SUNBURST CONSTRUCTION

Terrible customer focus. Took several days to get to speak with someone. Then they did a no show (with no call) on the estimate appointment. I contacted them and was told the estimator had car trouble and would contact me to reschedule. Then NOTHING. I emailed them to thank them for saving me from even considering them for the work.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Anyone who is considering hiring Sunburst Construction, I urge you to reconsider. I would love to share my experience with you as a recent large deck customer with construction knowledge. I have pictures and text/audio messages that will dissuade anyone from using them. In full disclosure, I have paid them approximately $24K of a $29K job at this point. There are so many issues with the deck that we are withholding the last payment until they are resolved. - After 3 failed inspections from Loudoun County, the owner, Fred, finally came to my home to review the job at my request. While he was here, he tried to strong-arm me for payment before the Loudoun County inspection was complete. When I told him that I cannot make the next payment until the inspection was approved, he became irate and physically threatening. He started yelling/cursing at the top of his lungs and when I asked him to leave my property, he refused multiple times. I actually had to call the police to get him to leave my home. I’ve never had someone be so unprofessional and rude. - Sunburst submitted incorrect plans to the county multiple times to try to avoid paying for permits/plan review. The County Inspector actually told me that I should be “very concerned” about what’s happening (Loudoun County’s Office of Building Inspection was fantastic by the way). I had to escalate the issues to the chief building inspector at Loudoun County who said that he was also “very concerned about the build”. - Sunburst used improper post-to-beam connections and the county made them remove the posts, dig up the footings and re-pour them. On the process of repouring the footings, Sunburst suggested a shortcut to remedy the situation that is against all residential building code (pouring new concrete on top of the old concrete footings). I was aware that what they were suggesting was not only against code, but extremely dangerous. Most catastrophic deck failures are due to improper footings or improper ledger board fastenings to the house. - Sunburst did not use proper lateral bracing and the County made them seek a 3rd party structural engineer on how to correct their mistakes. The County stated that Sunburst failed to include the proper lateral bracing on the deck via their submitted design; and that such bracing was required by residential building code for a free-standing deck. Essentially, the deck could fall over due to lateral movement if the proper bracing was not installed. The engineer required them to install 4 foot Steel T-brackets on every post. These large steel brackets changed the overall design of the deck significantly. - The final deck design is significantly different from the drawings/framing plans in our contract; Sunburst stated that they can’t fix it without charging me more money. This difference is a result of poor planning. The railing is inset almost a foot from the edge of the deck and looks awful. I’ve had friends actually point out the design issue and ask why they built it that way. - The job took 2 months to complete. The crew showed up 7 out of ~50 days to work (the job was quoted to be up to 14 days). This was not weather related; they didn’t show up to work on days where it was 75 degrees and sunny. They simply didn’t care. I had a half built deck on my home (on temporary bracing) for a month. - the deck joist framing is bowed and it’s causing large amounts of rain to pool on the deck boards in certain areas. I asked them to correct the issue so that I don’t have a warranty issue in the future. No response yet. In the end, the county approved the inspection of the deck, but the county cited that “building code is the bare minimum for construction quality...and they had a hard time passing the minimum code requirements”. Most customers likely would not have recognized the deficiencies in the build quality, so I wanted to pass this along so that it may help others as they choose a contractor. I truest wish that I used another contractor. Don’t let this happen to you.

We used Sunburst to renovate our existing 25 + year old deck using Trex materials. From the first contact with the sales rep until the project was completed our experience was positive. Everyone we dealt with at Sunburst was very professional. The salesman and project manager both kept in touch and visited during construction and the carpenters worked quickly, efficiently and kept any mess to a minimum. We really appreciated that! There were a couple very minor issues with details but they were resolved immediately. Our deck looks beautiful! We highly recommend Sunburst Construction’’

I had the pleasure of working with Sunburst Construction (B. Janjic) to design/build my deck last month. The entire process from start to finish was amazing! I received a lot of estimates; however Sunburst really worked with me to fine tune my overall design ideas and pricing. They were truly professional throughout the proces, and B. Janjic was so timely with his responses to the plethora of questions I had. The construction process was quick and very efficient. The crew showed up everyday (even during snow days), and really exceeded my expectations. The quality of the materials and workmanship was very important to me, and they definitely delivered on both. I would highly recommend Sunburst Construction, and I will definitely use them for Phase II of my outdoor projects. I can’t wait for spring, so I can enjoy the deck/porch!

The project went very well. The team was on time every day and left the backyard neat before they left in the evening. We ran into a few unexpected problems as often happens during construction, but the team did a great job working through them with us and the end result was stunning. We needed the deck for a party and they brought in extra teams to finish the final details up the Friday before our event.

Overall...great. Phase 1: Initial sales call was great. The salesman took the time to get multiple measurements and provided us with many ideas for our screened-in deck. I had 5 estimates done. Sunburst was not the cheapest, but they were not the most expensive by far. Overall good value. Phase 2: All permit paperwork was handled by Sunburst. They assisted with HOA paperwork which was a big help. Phase 3: Construction was no problem. The crew showed up every day and worked hard. They did clean up after each day. They did not work on one day due to high winds...not a problem. All county inspections were handled by them and there was not a problem. The crews that did roofing, electrical, and gutters were also very good. Phase 4: I had a very short punch list which they handled with no problems. I did have some PVC wrapping come lose in one area and they came out and fixed it at no cost. Overall, customer support was excellent. I have received many positive compliments about the final product. My neighbors also commented on how hard the crew worked during construction. I would recommend Sunburst for this type of work.

This experience with Sunburst has been the worst I have ever had with a contracting company. They are unable to communicate, return a call, provide dates, anything you would expect a company to do when you pay them for a service. We signed papers in April, it is now September. We have had a "completed" deck for just about a month now and our punch list is not done and the large dumpster is still in my driveway. It has taken repeated, and repeated, calls to the main office to get any type of movement and they still cannot be bothered to provide firm dates or reliable communication. I am just floored at the total and complete lack of respect for my time and the hoops they made us jump through to get what should be the easiest part of any service.. simple communications. I would highly recommend looking elsewhere for a deck then Sunburst. They are by no means the cheapest so I had high expectations of service with the high price tag of the deck. To be fair, the deck is nice and we are happy with that (mostly). I just cannot recommend a company that treats thier customers like annoyances instead of actual people, paying actual money for a service.

We worked with Chad and had a very good experience planning and designing our project. He is very knowledgeable and responsive and great to work with. We ended up selecting another contractor, but Sunburst did such a great job on the pre-sale process that we would not hesitate to recommend them and Chad if you want to build a porch, deck or patio. thanks guys!

We met with Chad on 3 or 4 September 2015 for a quote on a screened in porch and patio. He arrived at our home on time and took a lot of time to talk to us about what we envisioned and how he could execute it to perfection. We did not feel rushed at all and felt like he was very thorough because he kept saying I'll add this and that on the quote so you can see the difference. At the time I was thinking he was creating a lot of extra work for himself but since he brought it up and agreed to it I was not going to say no. Chad mentioned it was a holiday weekend so he wouldn't be able to give us the quote until next week. We understood and agreed. As of 15 September, a Tuesday we still had no quote from him. I called him to see if maybe he had the wrong email address. He gave me what seemed like an honest answer that he is the President for the Miami Dolphin fan club and was really busy planning a tailgate where 500 people showed up. It wasn't a great excuse considering for a week instead of working like everyone else has to do he was doing an extracurricular activity but it was honest and I appreciated it. He told me he would work on the quote and have it to me either that night or the next day. On Saturday,19 September, still no quote. Now I'm annoyed. This time I emailed him and he promptly replied there was a sudden death of a close friend on Tuesday which was why he had not gotten around to it and he assured me again he would send me the quote on Sunday. Now it's Monday, 21 September, and guess what still no quote. We finally received the quote on 22 September. My husband had some questions about it, because what Chad promised wasn't all there so my husband emailed him on 8 October. We have never heard back from him and the quote has now expired. We've decided to use a different company that takes pride in their costumer service and still produces a great product.

Chad was our designer and I met with him multiple times throughout the first few weeks to discuss what we had envisioned and to go over the multiple design ideas until we were able to decide on exactly what we wanted. Chad was very professional and made the time for us, never rushing us at any time throughout the design process. At first we were really set on just having a deck built but we also really wanted a fire pit. Chad had a lot of great ideas and had made the suggestion of having a deck with a patio (with a built-in fire pit) built right off of the deck. We quickly fell in love with the concept and design and Chad had made a suggestion as to a special design for the stairs leading down to our patio that they had created for another customer who had a similar layout which would provide us with more patio space and less stairs. Chad provided me with the customers address and I drove the 45 minutes to her residence to look at her stair design. I liked it and informed Chad in an email that I liked the way her stairs had been built and that I wanted the same. Chad responded via email that this design would require more footers and support but would have less railing and decking material than what was currently in my proposal and that the cost would be a "wash." This is where the problems started. I had cut Chad a check to start the work and on ground breaking day, a crew came out and marked my lawn where the holes for the footers were to be dug. I noticed that the footers for the stairs looked like the old design and not for the ones that I informed Chad that I wanted. I informed the on-site foreman who in turn contacted Chad to come out. When Chad arrived, I informed him that this was not what we agreed upon and that there was clearly a misunderstanding. Chad, who seemed to be willing to anything and everything for us before receiving a signed contract now seemed to be irritated and this is where his attitude changed throughout the rest of the installation process. He appeared to be trying to do what he could to remain professional but I could see right through the show that he was putting on for me. I actually received a text from him which Chad thought he had sent to his boss discussing the stair issues. Let's just say the attitude was expressed in that text. Chad and his boss decided to build the stairs the way I wanted them (this was the only option in my opinion) but charged me extra when at first Chad had informed me that the design change was going to be a wash. From this point on, Chad was very short with me and would not give me the time of day when I had attempted to reach out to him during the construction phase. Chad tried to explain that he was only in the design part but I felt this was the guy that I had spent a lot of time dealing with designing everything and became to really like and trust therefore I felt that even if that was the case he still should have been there for me like he was before he got my money. As for the construction of the work, there was a separate crew that built the deck and that built the patio. Both crews were very professional and did an amazing job! I could not have been more pleased with how the deck and patio looked once they were built and I couldn't believe how fast the work was completed. However, I now ran into another major snag with the company. They are great with the construction part but I would highly recommend that you don't hire them to install your deck lighting. They even admitted that this is not their area of expertise and it showed in their work. All of my lighting for my steps and posts were wired by twisting the bare copper wires together and then loosely wrapping black electrical tape around them. Not to mention that the wires were not properly connected to my 600 watt transformer so the very first night I had them come on after spending $34,000 on my project, 1/2 of the lights were so dim in comparison to the others. I made multiple calls to them and each time they were not sure what the problem was but more importantly, how to fix it. They suggested that maybe the light bulbs (which they installed) were bad but really had no clue about what to do. To put the final touches on my backyard makeover, I had hired a guy (Keda with Nupen Lighting) to come out to install some landscape lighting for me and I explained to him the problems I was experiencing with my deck lighting. He kindly offered to crawl under my deck to take a look and within seconds he was able to determine the multiple problems. 1) The way the lights were wired was completely wrong which is why only 1/2 of my lights worked properly. 2) He informed me that I was asking for trouble with the wires being wrapped in electrical tape as they will quickly corrode and will stop working all together. He mentioned that special caps with silicone inside of each should have been used instead to protect the copper. I contacted Sunburst to inform them about his recommendation and their response was, "Well this is the way we've always been doing it and we've never had a problem before." I tried to explain to them that I was not satisfied with the way they installed it and after giving them $34,000 that I wanted it to be fixed and done the right way. There was some hesitation but they eventually sent a guy out to replace the tape with the caps. An entire section of stairs were never replaced with the silicon caps and the caps that were used were too small so copper was still exposed to the elements. I contacted Keda again and he came out on his own time to look at their work. He was quick to point out again that it was still wrong and that I would have problems. I contacted Sunburst and told them that at this point I was done with giving them a chance to fix the problem and that I was going to hire Keda to do the work. I could not have been more disappointed with the way they handled both the issues with my stair design and lighting issues. They had so much potential for me to give them so many leads for future work but blew it as far as I am concerned with the way they handled these issues. Everyone that we've had over to our house has loved the way our deck and patio looks but my story about my experience has been shared with each of them. If you don't want to go through the problems that I had to with them then I would highly recommend that if you decide to hire them to build your deck or patio that you consider hiring someone else to do the lighting. Keda was willing to have done all of my deck lighting as well but unfortunately I had already had it installed and had paid for it with Sunburst. Keda was able to tie all of my deck lighting into with his and put them all on to his transformer which he installed for me. I could not have been happier with his work!

Overall, I am very pleased with the deck. Both the sales person and the construction supervisors were easy to work with. I had a couple small issues at the beginning of the construction and I was very pleased the Sunburst's attentiveness to my concerns and their willingness to resolve my concerns (which were small in the grand scheme of things). I soon learned that wood decks require a lot more work on the owners part. I spent 2 days adding protective sealant to the deck and had to go buy a paint sprayer to assist in the effort. But considering the price savings I incurred by building a wooden deck, I still would opt for wood and the extra work over a composite deck.

I called Sunburst for an estimate after seeing the deck and patio they had built for a neighbor. Andre came by to see the location and discuss options; he emailed the proposal (exactly as we had agreed) and estimate back after a few days. It took several weeks to get on their work schedule because we needed to submit the plan to HOA for approval before signing a contract. Corey came by the day work started and laid out the area for the workers who showed up minutes later and worked steadily all day and into the evening. They were able to complete the whole project in two days which involved removing a lot of grass and rocks that were under the sod before the construction part could actually begin. They poured footing for the edges and leveled out the slope with base material and sand under the pavers so it is a good solid surface. We are very pleased with the final result and thank Andre, Corey, and, especially, the excellent crew for a professional job and our nice new patio.

We were very satisfied with the experience from start to finish. Our salesman, Chad, was in contact with us every step of the way. He was able to come out to the site to discuss material choices, layout, lighting, etc... prior to and during construction. We never felt like we were alone at anytime during the process. We are very please with the way Chad handled the process and would certainly build with Sunburst again. During the construction phase, the workers were very prompt, polite, and obviously very skilled at there respective trades. All work was completed in a timely manner and never did we have to complain about a mess in the back yard when they left for the day. Once the work was completed we did a thorough walk through of the project and were given information on how to maintain the different materials and paperwork regarding any warranties. Being an home inspector, I have a very good eye for detail, and was very pleased with the final result.

Sunburst were on time to start the job. We were impressed by everyone from Rosanne in the office, the salesman, project manager, supervisor and the install crew. The deck was completed in a timely manner. The project manager and supervisor came by the project several times to check if we had any issues to be addressed. Walter, crew chief, took so much care in building the stairs. He had to cut a blue stone in the walk to get a good fit and also custom made a small step at our patio door. Sunburst's attention to detail was amazing! An example: where any screws were used the crew made custom plugs from the Trex to cover the screw heads. This is the final deck that we will ever need. We love our new deck and highly recommend Sunburst Construction. They exceeded our expectations from start to finish!

We purchased a new hot tub and the existing deck was not strong enough to hold it. We decided to get a paver stone patio installed. We contacted Sunburst after seeing an ad in Valpak. Sales staff was very knowledge on all products inquired upon. Design services were excellent and creative. We decided to go with a matching walkway. Our house was in need of a new roof as well. After the salemans described the other carpentry services offered, we contracted our roof as well. Everything went smoothly, finished on time and on budget. Would highly recommend.

We had Sunburst Construction build a new deck for our house. We used a composite material. When we were selecting colors, the salesman (Dennis) suggested that we use a discontinued color to get a rebate. The rebate was based on square footage, and we recieved a check from the manufacturer in the mail, which was a nice. Also, we live in the Town of Herndon, which has building codes that supersede Fairfax County's. After the deck was built, the Herndon town inspector came by to inspect the deck. There were several issues they had with the deck, which normally would have passed if we lived in the county. The Sunburst rep informed me of these issues, and handled the changes that had to be made to the deck free of charge. He also dealt with the Town of Herndon throughout the process. It was a major headache for Sunburst, but they handled the situation without us having to get involved. When everything was resolved, they even filed a complaint against the Town of Herndon regarding their policies. Finally, we did not have a backdoor to the deck. We talked to the laborers to see if they could install a sliding glass door we bought from Lowes. The laborer was able to install the door as a side job, and did it for a reasonable price.

We've used Sunburst on a previous job, which was primarily why we choose them to do the work on the patio. All very professional from estimate to signing the contract. A few weeks later, after HOA approval and permits, Corey arrived with his crew. He went over the blueprints with us and asked if we had any questions. After they had a day to start lay out the project we reallized there were going to have to be a few changes. The changes caused them to use additional material, which should have resulted in additional cost. However, Corey noted that they probably should have caught the problem during the estimate and we would not be accountable for the extra costs. The job progressed along nicely, and when questions needed to be asked we were informed appropriately. As the work was progressing, Corey noticed that a draining issue might be cuased as a result of the patio. To ensure that patio would not restrict the natural water flow, they guys trenched a path for the water and placed three large 4" pipes so the water would flow nicely. This was also not a part of the original estimate, and also not charged to us. The final prodcut came out better than we anticipated and within a week, as promised. This is the second project we've had Sunburst work with us on and they will certainly be shortlisted for future work.

Where do I begin: Dec 2011 - I met with Sunburst Sales Rep, Michael Vaughn Feb 6, 2012 - Signed Contract to replace my existing deck, add all the electrical requirements, AND add a small patio with benches and fountain. Contract asked for 40% as a deposit, 40% at material drop and then 20% at the completion. At this point the Project Manager (Brian Colson) was suppose to take over and was supposed to be supervising my project every step of the way. I know when workers were there because my mother-in-law lives with us and was continually updating me as to who was there and when work was being done. The project was started and 95% finished by the 2nd week of March. That's when the fun begins. When installing the deck they didn't install the stairs properly therefore causing a missing step that needed to be repaired since it was connected to another flagstone patio. On several occasions, I told the workers that the steps were not aligned properly with the Sunburst Drawings but they told me that I had nothing to worry about. Of course throughout this entire month, Brian only visited my house once which was before they broke ground just to inspect. From the time the deck was partially completed, I made repeated calls to Mike the sales rep. due to the fact that I didn't even know how to get a hold of the project manager. Trust me I even called their office and was repeatedly told that he was out on a job, would get back to me, but the best one was that I had to sign a different contract for the pavers in order for them to proceed. That's when it got interesting. Just like when you negotiate to buy a group of items and they give you a package deal, well that is why I signed up with them. The contract was clear with every detail as to what I was getting. The problem was that they realized that they undercharged then entire project and then wanted me to sign a separate contract for the pavers. I was provided a breakdown of the costs and told that I needed to pay more for them to finish the job. I refused to separate the deck from the pavers and told them to finish the job. Due to my research, I knew that the cost remaining for the pavers and fountain was going to cost me about $15K to $20K more than the combined project. If I were to sign a separate contract then I know the chances of them walking out on the project was very high. Their contracts simply give them a way out but NO protection 0 protection to the consumer. They even dared to ask me to pay them an additional deposit so they would continue and I refused. I am not going to get into the 100s of emails I sent and received from Mike to discuss timelines, delivery, expectations. If you want them I have them saved. Brian was still nowhere to be found. One issue that was continually being blamed on me was the height of the fountain wall. The plan was to have a 6-foot wall (which was recommended by Sunburst) but due to code it could not because it was not a retaining wall. Just to be clear I did not suggest the height I only agreed to it. (Emails dating back to December 2011) They agreed to work the pavers, however delivery did not arrive until 5/24/2012. At that point they started digging on 5/30/2012. On 6/7/2012 it all looked like they would finish. On 6/13/12 - I received the caps to the wall and fountain after debating for weeks as to its delivery. On 6/15/2012 I mentioned to the workers that the fountain was not being built per the contract. I asked for two back piers of which none was being done. I had them stop and contact Mike because to this point there was no PM available. I was returning home practically every day to ensure things were being done right. Mike indeed realized that the two dimensional drawings did not capture the piers nor the height of the fountain wall nor the gradation of the ground. The company never took measurements therefore were forced to add more pavers to the wall than they estimated. 06/20/2012 - Electrical was installed (however later I will notice that one of the runs for the fountain 1hp pump which was specifically stated on the contract should have been 240 vice 120 volts. 06/27/2012 - The corrected piers were finally being built. 07/3/2012 - The installation of the fountain jet pvc pipes were being installed. Luckily I arrived on time before the concrete completely set that I was able to have them carve out 2 of the pipes and place them in the right location as they were initially installed incorrectly. I also noticed that the area for the pump to be hidden and where the cables were supposed to be was relatively small in size and I did not know how the pump was going to fit. OH well that is the other interesting thing. At this point in time the pump was NEVER ordered. I found that out after asking a bunch of times because I thought they needed the dimensions to build the area properly. After debating for some time they told me that it was ordered, blah, blah, blah. Turns out that the pump was not actually ordered until 6/28/12 and the delivery was not expected until 9/27/2012. As you know, one can't have a running fountain without a pump. 07/25/2012 - In addition to the pump one needs the jets and lights for the fountain to work. Well, this delivery didn't arrive until today. Here is the funny part of this delivery. The Crystal Fountain parts were all agreed upon back in February when the original contract was signed. After several discussions with Sunburst, I was told everything was ordered and awaiting delivery. Well in fact it was never ordered. I called Crystal Fountains and they specifically stated that no one had ordered anything. Sunburst mentioned that they placed an order through a third party but in fact no one sells the Crystal Fountain jets except for them. When I caught them in a lie, Mike was forced to come out of pocket and order the equipment that arrived on the 25th of July. Actually, according to the breakout of expenses that Brian Colson revealed to me, Mike was actually forced to pay for a bunch of the stuff in compensation for the overrun. Finally, after weeks of debate as to what was needed to be completed and the false hope of anything being delivered., I plain and simply had enough and asked to have the contract terminated. Brian tried to tell me that they did not agree to any of the terms I stated because the contract was not officially signed by Sunburst but only signed by Mike the sales rep. Brian didn’t have any defense in the matter because once they started work based on my deposit that specifically stated that they agreed to the terms otherwise they would not have started working especially when he was the project manager in charge. On 08/15/2012 I received the termination agreement. I tried to hire some folks to finish the job, however due to the sloppy work of Sunburst Construction I now found out that the electrical work was done wrong. It did NOT support the pump that was ordered therefore a new line had to be run to support the pump. MORE $$$$ MORE $$$$. In addition there is still a slow leak in the fountain area. You name it it went wrong. 11/12/12: I think I am just going to bite the bullet and finish it on my own 1 year later. The reason for the F rating is simple. Sunburst seems to live off of Bait and Switch tactics. If it isn’t in writing and on the contract then they can claim ignorance and try to up-charge you. I was very particular to include the actual part numbers and expectations of everything on the contract or attached to the contract as I did with the Crystal Fountain Parts. I also recommend sending emails back and forth rather than making phone calls as there is now proof of receipt and agreement between parties. In addition, I have pictures and videos of the deliveries and progress throughout. Since the contract really doesn’t protect you then one must protect oneself. The issue lies within Sunburst Company and their tactics. The bottom line is if the company has low balled you and they realize that more money is needed to complete the job then expect two things: return calls are very hard to get - they use the caller id to their advantage and don't return calls (I sometimes surprised them by calling from a different number) and second they will try to make you modify the contract in order to have you agree that a change was needed for the upcharge. The final thing that basically had me blow up was when they stated that I never had a real contract because no one from Sunburst signed it. FYI, the person who sells the job, in my case Mike, is subcontracted and not an official employee. The issue they had is that they started work anyway. Buyer Beware.

My experience with Sunburst was outstanding from beginning to end! I was working with Chad and Andre to have a deck built on my townhouse. They knew that I wanted synthetic boards and wanted to keep cost low so they sat down with me and reviewed multiple options. I ended up picking a “hybrid” deck with synthetic top facing boards and a wooden frame that fit perfectly in my budget. The construction was phenomenal and the service was equally great. I was leaving on vacation and had trouble getting the necessary permits in time. Chad told me to go enjoy my vacation and he would take care of everything for me. Five hours into my trip I got a call from Chad to inform me that he had all of the permits and better yet…. I would be able to enjoy my new deck as soon as I got back from vacation! I wasn’t expecting them to be able to build it so quickly. Sure enough, a week later I was standing on my new deck with my wife. That’s not the only thing that impressed me. I was very appreciative that Chad asked if I wanted him to call while I was away to give me updates and I of course said yes. He called a couple of times (that’s all that was needed because they finished the project in three days) to keep me in the loop. Chad walked through to project with us and explained how the job went, how to take care of my new outside space and told me to call him if I ever needed anything. It was a great experience to be working with a contractor that had enough sense to take care of issues quickly, keep the client informed, educate the client on care instructions and complete the job fast. The attention to detail was great and the clean up after was fantastic. Other than the great new deck in the back yard, there was no other evidence that they were even there. I recommend Sunburst strongly and they will have my business going forward!

Overall I couldn't have asked for a smoother, easier or faster experience. A good friend of mine used them last year and worked with Chad one of their designers who helped them put together a beautiful screen room and a patio. I got in touch with him and he was able to come out to see me rather quickly. I let him know right away about my budget constraints but more importantly that I had seen some old bad reviews on here. He assured me immediately that the people running the company then thankfully had all been let go quite some time ago and that they hadn't had any issues since. I was also able to go see a few jobs they did in my area. After seeing their work especially my friends and having him be able to get me what I wanted in the price range I needed to be I knew they would be right for me. From start to finish it was so easy, it took longer for me to get my HOA approval then it did for the rest of the entire process. Their crew started on a Wed morning and they were done in time for me to be able to have friends over that weekend for a bbq. They cleaned up and had the whole thing was done by the time I got home from work on Friday. I highly recommend using them.

We didn't have a good experience at all with them. The workers that came everyday were great. The guys whom we worked with were absolutely phenomenal. There was an issue with the co-ordination part between the management and the workers. We also had issues with the materials and the mold stains. They were supposed to waterproof certain parts from underneath my deck and that was done poorly, and it dripped and drained and leaked really bad. They came out a couple of times and looked at it and then they never came back. They just stopped calling me and stopped coming back. They never returned my calls. They basically disappeared. I thought they just ran out of business and just two weeks ago I saw them doing a deck up the street from my house. The construction aspect of it was great but the owner, the managers, the foreman's and the sales guys on the job were horrible. Their price was average. The workers were punctual and here everyday. However their managers never got the materials here and the workers were waiting three or four hours for the materials to be delivered. The materials were not delivered. They would come here three or four days in a row and just sit here and have nothing to do. The guy who owns this place doesn't care about building decks, he just wants his money. I would never use their services again in the future.

We highly recommend Sunburst Construction. We asked several contractors to give us proposals and then viewed their ratings on Angie's List and on Consumers Checkbook. Based on a customer review, we were not sure that we wanted Sunburst to quote. We notified Chad from Sunburst, who had visited us, that we weren't going to ask them to quote on the job after all. Chad expressed his disappointment in a very professional way and said that he would pass our concern to Sunburst's owner. Sunburst's owner called and explained that the customer review that we had seen was old and that Sunburst had since that time made changes including hiring a new field manager. The owner was very concerned with ensuring that we were aware of the quality of the work that they were doing now. He assured us that if they won the job, we would not have to pay until were were completely satisfied. We did let them quote. We talked with the references provided by the various contractors and looked at the work that they had done. We were impressed both by the quality of the workmanship that we saw at the Sunburst locations and by the customer's satisfaction in dealing with them. Based on a review of the references, Sunburst's assurances and a good price, we decided to let them have the contract. We couldn't have been more satisfied. They provided a timeline for starting and completing the job, and despite the fact that it rained almost every other day in April, they kept very close to their original estimate for completion. The crew which worked on the job was extremely courteous and professional. Chad, who had prepared the quote, called several times to ensure that we were satisfied with the job as it progressed. When the job was completed, we couldn't have been happier. We are very exacting when it comes to the quality of work performed on our house and were very pleased with the workmanship of Sunburst's crew. We would not hesitate to have them work for us again.

Not only were they the best price but they had the best customer service I have ever had in the home improvement field. Fred and Dennis were incredibly courteous and professional and answered all my questions without any attitude. Fred gave me a phone quote based on the measurements and there was no last minute increase. He came to our home to sign the contract where he answered even more of my questions and addressed all my concerns. The gentlemen showed a week later, they were all very polite and hardworking. They cleaned up after themselves and actually left the street where the had the sand and gravel cleaner than they had found it. We have never had this pleasant of a home improvement experience. Fred and Dennis kept us informed as to when the work would be done and exactly how they would be putting the patio down. And if I haven't mentioned it we LOVE our new patio. I can't wait until the weather starts cooperation so we can enjoy it more. Thank you Sunburst!

I would not recommend Sunburst as it was the most unpleasant experience I have ever had with a contractor. The time and effort I spent dealing with various people at this company in order to bring the project to completion was extremely frustrating After a lengthy ordeal, the job was completed to specifications, but the deck looks rickety and more than once people (including one of their own workers) have asked us how old our deck is, because it looks aged beyond its actual years. Part of the reason for this is that there wasn’t much attention paid to details. For example: in several places the handrail was poorly secured and sagged; screw holes were left unfilled; the safety gate was poorly built and wouldn’t latch; the wood they used is low quality has a lot of unsightly splits and imperfections; the paint job was very sloppy; and nails protrude. Another issue is that Sunburst did not do a very good job explaining the options concerning materials up front. We knew we wanted Trex flooring but weren’t sure what to use for the railing. Joe N., our salesperson, gave us a choice of vinyl or wood and we chose the latter based on his input that it was sturdier and, considering we have young children, would be safer. Regarding appearance, we were told “as long as you’re willing to do some touch up painting once a year, you won’t be able to tell the difference between painted wood and vinyl.” We also visited the showroom before we made the decision, but they only had a vinyl railing on display, so it was difficult to make a comparison. In retrospect, we wish we had used vinyl-wrapped wood, but that was never presented as an option by Sunburst and we didn’t learn it was something that could be done until after the project was complete. While I would grade the quality of the product as a bit below average, it was the poor responsiveness and professionalism of the people at Sunburst that is the real source of our dissatisfaction. Our initial dealings were with the manager, Bo K., who would fight tooth and nail every item on the punch list. He even attempted to argue they weren’t going to paint the entire deck even though it was a specific obligation in the contract. At some point we learned Bo had left Sunburst we were hopeful that the new manager, Andy G., might be more amenable to work with us. Unfortunately, Andy would repeatedly say he would do something only to fail to follow through. For those who only want the short version, seven months and dozens of phone calls and emails later the project was finally complete. In our opinion, the bottom line is you should avoid Sunburst Construction at all costs. For those who would like the longer version, with specifics of how absurdly Sunburst treats their customers, read on. After four unreturned messages I finally made initial contact with Andy and arranged for him to come out and review our deck. At this point I was still willing to give Sunburst the benefit of the doubt. I hoped to go over the remaining punch list as well as to discuss hiring them to upgrade some things we wished we had initially done differently. Andy told me he would email me a proposal by early the next week. Two weeks passed and there was no word from Andy so I began to call and left 10 voicemails over 12 days. When I finally reached him he said he didn’t return my calls because he didn’t like the tone of my voice and that he didn’t email me the proposal because they were having technical difficulties with their email. Andy said he would print out the proposal/punch list and leave a hard copy at my house within a few days. A week passed and there was no sign of the paperwork. After a couple messages, I reached Andy who claimed to have left the paperwork on our doorstep but that “it must have blown away.” I asked him why he didn’t leave it in the mailbox and he told me he “didn’t want it to get crumpled up.” He then told me to email him and he would reply with the documents attached. I emailed him that afternoon and I never heard back. As winter turned to spring, I decided to make a final attempt to close out the project and I was able to get the contact information for the owner of Sunburst Construction, Mr. Fred Small. Five months after I had emailed Andy a request for proposal, Fred came out to review my deck and brought Andy with him. We went over the list of warranty items to be fixed and Fred said they would have the work done in 5 to 10 days. Fred asked if I was still interested in a proposal for them to do some upgrade work, but by now I had concluded I would never again give Sunburst anymore of my business. Andy emailed me 11 days later to follow up and said they would be out the next sunny day (in fairness, it had been raining a lot). No one ever showed up and I never heard back from Andy. Three weeks later I called Fred to notify him the warranty work had not been done. He said he had presumed it was finished, and would check on it. Later that day I heard from Andy who said he would send a crew that day and that he would be there in person to make sure everything was complete. I left work early to check on things and when I arrived home a couple of workers were there, but not Andy. They didn’t have some of the materials to do one of the warranty items (support blocks to help with the sagging handrail). I spoke to Andy on the phone and he said he could come in three days to complete the final item himself. Eleven days passed and no one ever showed up (see a pattern developing here?), so I emailed him to check the status. Two days later he emailed back and said it would be done that day, but it was another no show. Nearly three weeks passed and when I called Andy he said he wasn’t aware it hadn’t been done (I’m not sure how he couldn’t know, since he said he was going to put the support blocks on himself), but that he would get it done “in the next day or two.” Six days later no one showed so I left three messages over the next week that were not returned. At this point, it became a matter of principle so I called Fred Small since going through him seems to be the only way to ever get anything done by Sunburst. He said he wasn’t aware there were still outstanding issues and he would have it taken care of. The next day, the support block was installed, the warranty list was complete, and that was the last I ever heard from Sunburst.

We signed the contract on June 12, 2009. Work was supposed to start on July 13, 2009. Work was expected to take 5 to 7 business day to complete, depending on the weather. After we started calling in mid-late July, our phone calls and e-mails (to "Andy" the foreman/engineer, and Fred the owner) were usually ignored, except for promised start dates that did not materialize. Sunburst began to remove the old deck on 8-4-09, but left piles of wood on our back lawn for about 1 week prior to removal. The real work started on Aug. 8th. The crew (which did not speak English beyond 6 or 8 words) had only a 2-dimentional drawing showing length and width. There was no drawing showing height (elevation). Consequently, we were constantly being asked what we wanted them to build. Phone calls to the foreman went unanswered most of the time. Work would continue for 2 or 3 days, and then the crew would disappear for 3 or 4 days. The crew was not provided restroom facilities by the company, so the crew occasionally relieved themselves at various places in our back yard. Most of the time, the crew chief would leave the other workers and go to another work site. Again, nobody spoke English beyond "hello, yes, and no." Work continued through the end of August. After the patio stone was installed, we realized that the color of the stone was different from the stone that we had ordered and was specified in the contract. After discussing this discrepancy with the owner, we were told that the installed stone was "the same stone" that we ordered. We were told that the difference was that different companies called their stone by different names, and the stone that we saw at the distributor's office was "weathered" and therefore had a different color. After investigating, we were able to determine that the installed stone cost $4 per square foot compared to the stone that we specified in the contract ($8 per square foot.) After the patio was completed in the first week of September, we again questioned the difference in the stone prior to making the last payment. I asked for a $1,600 credit/refund to account for the difference in the cost of the stone (400 square feet x $4 per foot). The owner became hostile and abusive, and threatened to send a crew over to rip out the patio unless he was paid immediately. We made the final payment on 9-17-09, approximately 2 months after original planned start date. Overall, the final quality of the stone work is very good. However, since the "wrong" stone was installed, we can never be totally satisfied with the project. The process was painful. The crew was usually cooperative and eager to please, but the management was not.