A.K. Custom Fence and Deck

We have worked with several different contractors since buying our house and AK Custom Fence and Deck are the only ones that consistently respond to questions and messages. They keep you updated every step of the way and go out of their way to make sure you get what you need. They even made time over their daughter's graduation weekend to meet with us and talk in detail about upkeep and stain choices. The work itself was beautiful, high-quality and completed efficiently. All the people who worked on the property were respectful and personable. And all questions we had were discussed with us immediately. Price was very reasonable and work was excellent. I really can't stress enough how much we appreciated how personal this company was. As two people who don't know much about construction — we had a ton of questions, but no one ever made us feel like a burden. An overall enjoyable experience from start to finish.

We hired them to build a ground level deck attached to our house, over an old concrete patio. We decided not to get a permit, based partly on their assurance that “we build all of our decks to code.” Unfortunately, they ignored most of the codes, which seriously compromised the structural integrity of the deck and put it at risk of collapse. Here’s a summary of the major code violations. I recommend you get a permit or at least familiarize yourself with the deck codes here: [*** Link removed ***] . The ledger was 2x6; minimum is 2x8. The ledger was attached to the house over the siding with no flashing, using LedgerLok brand structural screws spaced every 32” (required every 12”). They didn’t install any special tension hold down devices to handle lateral loads (like an earthquake). The joist span from the ledger to the first beam was 10’; the max is 9’. The joist cantilevers were 1’9”; maximum is 1’4”. Most of the beam spans were several inches over and two of the cantilevers were 4’, max is 1’. Parts of the deck were very unstable which is what prompted me to look up the codes in the first place. Kevin added some extra support posts but they weren’t to code either. The first joist row was nailed to the side of the house with no flashing. They didn’t slope the deck away from the house so when it rains most of the water runs toward the wall. The joist on the other end of the ledger didn’t have a required hanger and was only held on with one toenail from the top and two nails along the side. Code requires coating the cut ends of all pressure treated wood to prevent rot and pests; they didn’t do this at all. One of the steps was visibly out of level and filled with dirt from the post holes they dug (mold was already growing a week later). There were about 10-15 places where the deck screws were missing, and there were two 4’ sections on adjacent boards with no screws at all. The side of the deck wasn’t straight – the 10’ span was out of line by 1 ½”. They installed *almost* all of the trim with the rough side out (never asked my preference) - it turned out that the surfaced side was basically unusable on most of it. Overall their work was really sloppy. I brought up many of these issues (and others) directly to Kevin on two consecutive days. When I brought up the span and cantilever limits, he didn’t seem to have any idea what I was talking about. I asked him if he used enough screws on the ledger and he lied to me, saying they were every 16” (which would be correct if he had used ½” lag screws). I showed their work to a general contractor, 2 carpenters and a retired building inspector and they unanimously agreed that it was a really awful job. Based on the quality of their work, disregard for the codes and failure to fix the issues I had already brought up, I was forced to fire them and spent 3 weeks taking the deck apart and doing my best to fix the issues they created. After going over their work and redoing it properly it is blatantly obvious that they cut just about every corner possible in order to make the process faster and cheaper. The deck still isn’t to code (that would have meant COMPLETELY redoing it) but at least it isn’t going to fall down now. I emailed them an annotated list of all of the code violations and cosmetic issues along with around 60 pictures. They complained over and over again that I never gave them a chance the “remedy” any of the issues. Not only is this untrue, but the code issues should never have existed in the first place. Their opening argument was: “We are very surprised by all the issues you have noted, and would have to research further to confirm if they’re all accurate, considering we do build our decks to code…” So they build all of their decks to code, but they would have to do research to determine if the deck they had just built for me was to code?!

A.K. did a large deck and fence project for us. Our back yard is on a slope going into a green belt so the space was not easy to work with I'm sure. We did a combination of wood and hog wire fencing to keep the yard feeling open to the green space. The crew did a great job and they were fast. Less than three weeks to complete! The owners, Angela and Kevin, are super nice, will answer all your questions, and are very responsive. The pricing was very fair. Highly recommend!

They did a great job installing the new fence including working with my neighbor who had concerns about our joint fence line. Work was done professionally and timely.

We had some issues but they came out and took care of it promptly.

We could not have picked a better contractor. Period. Quick, fair quote. Scheduled a few weeks out. Hey, they are busy! Had to do a little extra work to get it done right. And they did not charge for it. But I made them accept a little extra. You cannot go wrong by choosing AK.

Kevin came over promptly to give me an estimate, which was in line with the estimate I got from another company. I was surprised by the good quality and speed of the work. Things I thought would just be repaired were actually rebuilt. The two carpenters were professional and they cleaned up carefully after their work. This is a great company!

Finish product looks great and price was good. Very professional great job

Responsive to inquiry. Followed up by phone and email. Arrived on Time. Sent bid within 3 days. We ended up choosing a different contractor but we did like Kevin and would consider him for future projects.

These guys were great workers. Started job on time and finished within 3 days. The fence look's great and very impressed with their workmanship. I would recommend to anybody who is looking for a deck and/or fence to contact them. Great friendly people and easy to work with.

Showed up when he said he would. Did work in time frame he said he would. Work is of high quality and looks great. My only complaint is a lack of cleanup.