Pro WoodCare Inc

Excellent customer service by all involved. This is the second time we have used Pro WoodCare to clean and repair our cedar roof. Their excellent work is saving us thousands of dollars over the long term, as our roof is in great shape and will likely stay that way for years to come.

Pro Woodcare has been providing this restoration and maintenance service for our 800 square feet of deck since 2006 and I couldn't have been more pleased with their service and quality of work. I get maintenance reminders from them in the mail every 2-1/2 years with a proposal for service. Prices are very fair and extremely competitive. This is a multi-level deck with approximately 125 wood spindles. Tom and his crew make this 25 year-old deck look like new each and every time. The stains and sealant they use do a great job to protect our south-exposed deck. I've had some minor deck repair services performed a few years ago, and the pros who did that work were very complimentary with the quality of work that Pro Woodcare did. As long as I have this deck, Pro Woodcare will be my provider of choice for this work.

They did a very good job. It was tough getting them to come out but once they were here, they did very good work. We would definitely hire them again.

the owner of this company had a situation with the previous owners. Now that i am the new home owner, this company is refusing to do work on my decks because of the previous owners problem. i should not be held accountable because i would of been a new customer. They were insisting that i show proof of purchase which is non of their business and also disclosed information about the previous owners personal information which has nothing to do with me. very unprofessional business practice.

Our deck is about three years old and gets hammered by the afternoon sun. It was in need of some sanding and new stain. I researched on Angie's list and saw many comments about how the power washing of the deck can ruin your landscaping/flowers. So I made a request that they be cautious around our flowers and figured I'd be okay. Due to other Angie's list reviewers, I did not order new mulch before the work was done. My deck was done in early May. My goodness, that power washing is intense! My spring flowers (bulbs) were completely flooded with water and therefore all died. Other flowers were completely trampled. Any flowers/plants that were close to the deck had their roots completely exposed due to the extreme pressure. Jeez, even parts of our window siding came off from the power washing. I was in disbelief. I called and asked that they be careful of existing flowers when painting, but that didn't do any good either. Plants were still trampled (footprints left in the mud). And frankly the job site was left in disarray. They did not replace the window siding that blew off with the power washing, there was deck stain on the boulders, and there were lots of paper towels and other garbage left at the job site. While the actual deck stain looks nice, the process was unpleasant. For this reason, I would really hesitate recommending them. If you really want to use this company, I would NOT get new mulch prior to having your deck stained. I would also NOT plant any new plants/bulbs/bushes prior to having your deck stained. I wish there was a better way to protect the existing flowers - maybe even put down a tarp or something so they don't get flooded. Your deck will look nice, but the land around your deck will take a beating in the process. Good luck.

Did what they said they would. Roof looks good and repairs completed.

We were very pleased with the professionalism of Pro Woodcare in cleaning and preserving our cedar shake roof. Andrew, their operations manager was present for the cleaning and did a great job making sure that everything went smoothly. The crew did a great job of clean up, and took extra care in repairing 2 areas in the roof where a small amount of water came inside during cleaning. We will definitely hire them back when it's time to have the cleaning done again.

Did a very good job cleaning and applying preservative. Only minor negative was one of the crew who was a rookie who should have been more careful with the run off and cleaning of the siding and windows plus there was a spill mixing the preservatives on the lawn. Would retain again if priced competitively.

Went fine. The young men who came seemed like they were possibly summer hires.

The original job was completed mid-July 2013, but it carried an 18-month workmanship warranty. I called the company for some minor warranty items (such as leaving a nail in at an angle on a railing near where people eat), and those were done this June. However, by late August, I had noticed some additional items that were covered under the warranty for the deck work, and by that time there was still more than six months remaining on the warranty. I made no less than three calls (one in August and two in September) to the deck supervisor, Tom LeFebvre, all of which went unanswered. During the period of the actual deck work, he had always been excellent at returning calls, so I believe that the company's failure to respond to my warranty requests was directly attributable to the fact that in the interim, I had become involved in a nasty disagreement with the company owner about damage caused to my cedar roof while they were working on it this spring, and which disagreement continues. But the two jobs were completely separate, and I am entitled to my warranty protection on the deck job as promised in writing. The company works on decks, roofs and log cabins, and each of those divisions is separate, thus just because I had a dispute about my cedar roof is no reason not to honor a warranty request for the deck job!!

During the "restoration" phase, the sullen attitudes persisted; when I asked if they were going to hose down an area outside the garage that was dirty; the response from foreman Antonio was (after the first person I asked motioned that he didn't speak English????), how do we know this wasn't just nature caused it? And when I asked about plastic on the porch, Antonio said it was not necessary, but in the end Andrew had him do it, after I complained. We later discovered that incorrect angle spraying by the several roof skylights had let water into the interior cavity of one of them leading to our sons' bathroom, and that had to be patched and repainted by our painter. Although the experience was less than the smooth execution Tom had led us to expect, still all of this we could have overlooked, and even written a decent review. However, after returning from an emergency visit to our critically ill son, who had been transferred to Mayo Clinic, we were shocked and dismayed to discover that our roof, although certainly clean in most parts, looked as if it had been used as a playground for animals - pockmarks, scratches, peeling parts, gouges and the like, a ghastly sight, and something we have never seen before on any roof. I was shaking in disbelief, and immediately e-mailed Tom, who made an appointment to come out later that next week. When he arrived, he smiled and handed me two items: the proof of insurance that homeowners are entitled to, if they ask; and a poorly copied handout describing a product called "Korkers," that he said the guys were wearing on their feet, and which had caused the damage to our shingles. I stated categorically that this had never been disclosed (which he admitted), and that since this was a material part of any contract, should absolutely have been discussed before contract signing (I would not have proceeded). Tom explained in a soothing manner that all of Pro WoodCare's roof jobs involve Korkers, and that they were recognized in the industry as providing worker safety (however, Tony Hiatt of the Cedar Shake & Shingle Bureau says they definitely do NOT endorse their use on cedar roofs, and many roofers and restorers I have so far called have said the same). Tom noted that all the roofs Pro WoodCare restores display this kind of damage, but that most roofs are high up and most homeowners do not scale the roof to see; he said that, because of our "unique" roof situation, they would consider replacing some of the worse shingles on the three areas that swooped down to the ground, and also attend to some animal-damaged shingles they had failed to replace as the contract called for, but that the number to be replaced would be wholly at their discretion and simply done "as a favor" to us. During these somewhat cordial (although angst-ridden for us) discussions, we were stunned to receive a certified letter from owner Tim Cross threatening to file a lien on our home within 30 days if we did not pay the balance immediately! His accompanying and self-serving letter detailed the limited repairs they would agree to make to the roof and minor clean up to dirty rocks per Tom, but also stated that I had better have check or charge card in hand when they arrived, or they would walk right back out!! My husband did not want to take the bait, but I was terrified of our credit being sullied if a resolution could not be achieved by the time the 30-day period was up. We were both emotionally distraught because of our son's health condition, and we did not know where to turn, so we did what they asked and paid up, hoping they would address all of the issues as agreed. Two guys spent a portion of one day replacing shingles and making the "discretionary" repairs, and Tom had assured me I would be "thrilled" with the result. When I e-mailed him that the replacement shingles were hopelessly inadequate in number, and that hundreds of shingles remained looking extremely noticeable, I was re-directed to Tim Cross, who sent me a curt e-mail. I responded that I had given him every opportunity to "cure" the problems, he had all of our money, and that if he did not make this right, I would have no choice but to go to Angie's List and other authorities for help, whereupon he accused me of slander and threatened me, again in writing! The tenor of his communication with me has been at all times sneering, rude and harassing. I have been involved with contractors in various homes across two states for the past 40 years, and I have NEVER encountered such an arrogant and domineering person! He acts as if we are all lucky to have him in our lives. On the contrary, this is one of the worse experiences of mine! Finally, he asked me how many more shingles we wanted replaced, which I consider an unfair burden to put on the homeowner who has been wronged through no fault of her own. So at that point, rather than pull a number from the air and have him hold me to it, I decided I should research further whether perhaps I was being unreasonable, and I sent him an e-mail to that effect, along with photos my other son had taken while on the roof. This went unanswered by him. Over the next several weeks, I had visits from a local roofer/restorer, who said the roof was definitely trashed aesthetically, if not otherwise; he also pointed out some substandard application of shingles, and noted the ridge was in bad shape, as well as assorted debris left on the roof, zinc strips flapping in the wind rather than being re-affixed as provided for in my contract, and discoloration of copper flashings on account of the restoration material having run off in the rain. A NARI-recommended home inspector told me that the roof would now surely fail any routine inspection by a prospective purchaser, because even if the damage was only aesthetic, it was damage nonetheless. When I called around to the associations that Pro WoodCare advertises its affiliation (to see if they could help me resolve the outstanding issues amicably) - NARI, American Home Remodelers Association, and the National Power Washers Association, all three reported THEY ARE NOT MEMBERS!! THIS IS FRAUDULENT ADVERTISING, and all three said they were sending "cease and desist" letters to Cross. However, as of August 27, 2014, these fraudulent affiliations remain on Pro WoodCare's website (and are on all their marketing materials, brochures, postcards, flyers). The only organization they do belong to is the BBB. In addition, their materials state their techs are certified by the Cedar Shake Bureau - nothing could be further from the truth, according to Tony Hiatt. Looking back, I should have written this report sooner; even if I can get no satisfaction for our situation, I feel I owe a responsibility to other Angie's List members to warn them to stay away from this company and the shenanigans of its owner. the officer manager is not much better - she increased our balance and overcharged us, taking care of the error only after I complained. At this point, we are at an impasse, the season is progressing and our roof remains in sad shape. I met with Tim Cross today, and during the 25 minutes he was here, he verbally intimidated me, jeered at me, and again requested a shingle replacement "number." When I told him he should have disclosed the whole Korker issue in advance, he said a diligent homeowner would have researched that! Talk about blaming the victim! Member rebuttal to Pro Wood Care response to my August 27, 2014 original complaint on roof restoration work done by the company and damage caused that he will not repair. Numbers refer back to his rebuttal. 1) No libelous remarks were intended. Proof of non-affiliation with PWNA and MBA is in the fact that Pro WoodCare owner removed those from the website, although he did not remove others, such as the Cedar Shake & Shingle Bureau, where he is neither a member nor certified, as he claims. 2) At the sales visit, Andy Dickman stated the roof was in good shape for its age, and only a few sections showed significant deterioration. He said it was the perfect time for the work, as it would extend the roof?s remaining life by 50% (20 more years instead of 10). 3) Nothing was ever said about the fact our home is gutterless. Containment of debris from the roof was specifically discussed at the outset, and assurances given that the surrounding decorative rock would be protected (at extra cost). 4) Company describes funneling of dirty water in the way it should have been done, not in the way it was done, and it was my idea to use a submersible pump, which I had to supply. 5) Company?s idea of a ?little debris? differs from mine. Again, we were promised no debris in the rocks. 6) Four ? men crew, huh? One man did virtually nothing except stand around saying he didn?t speak English, the supervisor vanished constantly and the crew manager treated us with disdain. 7) There are ?severely deteriorated? shingles still on the roof as evidence of the company?s lack of effort to perform its contract. Saying ?we secured all ridge caps? is plain lies, and looking at the roof proves it. 8) After being verbally abused by both owner and his insurance adjuster, I filed a complaint with the Commissioner of Insurance. A different adjuster came and acknowledged in a letter that their insured caused damage, but that they did not have coverage for this type of damage. Under ?voluntary damage to property? the insurance company offered the maximum allowable of $2500, with a $500 deductible that the company owner refused to pay. We cannot sign a full release to the insurance company because $2500 does not come close to covering the $9400 repair estimate.

The actual deck job is fine. When I first met with Tom, I was concerned about two things besides the actual deck restoration 1) all my beautiful flowers surrounding the deck and 2) expensive volcanic rock hand painted table. When Tom visited in April, he informed me that the work would be complete no later than the end of June. I know weather can be an issue, but two months late? I called first part of July and was told Tom would call me the next week - it didn't happen. Finally I called again the end of July and the lady said they would be here the next Tuesday. Two guys showed up on Tuesday. I reminded them to be extremely careful with my table, gardens and pots as some were cracked I specifically told then to hold on to the bottom. They broke pots because they didn't hold the bottom. Pots were also placed on grass which killed it. I don't understand this because there was plenty of space where there was mulch. Thursday more guys came to do the final sanding and staining. I could see that they were stomping my flowers and getting stain all over them. I asked them to please be careful. Nothing happened any differently. I called the office and the young lady told me not to worry that they would put a plastic over the flowers. They did not put plastic on the flowers. They left and told me not to walk on it until Saturday. When I asked them when they would be back to place everything back on the deck, they looked at me like I was crazy. I can't move a huge grill and a 350# table. They said they would make a note of it. When I went out there on Saturday, my heart just sank as all my beautiful flowers were stomped and had stain all over them. Also all around the deck the mulch was completely gone leaving a huge gaps. I began trying to clean the plants and cut the leaves that had stain off them. Obviously the stain didn't come off. I ended up removing a ton of flowers and started to work on the mulch restoration. It took me the weekend to do most of it. In the front I have to purchase more mulch to fill in where there are huge gaps between the deck and the mulch. I understand they had to get to the side of the deck, but for the price, I felt they should replace the mulch. I'm disabled and it's been a real ordeal for me and I still have to have the front to do. They also broke solar lights and many of them were out of the ground under bushes. When I called Tom the following week. He told me he was sorry and that they never put plastic down on flowers. He didn't offer to come back to correct anything. Just said he was sorry. $5,000 for two days work and you can't be more careful or come back and replace the mulch? I do not recommend them.

crew was polite and the deck looks good although the color was no where near the color on the samples that were left with us and when I questioned the tech he agreed that the samples were much lighter than what the actual results would be because the samples were very old. The deck however looks great and I have since gotten used to the darker color.

Job was ok, not great. Two tones promised but came out looking the same even though two toned before stripping. Some areas of too much stain & some too little - bubbling. Took longer than promised - lots of delays.

Deck was sanded by hand using palm sanders to very nice effect. The stain looks great and water continues to bead on the deck 12 months later. However, in a few places, the stain broke down leaving the cedar unprotected. To his credit, Steve, the owner, remedied the issue with minimal fuss and the deck is back to tip top shape. Will definitely reuse his services.

I signed a "Time and Material" contract on September 23, 2013 with assurances that the work could be done before winter broke if the fall weather was decent. By agreement, I bought the siding, had it painted on both sides, and stored it in my garage. As the weather started to turn, the company representative kept putting me off until the snow started to fall. Due to the configuration of my garage, storage of materials over winter resulted in the loss of valuable space and constant tripping over displaced items. Come spring, I called in April to get the work scheduled and was promised prompt attention. Work was not scheduled until I called a second time in May, threatening to report on Angie's List the lack of cooperation. Work was finally completed on May 30. 2014, OVER EIGHT MONTHS AFTER signing the contract. Labor (reported at 22 hours including travel-time which was not mentioned in the contract) was clearly padded, as I kept track of actual work done (as opposed to time on job site having lunch, making phone calls or whatever they were doing) and the actual physical labor was certainly no more than 17 hours including some extra painting. The contract estimated labor at 18-20 hours. Finally, to add insult to injury, when I was billed, the company neglected to deduct my $250 down payment (which they held for over eight months) from the amount due. This company simply cannot be trusted to do anything they promise.

It went just fine. I received a prompt and detailed estimate together with a list of recommendations and a detailed explanation of the entire process. The work took two days. The first day was spent cleaning the roof with a low pressure water sprayer and the second was spent replacing a few shingles and putting a new sealant treatment on the roof. Our roof had considerable moss on two rather large areas. The initial process made a huge mess but they cleaned up thoroughly by the end of the day. (My wife visited the house in the middle of the first day and called sputtering she was so aghast at the amount of the mess. But by the end of the day everything was completely clean.) Our roof looks much, much better than it did before the work. These guys are pros. They are busy as a result so it takes a little time to schedule work. But it is worth it. We are completely satisfied customers and will use them again.

I was impressed about the detail of the cleaning and application of the stain. Time will tell if it is able to hold up long term. I will update later. As of now it looks great. My only frustration was the wait between signing the contract and the eventual arrival of the crew. I signed the contract later in April and they arrived about a week into July. Other than the wait, my deck looks great now. Will follow up.

The whole process done over the phone, Dave came out during the day and looked at the deck, gave me an estimate and set up the date for work. Work was done in my absence, very well done, nothing around the deck damaged or changed. Highly recommend. Very prompt at returning phone calls, professional, did not feel pressured.

Andy came out and, even though it would be to his advantage to sell me another cleaning, he stated that the roof is at end of life and it wouldn't be cost effective for them to treat it again. Even gave me a reference of an asphalt roofer. The work they did in the past was very good and I appreciate their honesty.

From the start, there were miscommunications between the owner, their managers and the crew. They had to travel from the Madison, WI area up to our home in Minnesota with a crew every few days, allowing for weather and weekends, and working in and around other jobs in the area, and were more concerned about what worked out for them, travel/money wise than what worked for us. They wanted to start a few days earlier than was scheduled, (they had another job up here), and I was still out of town on business. I told their crew manager that they could get a jump on it by starting on the garage, as there would be less that could go wrong without my being there. (They had informed me when I signed the contract to start the work, that the homeowner should be home, and that they needed access to the inside of the house, due to water seepage from the very high pressure washers). When I returned home, they had already finished the garage, and had started on the house the day before. When I got in the house, the night I got home, there was extensive water damage to my piano, several limited edition art prints on the walls, and various pieces of furniture, due to water coming through between the logs. My house is over 25 years old, and has been recaulked and resealed many times. We had never had damage before. Bringing it to the attention of the Foreman the next day, he apologized and said he would have his boss call me, but I never got a call, and over the following week, had to track down the guy myself. He just made excuses and said I had told them they could start, even acknowledging that I had said "THE GARAGE ONLY". I had to finally go to the owner himself, who defended his crew manager, and just said, I gave you a discount on the garage doors, so that should cover it, (a misquote from the start, as they had previously put them down as non-wood doors on the proposal, that I caught right away). I said that was a different issue, and one thing had nothing to do with this negligence, but after many heated conversations, he finally said he'd give me only $300.00 off the invoice, (and that conversation wasn't until after the work was completed). One of my prints was worth 4 times that, not to mention my piano's finish was shot. He just flippantly told me he had refinished pianos before, and suggested I just sand it and stain it, as if I could easily just fix it. The entire beautiful finish was ruined, and I sent him pictures as well. Then, as the work progressed, the crew foreman showed up a few days before completion, and handed me 5 tiny samples of stain and said I needed to make a decision that day, so they could bring it with them from Wisconsin after the weekend. If you've ever stained or painted anything, you know that this step is a BIG DEAL. None of these samples were big enough to make that decision, and in that short of a time. They did not bring the stains with them, so we could try it on our actual logs, as every wood is different, and would make a difference. I asked if I could make the decision the next day, to get my husband's input, as they all looked way too dark to me. He said yes, as long as I let them know by the weekend. I even called the Crew Manager and the owner to discuss this dilemma, and to ask why there were only 5 choices, and no samples to actually apply to my logs. They just said, in order to keep the costs down, and that the stain would go on dark, but would lighten up in 4-6 weeks. I had no choice but to make a quick decision, and called it in to the Foreman, (and the Crew Manager as well), as he requested, citing my concerns. The following Monday, when they started, the stain went on very dark, breaking my heart, as it was much muddier than any other stain I had ever seen, and the Foreman, who empathized, said they had encountered that same scenario many times, to the point the home owner had been reduced to tears. There was nothing more to do about it at this point, but take their word that it would lighten up. I can't fathom why a company would chinch out on cheap stain, obviously saving themselves money as they buy it in bulk amounts, and leave the customer feeling like they got an inferior product, and not the results they had hoped for. They could at least let you buy your own stain and credit you the difference. The crew had done a good job cleaning the logs (aside from their misguided blunder at the beginning), and then had to cover up these beautiful, clean logs with dark, muddy looking stain. On top of it all, when I tried to explain my angst to the owner, Tim, he tried to dismiss the problem by saying I held up the crew and made them come back up the following week to finish the job and it cost him money! I double checked with the Foreman who said that it was totally untrue, I had not held up any work, and had been one of their best experiences working with a customer. That crew was the only example of professionalism I saw the entire time I had to deal with this company. As a matter of fact, while we were still discussing how to handle the damage to my belongings in the house, just days after the completion, I received a threatening notice from the company, billing me for a huge amount of interest, and pointing out that they could put a lien on my house for the amount, as that was in the small print of the contract you sign at the beginning! I felt pressured to settle for that tiny amount, to cover the damages, so I wouldn't have a lien attached to my house. I have never been treated so poorly by anyone in business, and I have had my own business for 35 years. If I treated any of my customers with such little regard, I'd be out of business. But because they only deal with one customer at a time, and only once each time, they seem to get away with it. Between the bullying, condescending attitude of the owner, and the head-in-the-sand, blame-the-customer approach of the regional crew manager, it was the most frustrating, infuriating, and depressing experiences I have ever had. And, by the way, the stain never did lighten up, and still looks muddy, like I never had the work done. I would tell everyone to steer clear of this company's shoddy business tactics and abhorrent customer service skills.

They were efficient and professional.

I purchased a home with a cedar roof that was newer but needed some maintenance to really shine. I bid out to several vendors and eventually contacted ProWoodcare for the job. The process was explained to me in detail. The roofline on the house is steep in spots requiring the maintenance workers to install cleats on the roof and wear climbing gear. The roof was completely power washed in one day and bad shingles were replaced (approximately 50, mostly on sides facing the sun). Several days later, the techs arrived to apply the sealant which was a 5-6 hour job for several workers. When the work was done, the roof looked brand new and much better than other cedar roof houses in the neighborhood! It has also maintained this look for well over a year, and it still looks great. The only issue is that the power washer missed a couple of spots which appear darker when looked at an angle, and the sealant was applied over these spots. Admittedly, I havent contacted them to advise of this as I dont think its a big deal. Cedar roof sealing is a great service to prolong the life of the roof, and ProWoodcare provides this service exceptionally well. I would use them again.

I was completely satisfied and will have the work done again in 3 or 4 years as is recommended.

We saw them at the home show and needed the deck cleaned for college grad. party in June. Took longer than predicted to get to us so I couldn't get my planters in and had to get baskets to put in them which cost a lot more than doing it yourself. They pushed for staining the deck but wouldn't redo the benches in time which were painted but they blew most of the paint off with the washer. The stain didn't last thru the summer. We told them it was iron wood and he stained it anyway. WE didn't know. A year later we talked to the builder of the deck at the home show and he said it NEVER needs staining and it won't hold it if you did. **Salesman NEVER came back to check or call. NO FOLLOW UP !! for over $900