Steam It Off

In a word: DISASTER. Contractor failed to clean the deck properly, leaving sharp lines at the end of each pressure-washing wand stroke (called "cut marks" in trade), then tried to sand out the marks, making them even bigger and more noticeable. Finally, in an attempt to cover the marks with stain, he coated the deck with FOUR coats of stain, making it look like it had been painted. (Remember, this was a nine-month-old deck, done with only top quality materials. We wanted to show off the wood, not paint it!) Rails were coated with anywhere from no stain to two coats (though the one section that had just one coat actually looked just like what we wanted.) The teak chairs were removed from the deck, never cleaned, and left in an area of the yard that floods. They have been destroyed by the waters. When we saw the deck heavily coated with the four coats of stain, we indicated that we wanted the waterborne stain removed immediately (it was still wet!). The contractor let it dry for three days, then attempted to remove it using an acid compound and hot water pressure washing, which caused the wood to shred and splinter. Pieces of shredded wood were stuck to my AC unit, fence, and other items. In the process, painter's tape was left on the AC pad, and is now permanently stuck, necessitating its replacement. Paint was peeled from the house, and overspray from staining has gone as high as the third row of clapboards, and has damaged the Azek trim. Our in-deck lighting system was also damaged and will need to be replaced. Realizing that he could not remove the stain, the contractor agreed that the decking would need to be replaced. He said he'd turn it over to his insurance company. After more than a month of waiting, we finally tracked down the insurance information and found out that (a)a claim had not been filed, and (b)his insurance did not cover malfeasance or damage done to anything he was contracted to work on, which was contrary to the listing service 10 Point Screening which assures customers that all contractors are properly licensed and insured. At this point, we face $3200 in expenses to restore our deck to the condition it was in when Steam It Off arrived, have lost four teak chairs, and have endured a summer without a usable deck. The contractor has not responded to phone calls or e-mails except for two weeks ago when he said be-mail that he was hoping to work something out to pay us for the damage. The listing service magically offered to help with mediation, but so far have only requested tons of documentation while providing us no answers to our questions. They also respond slowly to phone calls, but make big promises of help. We will update this information as things change, but for now, I'd recommend that you steer clear of this company.

It took close to a month to get the work done from when I selected this company. Part of that may have been due to weather, but certainly it shouldn't have taken this long. They didn't select a good match for the stain and had to redo it, at our request. They have no pride in their work and tried to overlook the poor color match. The step is an absolute disaster. When I complained I got a litany of excuses, then when I wanted the money back from the labor, I got, "Give us another chance--we stand by our work." Not worth the trouble to deal with them again. I'll have to pay someone else to fix it. The stain now matches, however, any place you put a piece of furniture on the deck it leaves a mark. Again, I'll have to pay someone else to fix that as well.