cost of the project?? Extremely unprofessional. Would not recommend using Custom Construction to anyone.

Jeff Teander came to my house a half hour late. He said he didn't have my phone number, so he couldn't call me. I did not appreciate this. He took a look at the sight and did his measurement. The site is a bit tricky because I wanted to change the placement of the stairs, and we had to take into account a slope that would be across the stairs. There were also some sightlines in the house I wanted to preserve. I knew going into this, it would take some creative design, as I had already been trying to sketch something out on and off for a year. To his credit, he stayed for an hour and a half, working with me to try and create something that would satisfy my criteria. I appreciated his taking this significant amount of time with me. At the end of the consultation, I asked for estimates of what the demolition would cost, and what construction would cost in both Trex and in wood. He said he would get an estimate to me in a week to two, which I understood it may be on the later side because of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. I never heard from him again. Not a phone call or an email (he had both). Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I don't think I should have to nag a contractor to get an estimate. It does not signal a great future working relationship to hit this kind of snag for just an estimate, especially in light of his tardiness for the appointment. In this economy, I would think someone would appreciate the possibility of work. Custom Construction does not need mine.