Thomas D. (Tom) Huffman Sr.

Arrived a few minutesd late due to traffic emergency but called me to let me know. Worked without a break and work was professional. He does all kinds of carpenter work and is reasonable, professional, and friendly.

***UPDATE 7/12/2014*** Well...here we are a bit over 2 years later (3 years from construction) and I am pressure washing the deck again and getting ready to try to treat and reseal the deck. There are still so many issues that were created and remain from the original construction that this has become a MAJOR effort just to prepare to reseal! The deck had weathered. Okay...that is to be expected. That was cleaned. However...as noted previously, there are a few areas that are still incredibly aggravating. I am STILL having to constantly remove grass growth from under the deck and stairs. No, Tom...the so-called "sealant" did NOT kill the grass as you had told us. As I was washing the deck, I found several of the old manufacturers marks STILL on the wood...and several under some of the old pooled sealant. Again...these did NOT fade as he had told us they would. As noted before...the original "sealing" of the deck was done so poorly that there are still large areas of old, pooled sealant that are now having to be sanded off before I can even approach the remainder of the treating and sealing. I have had to use a finish sander to remove these areas (quite ugly looking on the deck as well) and even had to use a hand file to get to the places that the sander could not reach. If the sealing had been done in a careful and even somewhat professional manner, these areas would have been addressed when the sealing was initially done. Not difficult to watch out for these issues when sealing or painting. And...there are STILL sealant stains on our siding! Can't get rid of those without replacing the siding. :( On to stain and resealing... ***UPDATE 4/14/2012*** What was supposed to be a sealed deck has now turned multiple shades of black, gray and white! Any areas that were "sealed" have very obvious spots where the sealant had puddled during application...so much that it sheds like plastic venier when using a pressure washer!!! It also has caused discoloration that is difficult to correct. I wish I could post the pictures I have! The wood has become so badly stained in areas that the wood will either need to be sanded down or replaced. Many boards will need to be replaced anyway due to excessive warping and a few were obviously cracked during construction and have completely broken apart and will need to be replaced. Pressure washing is not cleaning all of the stained wood...and we should not be having this issue 7 - 8 months after installation. If the sealing had been done thoroughly and properly, a simple washing of the deck to remove dirt should have been all that was required. As noted in the original text below, the manufacturing marks on the wood are still VERY obvious and are not fading as we were told. Incredible!!! ************************************************************ ************************************************************ Mr. Huffman originally quoted a large deck (20' x 24'), a concrete pad (10' x 10') for the hot tub, and the installation of new rear french doors (purchased by us). He also agreed (upon discussion after the contract was signed) to install a new front door (purchased by us) for an additional $100. The original quote was sent on May 7, 2011 and accepted on May 8,2011. Initial discussion with Mr. Huffman indicated that he could start within a couple of weeks. We were then informed that he had other projects that he was working and would not be able to start until the first week of June. We accepted that and proceeded with the preparations for the new construction (some removal of old decking, purchasing of new doors, etc). Mr. Huffman also indicated that he would have assistance in getting this project done from his son and the entire project should take approximately 4 weeks (contract states in a timely and professional manner...so no due date was actually stated). The project started off well enough...professional and good quality work. Mr. Huffman even made several suggestions and was open to additional requests and modifications as the project proceeded. We became concerned when we found out that his son helped him dig the holes for the deck footers but would not be able to continue helping him with the project. We asked if he was going to have additional help and were assurred that he would. As the first couple of weeks passed, we became concerned in the overall progress being made in the deck construction. Very little in the framing had been completed. We were assurred by Mr. Huffman that this was the most difficult and timely portion of the project. While we were still concerned, we accepted his explanation. Mr. Huffman soon began the initial decking and the construction appeared to be of good quality...although very little progress was made on a daily basis. As we asked again regarding when he expected the project to be completed, the timeline slipped to mid-July. We had hoped to, at least, be able to have the majority of the deck ready for family and friends for the holiday weekend...but the deck was not nearly complete enough to allow any use. Again, we expressed concern that he had no assistance in working on this project. As we began inquiring on progress and concerns, we noticed that the quality of work was beginning to suffer. Excuses were suddenly a regular thing. As we questioned some of the issues with the decking (loose boards, boards not attached at all, manufacturing marks on wood, etc), Mr. Huffman started to dismiss our concerns (although he did address most of the loose boards...but not all of them) as things that would be handled as we completed the project. During a period of rain, Mr. Huffman installed our new front door. When we arrived home to see this, we noted that the door did not seal properly...there was light coming in around the door...the door did not latch properly and was very difficult to lock. When we pointed these things out to Mr. Huffman, he became defensive in that he did not note any issues when he installed the door (how he could have missed all of that, we'll never know) but he would make it right. It took another week after that for him to correct these issues. Suddenly, we were now approaching the end of July and the deck and concrete pad were still not finished. About this same time, Mr. Huffman installed our french doors and worked on repairing the damaged wood flooring just inside of the door area. We were told in the beginning that the wood would be of the same type and finish and that his wife could very easily match the wood to the existing wood so that it would not be a noticeable repair/replacement. After installation of that flooring, the wood is of a deeper and darker grain and is VERY evident that it is not a part of the original flooring. As we began pressing him for a completion date, the quality of work suffered greatly (again...the "help" that he was supposed to have never materialized). Poor construction...more loose or not attached boards...overall poor workmanship. We left a note pointing out these things and we were left a note basically running a series of "woe is me" excuses for the delays. This was the beginning of the end as far as a "professional" approach to this project was concerned. The remainder of the decking and the concrete pad was completed but not at the quality of workmanship and so-called "professionalism" as in the beginning. Not only are there issues with the deck (we will be replacing several boards and correcting several loose and unattached boards ourselves, inferior wood on some of the more "hidden" rail areas, manufacturing marks that we were assured he would remove from the boards and were not removed), but we informed him that we would pay him the remaining amount of the contracted price AFTER we had time to inspect everything and make sure that everything was completed to our satisfaction. Mr. Huffman became rather abrasive toward us and said that that would leave him in a bind if he did not have that money. Sorry...but I am NOT going to just pay someone in full without inspecting the product. The pad was poured...and the extra/stray concrete/gravel was left under a pile of dirt (trying to hide it???). We are still trying to get all of that out of our grass. He treated the deck (also assurring us that the grass below the deck and stairs would be killed by the treatment...we are still trying to get grass killer down there to take care of it!) and wasn't careful with the spraying. There are sealant stains all over our vinyl siding that may not be able to be removed. Again..."professional quality???" The project was not completed until approximately August 12...10 weeks after the start of a 4 week project and 14 weeks from the initial approval!!! He left a "final bill" with us with charges that we did not agree with but paid in order to put this behind us...including additional charges for a step from the house to the deck that we requested and were assurred that he could do with the wood on hand very easily at no charge (he charged us an additional $150 for that!). We have been asked by others about his work. We would not recommend him for a project such as this.