Deckmasters Technologies Inc

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We contacted Deckmasters in Upper St Clair to build a new bi-level deck for us because our next door neighbor had used them and their deck turned out very well. We were interested in having a deck built off of a first floor family room, as well as a small cantilevered balcony deck above it off of our bedroom. Pat came out within a few days after my call, and listened carefully to what we wanted, asking questions to make sure he understood. He came back with a design and estimate the following week, and we were pleasantly surprised at the cost and happy with the design, which was exactly what we were looking for. We chose the synthetic fiberon material for the deck surface, with wooden rails. John and the team who actually built the deck did a fantastic job, and made/suggested some improvements to the design as they were working. John is a true craftsman, and they didn't skimp on any aspect of the project - the quality of the work shows. I was a little nervous as they were building the cantilevered balcony, but it was obvious they knew exactly what they were doing and the Inspections went smoothly. It was exciting coming home each evening to see the work they'd done that day, and the end result is beautiful. We couldn't be happier with the work and highly recommend Pat at Deckmasters in USC, and John and his team who built the deck.

We got their reference through Angie's list; but they were not on Angie's list. They were good. They were prompt and efficient. They did what I wanted. I was pleased. I couldn't compare the price because I called 3 or 4 other places and nobody was interested in doing this. The price was reasonable for what they did. The people who came out were friendly and nice. They cleaned up after themselves, but could have been better.

Very punctual. Estimate included a CAD drawing of the new deck and the back of the house. This was very useful for visualization of the final proposal. We gave the rep our budget and he did a great job keeping at or under our limit. Price was middle of the road but less than many other estimates we received. Crew was professional and fast. Stairs off the deck were built not to our specs and were quickly rebuilt with no hassle. DM's recycled the base and frame of the old deck and replaced anything that needed it. Any reused materials are then covered under their lifetime warranty. Overall, I would and have recommended DM's to others and will use them again.

The deck work is nice. They did a good job. They gave us an estimate first and they finished the work within the dead line they gave. I really have no complaints about them. The workers were also very good. The owner was there every day with his two workers. He just has one team and that was good. He was on site with them every day. They were all very courteous and did a good job. They were competitive with the other providers in the area. They put together the product that was just as good as some other more expensive and well knows deck builders around.

We saw them at the home and garden show. We liked their products and that is why we used them. Their price was in the middle. Their cleanup was fine. I would tell others to be very strict with the project completion time. They need to finish the work within the time line. We did have some problems with them on this. Overall, we were very happy with them but in the end everything got silly. We had to have them come back for some things to finish. They did not come back after the service to see if we were happy. They came after a month and half after completion of the project to touch up on. I could not get hold of people and they were not calling me back. They were kind of avoiding me. The job we wanted them to do would have taken them just an hour. During the job they had cut one of our water lines and an electrical line too. We had to get that also fixed. We also had some problem with the design as we were not sure how many poles they had to put underneath the house so that they would not obstruct my view. We needed more clarification ahead of time. I felt derailed all the time, and I was not happy with that. It all got a little nasty, and we did not part in nice ways. The product came with a lifetime guarantee and I had to keep calling them. The people that came to do the work were nice with me and the work itself was fine. I just wish they had been more professional and called me. One day they did not show up at all and they did not inform me. I was here every day and always available for them and it was not good that they did not inform me about anything. The whole problem was with communication, and I would have appreciated a call from them. I never saw the owner as he had people to do all the work. I think the owner should be more communicative and come once in a while. I have a life time guarantee and if I have a problem I will have to call them and I am not sure if they would want to come out. There was nothing wrong with the workmanship or anything. The problem was with communication.

The deck is well constructed and looks great. They did take a little too long get the lights installed. We had a hard time to get the job finished. We had to wait through the winter to get the lights installed.

They did a very professional, good job. I had no problems with the service and they took their time doing it. They cleaned up well when they were finished.

We interviewed several deck builders after visiting a home show at the Convention Center. Deckmasters seemed to have the most professional presentation and most compelling pitch. Deckmasters was significantly more expensive than everyone else but we figured it was worth it since they seemed to be the best However, things went downhill once we signed the contract and gave them money. They gave us a ballpark completion date of mid-April. In fact, we put extra money down up front in order to secure our spot on the list. In reality, it was not finished until mid-July. Their excuse was the rain, but it did not rain that much and it certainly did not rain the entire day. The owner (the one who gave us the presentation) was very rarely on site and gave his workers very little oversight. They would arrive between 8 and 9 and would usually leave around 3 or 4. However, if there was some minor bump in the road - such as not having a certain tool - they would leave earlier, never to return. During the sale presentation, the owner assured us that the installation of the door would be completed in one day so we wouldn't be exposed to the elements. In reality, the installation of the door took several days on account of the intermittent work schedule and again, missing parts or tools. They left the door partially installed (no hardware or door handle) and put a piece of cardboard over the front and left it that way all weekend. It rained. I called. I was largely ignored. Also, when they did finally install the storm door, it was several inches away from the ground so there was a huge gap. They reinstalled it three times (on our request) and finally, they had the owner come by and he did a passable job (now the bottom of the door is too low to the ground and scrapes along the deck). They refused to paint the trim ("We're not decorators") and they were reluctant to power wash the deck (as they had promised they would do during the sales presentation). I must have called the Deckmaster's office dozens of times trying to get answers. It was a continual game of passing the buck. Someone would tell me that someone would be there at a certain time so I would stay home from work that day and then no one would show up. Someone would tell me they would be done by a certain day and then when that deadline wasn't met, they would say "I don't know who told you that." The end product was fine. Far from perfect. We had wanted risers on the back of the stairs but they refused to put them in because it wasn't in the picture (which didn't even show the stairs). I have so many complaints I can't even remember them all to include here. They even delayed the final walk through by weeks which was even stranger, since they couldn't collect their final check until it was done. Bottom-line: Excellent sales force, bad follow through, terrible accountability and bad customer service.

Overall it was a good experience. The design was good and having had deck building experience of our own, we could tell that the salesperson / contractor knew what he was talking about. The truth is in the details. We thought the price just a little high but having done most decking work ourselves in the past we probably never thought about the labor costs involved. Roofing, however was out of our league. The contractor responded quickly to our call for an estimate. He came to the house and spent time to talk and develope a plan and an estimate. He said that it would be about 6 wks before they were able to begin, and it was 6 weeks. The crew was polite, but a little noisy and we had to ask the contractor to speak to them about this as they used a little "colorful language" and we had children right next door. After that, they were just fine. They said it would take about 2 weeks to complete, and it did. They were a little lax in cleaning up as we found more than a few nails & screws laying around, but otherwise pretty good. We had a problem with some water leaking through the siding under the roof at the first hard rain and called the contractor. Someone came the next day to look at it and said there was a small space that need resealed on the space where the deck meets the house, he did it that day and it seems to be fine so far. The existing deck was obviously not to code and they added a second row of support beams from the ground up. The deck looks great and it is SOLID.

Only 2 companies rose to the surface as possible contenders, and while Deckmasters was indeed the most expensive apples to apples, I am very happy that I chose them. They actually work year-round and built my deck in very cold temperatures in December and January. Right down to the finishing touches and going the extra mile to get the kind of door that I wanted when breaking out the window, was acted on. I mention this because the window area was very limited so the door had to be custom made to fit the spot and give me the door that I wanted but they did it and didn't jack up the price. The crew worked hard and in low temperatures at a high spot building a very nice deck for me. All of the finishing touches were seen to nicely without anything be left for me to bug them about, even my special requests. They can appear expensive when shopping around HOWEVER I firmly believe that you are paying for quality and attention to detail that when improving your home and just enjoying the improvement without worries and future troubles, they are well worth it.

THE OWNER AND OFFICE STAFF WERE VERY DISORGANIZED AND SOMEWHAT UNRELIABLE. THEY DID NOT CONSISTENTLY RETURN PHONE CALLS AND I WAS GIVEN INACCURATE INFORMATION REGARDING CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE & METHODS. BUT, THE CREW THAT BUILT MY BALCONY DID A NICE JOB AND WAS VERY ACCOMMODATING OF THE LANDSCAPING AND POND. ALSO, THEY WERE ABLE TO WORK AROUND THE DIFFICULT SITE ACCESS.

ROOF LEAKED, NO OVERHANG SO WATER RAN INTO WINDOW TRACKS, ROOF VENTS WERE INSTALLED BACKWARDS, AND WATER SOAKED ALL INSULATION IN ROOF. WE HAD TO REMOVE 100% WET INSULATION, WET CEDAR, TRACO WINDOWS INSTALLED WRONG, AND WATER WENT INTO WALLS. OUTSIDE PANELS GOT WET & BECAME ROTTEN. THE OWNER WOULDN'T STAND BEHIND SUNROOM FOR ALL REPAIRS. WE SHOULD HAVE SUED HIM! JUST LET LIST KNOW!

KNOWLEDGEABLE COMPANY THAT USES TOP QUALITY PRODUCTS. DECKMASTERS PROVIDED DRAWINGS AND BUILT EXACTLY WHAT THEY SAID THEY WOULD.