512 Outdoor LLC

New 2-story deck missed the mark across code, Trex guidelines, and aesthetics. Poor planning. Won't make it right. We lost 5 figures on a 2-man crew that lacks longevity with owner. Hire inspectors before paying final invoice. FYI “Custom Deck and Fence Austin” also has poor reviews on multiple sites noting owner Todd Louis Ratajik of "Good Day Baked Energy Snacks" (Forfeited Existence). Sites now name “Cesar” as owner. Negative reviews disappeared. AFFD has pending lawsuits with Travis County Courts. Unknown AFFD subcontractor alarmingly used my name and address in another client’s lawsuit w**! Standard: Visual consistency. AFFD: Mismatched railing. Todd’s words: "It's the same railing but pinched." (A contractor’s FB review notes lack of materials to properly complete jobs.) Std: Concrete pad supports stairs. AFFD: Stair stringers hover in air, failing to land on concrete. Todd blatantly texted that stringers would step out (not down) from deck. I refuted the abnormality. Top step was cut off; stringers don’t reach concrete. Instead of extending pad or redoing stringers, an ugly post was set. Std: Stairs treads w/o gaps. No overhangs. AFFD: Stringer cuts forgot stairs' fascia; treads weren’t 11+”. Gaps added to meet code -> stair noses >1.25", ie trip hazards. FYI Use rise-to-run guidelines. Std: 42” deck railings. 34-38” stair railings ABOVE boards. AFFD: 44” deck railings. Didn’t supply 34” stair railings; boards grossly notched to lower height, which start at 44”! Std: Posts sit on existing FINISHED concrete pads. (LOL) AFFD: Post had no contact with pad (after removing makeshift shams to hide the blunder) ie ZERO deck weight on ground. Todd asked if this was okay [to not deal with]. Post not corrected at start. Rough concrete poured atop pad to meet post. Ew. Std: 16" oc MAX joist spacing (Trex specs). AFFD: 7 of 13 spacings are >16". No blocking. Add 1 or 2 joists = ~15.5" or 14" spacings. Todd said his ways are “affordable” and “economical”. Eek. Best: Competitor contracts: "12-in joist spacings", "blocking", “glulam beam”. Std: Trex Cocktail Rail Kit (full-width support, hidden fasteners). AFFD: 5.5" wavy floor boards nailed to 1" rail. Visible screws, rough shavings, corner gaps, no support eg 2x4s to flatten board. No countersunk screws and putty to hide nails. Std: Professional aesthetics. AFFD: Not spraying railing cuts = RUST. No continuity in stairs fascia to meet deck edge. Silver bolts on black railings. Posts unequal distance from deck edges. Cedar’s shorter lifespan requires staining / maintenance < Trex’s composite fascia. Std: Disclosure of unforeseen issues. Protocols. Loyal crews. AFFD: Crew wasted a day plotting makeshift repairs after causing roof damage. Licensed roofer was furious about erroneously-cut flashing. Roofers returned after crew again made damaging cuts where told not to. Zero acknowledgement from Todd. AFFD: Crew noted holes in house’s ceiling after removing joist nails. No repairmen references. Not-our-problem mentality. AFFD: 15+ days by 2 tired guys: the hire + his actual neighbor. Ditto to reviewer compelled to supervise. Days start late, end after 7pm. My neighbors had 5 deck builders who left by 6pm still jolly. AFFD: Non-recyclables in recycling bin. Concrete and stinky liquid in trash bin. Cigarette butts, nails, and construction debris across yard. AFFD: Crew won’t tell owner about gray areas and errors in judgments. One unsure if he'd get paid wth. Std: Professionalism. AFFD: No final walkthroughs. Owner ignores items in emails. Condescending; when I climbed a ladder re an issue (that I called a roofer to fix), Todd muttered that I was “an inspector, eh”. Instead of talking measurements, Todd’s retort was “I’m the owner of a deck company”, as if titles alone grant proficiency. Labor is hired out, crew turnover is high. Workmanship depends on whoever is outsourced, who aren’t deck builders so much as guys who "have built decks before". Expect no corrections on what Todd Ratajik deems as "good enough".

Great job and great attention to detail

The work started on time and finished without interruptions. We had to call them back for a minor adjustment. The contractor provided the adjustment in a timely manner.

The service was excellent. They were on time, on schedule, and on budget. It was good.

This company was very responsive. Todd Ratajik met us at the property right on time. He gave us a bid that was acceptable and finished the work on time. The deck looks 100% better. He replaced some rotten boards, took down the old railing and installed a lovely railing. He also built sturdy stairs coming off the deck. We, and our tenants, were very pleased.

Outstanding job overall! The crew came out and completed the job in one day. They took care to protect the pool and other backyard items from getting covered in stain. To stain the partitions they needed to access our neighbor's yard. The crew took the same care to protect our neighbor's yard and pool as they did with ours.

It went well, Todd came out and did the estimate and assessment the day after contacting him and the price worked for us. They then came out and power washed followed by application of the stain. Their prep work prior to the staining portion was very meticulous and the stain job looks great. The team was very respectful and easy to chat with and they cleaned everything up after completing the job. The job looks great and we were very happy with the work.

I contacted several companies and Todd at custom deck and staining was the first to respond. He came with his crew on Friday morning as agreed and finished everything in one day. It all came out so beautifully I had forgotten how much I enjoy my back yard. Hope the weather holds out because I want to barbeque this weekend. I amy very satisfied with the job and the price. Getting the mold off the lime stone steps to the pool was more difficult and required special treatment but they didnt charge any extra.

OK, had to have them back out for deck finish peeling.

Todd and his team did a fantastic job! They worked quickly and efficiently, and took extra care to make sure the job was done right. We plan to hire them again in the future. Highly recommended!

Read above. Horrid job. It is going to cost more than double the price to have decks professionally redone. Todd's comment was, "It's not one of our better jobs. It must be your wood."

Excellent! Todd was very professional and he was quick to communicate and answer any questions I had. Our garage now looks better than ever. I highly recommend this company!

I really enjoyed this project. Todd quickly responded to my initial bid invitation, coming to our home within 24 hours of my first contact. He surveyed the property and, at my request, gave me a couple of different quotes based on (1) me doing part of the job myself, or (2) allowing Todd to perform the entire job. Since we were looking at 326 linear ft, coupled with the fact that this was a brand new fence, it was an easy decision to let Todd take on the entire project. He arrived on time and spent the first couple of hours taping off the steel fence posts, house siding, A/C units, and other surfaces to protect them from overspray. He also took care to protect the adjoining neighbors’ properties as well. After the staining process started, he worked tirelessly through the afternoon and into the early evening hours to complete the job. The result was an awesome fence. We have already received a number of comments from the neighbors as they pass by. Thanks, Todd, for a job well done!

Todd came out to give us a bid on staining our brand new deck and pergola. He was responsive, punctual, and was great at answering all of my follow-up questions once we got the bid. We ultimately chose a different company for our staining project, but the bidding process with Todd was very professional.

If he had a problem, he should have let me husband know. Instead, he just didn't send the estimate. When I called to inquire, he let me have it. Made me feel like because I am a woman, he was willing to be completely rude to me. I see good reviews for his work, but if he is going to get bent out of shape by the estimate process, perhaps he should choose a different line of work.

I had a great experience with Todd and Dustin. I shopped around for the top 3 companies with the most credible reviews. A couple other companies responded with very high estimates and another was close to performing the service, but cancelled (perhaps wisely on their part) due to some difficult parts of the property. Todd was very responsive and took time to explain how they would avoid potential problems. We had multiple postponements due to weather, but he always gave me reasonable notices and expectations. Dustin did all of the labor, which came out well. There were only 2 overspray spots that he quickly cleaned. I would have expected dozens of oversprays and so I was pleasantly surprised. Overall, I would recommend them and use them again.

I must first apologize for the delay in my recommendation. Seems the days go by and it’s on my list to do, but my very busy schedule created a challenge. So here we are finally.... Within a few hours of seeking a services company on Angie's List to stain our new fence, Todd was one of the very first to reply with his interest in bidding. We scheduled immediately for Todd to come out to the house to provide us a quote. Todd showed up just as he said on time (as scheduled) even though his drive was at least an hour. Being on time is a very big pet peeve of mine! Anyway Todd was very friendly and professional and was able to provide some recommendations, which were very helpful since this is not something a homeowner does often at all. Todd arrived again as expected when he was to work the job. What impressed me immediately with Todd was that he took the time to cover plants, trees, and side of our house along with taping areas of the fence. The effort he put into the prep work before certainly made a difference and there was almost no area in our yard or house that had stain where it was not supposed to be. Anyway, the same day (which was about 98 degrees by the way); Todd started the application portion of the project. By the end of this very hot day day he had completed the work. This was nice to have it done in a day! The outcome was better than I expected and we are very happy that our new fence will be protected and looks great for years to come. It's also great to have our neighbors comment on how good our fence looks! In fact, my new neighbors had Todd over within the next week to stain their new fence since they had just completed construction on the new house. I watched Todd that day as well and again impressed on his effort to prep the fence prior to staining. I did not know that a pressure washer could be so handy! Anyway - I got sidetracked with that. Todd is very professional and does great work. I would highly recommend Custom Deck and Stain anytime.

Todd was very prompt and did a very thorough job. Even though I did not have enough stain, which caused him to have to break down all his equipment and set it up again (an extra day), he did not charge (or complain) for the additional hassle. He was a gentleman and I will certainly use him in the future when it is time to stain my deck. He even came back to check if there were streaks or unevenness the day after I paid him. A perfect 10 !

Highly recommend Todd and his crew.

Todd was great! I watched from distance as Todd did the power washing. I was immediately struck with how conscientious he was in making sure all the tight corners, small spaces and the top of the fence were cleaned. On time, courteous and easy to talk with, I would highly recommend Todd. As I said previously, he was as conscientious a worker as I have seen. It was refreshing to know there are people who still take pride in their work. We have full confidence he will have the same fastidiousness with the stain as he did with the power washing. The fence looks great. Now we wait for the staining.

Todd was not only professional and polite, but he arrived for both the estimate and day of service on time. Todd does quality work and takes pride in the services he provides. Todd was able to breathe new life into our almost 8 year old fence. We plan on having him come out next month to stain the fence once my wife and I pick a color.

The owner gave us choices as to the types and colors of the stain and explained the differences. He showed up on time and prepared well for the project in taping and protecting our landscaping and areas on the exterior of the house. He showed great attention to detail and addressed any questions or concerns we had. We had "lattice work" under the deck which required hand painting which was done meticulously. He came back to check the job after the work was completed, to recheck if anything needed to be retouched. At the end, he showed us the work and was committed to our being 100% satisfied and we were!! We have recommended Custom Deck and Fence Staining to several of our friends and they also were very pleased with the degree of professionalism and excellence of the work.

Todd Ratajik is great to work with and did a beautiful job.

Todd was canvassing my neighborhood when he stopped at my house. I had a year old cedar fence installed that I knew should be stained. The price Todd quoted was quite a lot less than that quoted by the company that painted my house nine years previously. Todd spent two days power washing and staining my fence. But for a rain delay in between washing and staining, the days would have been consecutive. Todd was timely, professional, and competent. His work was so good that my neighbors engaged him for their deck and fence work immediately after mine was completed. I told Todd I had additional work for him after my chimney was repaired. Obviously, I would not hesitate to use and recommend Todd for deck and fence work.