Deckscapes of Virginia LLC

We got two estimates for the work and while Deckscapes was not the lowest cost their professionalism and obvious attention to details regarding permits was critical in us making the decision to use them. Todd was the designer/estimator and did an excellent job of presenting what the project would look like. They made on-site suggestions for minor modifications that were useful and did not cost any more money. The work was done quickly and in less time than they had estimated. The deck looks great.

My wife and I worked with Kevin. He is a great representative and pleasant to work with. He is in it 110% and it shows in his communication and work effort. He tried everything he could to get our business in a professional manner. The one negative about the process was that he was unwilling to leave sketches of his design with us. He used a computer program that was amazing but when he left the house, so did the drawing which made it hard to make comparisons on our time. He was willing to come out as much as possible, but this took time and didn't allow for my wife and I to just consider things on our own. Out of 4 companies, Deckscapes was the only one to do this. Kevin mentioned it was proprietary reasons, but when we mentioned that we favored a design by another company, because they were able to accomplish what we wanted with less support beams, he didn't waste time asking for their sketch. As for price, Kevin was willing to be very competitive, and wanting to win our business. In the end we felt more comfortable with another company, but Kevin was the main reason that they were our #2 choice.

Josh Desilets has not provided one ounce of assistance to facilitate a claim with his supplier (TAMKO). In my opinion, Deckscapes of Virginia LLC is a company that purposely and knowingly takes the path of least resistance. I am filing a claim directly with TAMKO and will select a different company to do the work on my deck.

Replaced both upper and lower decks to include adding a sunroom on the lower deck. We were very excited about hiring this company as they appeared to be very professional and on target with pricing with other companies. As they began the project, everything seemed to be going very well and the quality of the work was great. But, as time went on, the decking material used became a real problem - didn't seem to be the quality that we thought we were purchasing. Workers didn't seem to take the necessary care to ensure that wood product labels, bad sides, etc. were facing in a direction that could not be seen. Windows were not exactly what we ordered or thought we were getting based on the design. We had many, many complaints throughout the project and much wood had to be replaced and work had to be redone several times. The workers are not employees of the company. They are subcontractors which we are now not sure really had the experience needed to do our project. We would not recommend them to any one and would not use them again.

created a Kevin Kissal was very professional and a pleasure to work with. He was very creative and designed the deck of our dreams. He had great suggestions and listened to our ideas. The team at Deckscapes made the process very enjoyable. The crew that worked on our deck worked overtime to complete the project when we were delayed due to weather. We highly recommend Deckscapes and look forward to working with them again on future projects.

You get what you pay for. When Kevin arrived to discuss what we were looking for, he was professional, willing to listen, and worked well with our needs. We looked at two other companies and chose this one primarily because of Kevin. We knew we were getting a professional company and should have few worries during and after the job. We made the right choice. The addition turned out better than what we had imagined and we now enjoy our deck in the heat and the rain. We have recommended this company to neighbors and will continue to do so.

Pleasant sales experience, some pressure to sign right away to get a discount, but I didn't mind the discount. Very beautiful design. The actual work is performed by a subcontractor, which is a small family business. The gentlemen are artisans in every sense--meticulous, skilled, professional, intelligent, and gracious. They were in and out in a week, and the work was exquisite. Although they neglected to complete two details (cutting off some protruding lagbolts and replacing one panel over a step), the company sent someone to attend to the work within a couple of weeks. Competent people, very good overall experience in terms of engineering, aesthetics, and price. I never went out on the deck--I am constantly out on this patio and am building a butterfly garden around it. We went from a mess to a place of complete tranquility. Worth every cent.

I contacted Deckscapes because I had a water leak in my house. Hurricane Sandy brought water in through a gap under my rear 2nd level door into my kitchen subfloor. My insurance company suggested the issue might be deck related so I called several companies from Angie?s List to give me some recommendations. Unfortunately the deck would have to be removed to get at the problem and so I needed a company that could rebuild my deck exactly as it was in order to avoid home owner association issues. Kevin came out and took measurements and we discussed options, county code, and the real issue: water leaks. Kevin gave me an estimate and we moved forward with the work. Before we started I was VERY clear to Kevin and the on-site foreman Mark that my real issue was the water leak and not the deck. Getting a new deck was only necessary because of the leak and that water leak was my priority. Work began during Thanksgiving week and within a day I had several photos of the issues that were hidden by the original deck because they had removed the decking. We talked about options and then I had them stop work to get another company in that had just replaced my siding and door to look at the problem. Kevin and Mark were completely understanding about the need to stop. They gave me advice on how we might fix the leak and came out when I had other contractors there from the siding and door companies. They were advocates for me with the other companies and ultimately they ended up resolving the water leak issue. Once we had a leak solution they came right in and started rebuilding the deck. All told it took about 3 weeks to build the deck but only because of the delays in getting the leak fixed, siding repaired, and approval from my HOA for the composite materials we picked. Mark made several corrections with the workers during the process, having them replace a few pieces he didn't think looked good. Mark made sure the guys doing the work built a deck that he wanted, and I have to say the deck looks fantastic. We had a dinner party the Saturday before they finished the deck and even though it wasn't done every single person at dinner raved about how the deck looked. I cannot say enough about Kevin and Mark. Their willingness to work with my other contractors and schedule had to cost them money but they never complained. They answered every question I had, offered assistance where they could, and ultimately gave me an education that I would likely not have gotten otherwise. Their work is professional as is their way of doing business. Their concern that the customer?s expectations are being exceeded is a welcome change to the other contractors I have had work on the house. Would I hire them again? No question. No question whatsoever. Lots of companies can build a deck or a fence. This one cares.

Bottom line up front: excellent workmanship and quality, extremely poor communication. My wife and I contacted Deckscapes about re-doing a small patio and entrance stoop on our home (a Cape Cod built in 1943). The existing patio and stoop were in rough shape, and we were ready to fix and upgrade. Deckscapes was prompt with a visit for their initial estimate. That was the last good experience I had with them as far as planning/communicating went. They promptly sent us back an estimate, which did not reflect the work that we discussed. I let them know what was wrong and also asked them to price some less expensive options. Although they told me they'd fix the quote by the following day, they did not return an updated quote to me for more than a week. Eventually I had to call them to ask for it. When we signed the contract, I couldn't be present, so my wife signed. She recognized that the scope of work was still wrong. It did not show a railing that Deckscapes told us was required by code, and it had an extra set of steps that we did not want. The Deckscapes representative told us that the two would more or less cancel out, price-wise, and that he'd fix it. A few weeks later (faster than I expected, actually), Deckscapes contacted me to let me know work would start early the following week, and that I should expect a follow-up call with the details soon. The follow-up call never came, and no one showed up to do the work. I called them back on Monday or Tuesday, and they apologized. I was told that the work would likely start on Monday or Tuesday of the following week, with a follow-up call to coordinate the details beforehand. The exact same thing happened again, and work did not start when they said. Eventually, work began after I made another phone call. The gentlemen who actually demolished our existing patio and stoop and built the new ones were very professional and capable. I am very pleased with their workmanship. However - and this is a BIG however - Deckscapes never corrected the plan. We noticed immediately when they began to build the extra steps and told both the workers and the project manager. When the work was done, they had built the extra steps we didn't want and left out the code-required railings. We talked to the person in charge of our project, and he apologized. He told us he would do us a favor and give us the railings at cost - increasing the total of our project by nearly $1000. I don't think the company was deliberately trying to scam us or anything, but they are extremely poor communicators. If you use them, have patience and make absolutely, 100% sure that they know what you want and that you see it on paper. It was our mistake for not insisting on seeing an updated contract; don't fall into the same trap we did.

I was really impressed with the sales and service from start to finish. We had never had a deck built and were not familiar with all the ins and outs but the salesman Stephen was very helpful and patient. He answered all our questions, and provided pictures of other projects that helped us decide what we wanted. We had to wait a little long before the start date of the project because of we were at the height of their busy season and needed HOA approval before the project could begin. The work began on schedule and the work crew showed up on time every day and were very professional. The project was scheduled to last 2 weeks, but the work was completed in 5 days. There was a glitch with the lighting package, but that was no fault of the workers or the company. The FOB remote to the lights did not work, although the lights worked perfectly. The foreman Mark addressed the situation and was back the following day with a new remote sensor and remote. Now the lights and remote are working perfectly. The work crew left the work area clean and in the same condition as before. Everything that was discussed in the planning stage came together beautifully. We could not be happier with our deck. I would definitely recommend this company for your deck needs.

They are doing a great job. They will be working for the next couple of months. The price is pretty good because it is a pretty large deck. We are very pleased with everything so far. We would absolutely hire them again.

Steven came prepared to help us design a deck. He provided useful information regarding the different materials available, and deck styles. He was very helpful and gave us some great suggestions. He spent a lot of time pricing different options for us. The company is organized and knowlegable. They were able to meet the promised start date. The building crew was professional and clean. There was a misunderstanding on the railing style, but Deckscapes was willing to make the necessary modifications. They worked qucikly with great attention to detail. We have had several compliments on the workmanship and style. We love our deck and highly recommend Deckscapes.

They were great. I had received 4 quotes from different companies. Deckscapes was not the cheapest, but they were the most professional and trustworthy. The other quotes were obvious lowballs or rip offs. Deckscapes gave good advice about the materials to use and made suggestions for how to design the railing that was a big improvement over what we had envisioned. The crew arrived promptly every day and left the job site clean. The finished porch looks great.

all Company's response is that I did not inform them until the Angie's list review. This is not entirely true. The week following cleanup in question I tried unsuccessfully to inform the site manager, who did not return calls. When extra pavers were brought over, I informed the delivery man of the gasoline problem. This information was apparently not passed on to the company. The paving job was excellent. Company has since informed me they will no longer use leaky equipment and will comply with area environmental concerns. They seemed extremely concerned.

Originally we were going to just enclose the existing deck but every contractor suggested it be removed. Because of the 3rd story small porch off the master bedroom the roofline of the deck was a design nightmare so we decided to go with a two story deck of the same size, with a gazebo roof to match the house over the second story and the upper story incorporating the sitting area into the upper deck. The Pros 1. The workmen showed up practically every day at about 8AM and worked thru to 5:30 or 6:00 PM. One day their truck broke down and they didn;t come-i had to call the company and they then had to determine what had happened to the crew. The crew was very polite not disturbing in the least; they made some effort every day to keep the worksite neat. For the most part, the quality of their work was excellent. There was an issue with some trim work on the ceiling of the first level and it was addressed by the site foreman the next day. The Cons: 1. When we initially were looking at the final contract and discussed our budget for this project, once that number was out there we worked off the extra stuff (really GLAD we didn;t use their electrciian- I thought their quote was too much for the scope of work). Once we got the final price down to our budget and were ready to sign it was "oh, i forgot the $2500.00 for the removal of the old deck". so that just blew it right past the upper limit of what we had agreed to spend. I make a point of having some idea of the cost of a project based on several estimates of work and never tell contractors how much i have to spend because they will always spend it all and then some. 2. I had been shown pictures of a huge open porch and told that the drainage system in the ceiling would be hidden and look like a soffit. Well, the K gutter sort of does but the two drainpipes thru the deck ON THE INSIDE OF THE PORCH on either side of the doorway were certainly not "hidden" and looked ridiculous. We had to pay them an additional $1000. for a poor design correction and had to come up with the idea to hide the downspots inside the columns (2 of them) ourselves. Design Experts? 3. During the site visit by two company representatives to discuss the issues in item #2 my husband asked about the painting of the 2nd story ceiling and was told it would be rolled and brushed rather than sprayed. We were both very glad that it would be addressed appropriately so we would't have overspray on the screens, deck or house. The painters didn't show up on their scheduled day and came on a Saturday-I caught them hauling a compressor to the back of the house and was told they were spraying-I told them to stop and called the company-and got a "so and so misspoke" and we either take the spray paint job or they will give us a credit and we can deal with it ourselves. We took the credit and had it painted appropriately by a local company who did a great job. 4. They kept constantly insisting that my electrician "better get the work done or we get paid regardless of when the inspection is done" even though twice we had to cancel his work with us because the deck was not ready to be wired. My electrician did a great job on the deck and got his work done on time (he finished on a Saturday so the work would be complete and ready for the final inspection) and at considerable savings to me. 5. They insisted on a property plat for the permit. i sent them what i had-it was not a surveyors plat but something that all the homeowners got when they purchased their house and had been accepted by the county numerous times before for permit submissions by other homeowners, as i informed their representative when we sent it. And then i heard nothing until i finally called and asked what was going on since the start date was looming and i needed to submit the drawings (which i had yet to see or receive) to the homeowners association. Deckscapes suggested just moving forward without the association approval because their start date was so close-it was not my problem as i had given them what they needed and they dropped the ball and i refused to do it and had to request expedited service from the architectural review committee for the review. 6. The lawn-they wanted to leave their their debris trailer parked in the driveway outside the garages which made it difficult to get the cars in and out of the garage. they delivered materials and put them on the lawn next to the house (we requested this so that we could get in and out of the garage). They killed a 15 x 30 stretch of lawn alongside the driveway and a similar stretch in the back of the house where they piled up additional materials for use on the project. Stuff happens but there was no attempt at either laying some sod or having the spray-seed truck come by and try and get some new grass growing. When it is all said and done the double gallery is really beautifully done. As a former business owner, i always stood by what my employees said i would do for the fee quoted unless the difference was ridiculous. There was no difference in the cost of the paint job done on the roof but the cost of goodwill was significant. It seemed, since the project was near completion, they seemed more focused on getting paid than whether or not the customer was satisfied. Many of the issues here suggest a lack or organization (checklist of what needs to be done), poor communication (does anyone know how or when anything is done?) and focus on getting paid mores than getting the job done right. While any one of them would be considered minor, after 3 or 4 issues the whole flavor of the project began to change, and not for the better.

Kevin was our primary contact. Since we both work, he was very flexible to meet with us in the evening. He explained the basics around building a deck and then asked what we were thinking about, what was our vision. He sketched a basic idea and added a couple features. Then Kevin took photos of the back and measurements of the lot, as well as the interior of the family room. He returned less than a week later with some optional designs, from basic to high end. This provided us some ability to select and subtract to a final design. We then submitted our application to our local HOA (which took way too long) while Kevin scheduled for the permits and contruction. The construction was then turned over to a general foreman and workers who built the deck in the early Feb/March time frame. The site was generally clean and they picked up after themselves throughout construction. Like all projects, we had a couple incidents during construction but Deckscapes resolved them accordingly. In the end, we have a wonderful deck that everyone loves - ourselves, guests and neighbors. Its been several months now (sorry Kevin) and the deck is holding up without any complaints. I would recommend Deckscapes without question!

Our experience with Deckscapes was great. The company rep/estimator was informative and very helpful - no pressure. The crew arrived when said; materials delivered as said; finished in good time - considering there was some rainy days. The crew who did the work was very good. Everyone here in timely manner. They worked very well together. They were very neat - kept everything cleaned up around and answered any questions/concerns we had. The wood materials were as described - no 1 for post, stringers and pickets and "C" grade for deck and rail cap. The deck came out as designed and is beautiful. Looking forward to using next year.

Josh was very knowledgeable, accommodating, and professional. He worked closely with us to carefully design the porches to match out historic craftsman-style bungalow. During construction, we had a dedicated crew who came every day and worked diligently even in the searing summer heat. We are extremely pleased with the outcome; we LOVE our new outdoor room! The only glitch in the project was in the permitting. Both Josh & I initially misread the zoning ordinance, which lead to a delay of several months to get a variance to the code. Josh apologized and admitted that he was not as familiar with Arlington's code than with other local jurisdictions. To compensate us for the delay, Deckscapes paid for the county-required property survey. All of out interactions with Deckscapes' staff were professional and friendly. We did learn that calling was the most effective method of reaching Josh.

This was our first large construction project and we were nervous based on other horror stories from friends. All in all it went very well. The crew, who we requested based on a neighbor's project, was phenominal. They communicated clearly, were here everyday, respectful of our property and listened to our concerns. The job was finished, including punch list concerns, in 12 calendar days. Speed was a major factor in picking this company. The only area that we did not grade highly is communication/responsiveness. This was based on the communication of key requests of our project to the crew onsite. With that said, they identified the issue and let us know. We probably would not have realized until much later when we put in the patio that the design was different. Big kudos on ethical business practices. They corrected the issue without hesitation. There were also a few phone messages that were not returned. This would not deter us from hiring this company again. We would just conduct a quick review with the crew prior to start to ensure we are all on the same page. Overall, the quality, timeliness and results of this project exceeded our expectations. This company will be top of our list for future projects. We have not yet called for warranty work so we cannot comment at this time on that topic.

I am very pleased with the results except for the electrician employed by the company. I had a rough start with the project because Miss Utility did not correctly mark the utility lines in my backyard. Miss Utility did not mark my FIOS line. I left a voice message on Deckscapes office line when I came home that night and warned them that the FIOS line was not marked. This message was not passed to the work crew and when I came home from work the next day, my FIOS line had be cut. I left another message on the office line to not have anyone work in my yard until I spoke to someone in person. When the work crew showed up the next day (Saturday) I sent them home and told them not to return until I spoke to someone in the office. I finally spoke to someone by mid-day Monday. Work resumed and things went well until the electrician installed the ceiling fan and light. The fan wobbled at high speed. When I broght this up, the electrician blamed the design of the gazebo for not have enough clearance with the peaked ceiling. A longer stem was installed by the electrician on the ceiling fan and it still wobbles. I have made a second call into the company about this problem. The Deckscapes people do beautiful deck, gazebo and paver work. I am very happy with those results. I would not recommend their electrician for any electrical work. He is not a craftsman and he is not on the same level as their deck and paver crew.

I would strongly recommend Deckscapes. Kevin was very professional and patiently explained every detail of the project up front. He always answered his phone, and responded to any questions or concerns immediately. The guys that actually built the deck were always punctual, pleasant, professional, and worked diligently on the hottest days of the summer. The finished product is beautiful and well constructed. You can really tell the quality of the craftsmanship.

The Deckscapes crew handled the job extremely well and the deck turned out beautiful. Once construction started, the crew was fully dedicated to the job and they notified me ahead of time about the two days when they would have to be away from the job. After talking to the crews and seeing them work, it was clear that they knew their trade and they weren't going to just slap the deck together. The build quality and precision are excellent. Josh took care of the few (very) minor issues before project completion. The crew even made some extra repairs that were outside the scope of the contract for no charge.

They were very professional, and seemed to be very nice guys. They were very clear with their quote, but we are just not ready to do the project at this time.

He came and did not give me an estimate. I made an appointment for him to come but he did not show up. I called him and he did not respond. One day I got his message on my answering machine that he would be coming the next day. I didn’t call back as I was so disappointed by then. I would never use him in the future.

Received prompt professional response for estimate of work with a firm schedule to perform the job. The work crew were very experienced, courteous, and careful not to disturb any other aspects of our landscape. Additionally, they kept the work site very clean and orderly. All of the people we dealt with at Deckscapes of VA were courteous, professional and very responsive. I would definitely use them again.