Columbus Deck Company

I gave Columbus Deck Company $1,133.00 to build a deck for me. Then I gave them $1,000 deposit to build a fence. The fence was not built to code, the wood was warped and has holes, it was not cemented in and 15 feet of it was never finished. The cost of the fence was $2,020. They NEVER came to build the deck and Mr A said that he was taking my deposit from the deck to put toward the fence. I told him I didn't want that I wanted a deck. They charged me $200 to remove a chain link fence and didn't remove it. They will not return my calls and I have to have the fence completely redone because it is unsafe.

Signed contract for work to start 10/15/19 for porch rebuild. 10/15 no call no show. Company used a calling service and difficult to speak to someone directly. Worker came to start demolition, tore down the porch and left one side completely unsupported. Which caused the porch roof to pull away from the house. Owner contacted and he did not believe porch was unsupported. I insisted he come take a look. Owner sent workers to support roof, however, the roof did come away from the house and was never fixed. Owner sent several different people to work on the porch over the course of the next 3 months. None of the workers had any idea of what the other workers had completed. Very poor communication. We were well into Fall and owner stated that he could not install a wood porch when temperatures are too low. Porch finally completed second week of Jan 2020. Currently the porch is falling apart. First step off of porch is uneven to the following steps. Front porch is not level. After installation front decking the next day it warped due to rain as it wasn’t properly sealed or attached. Next day worker hammered out warped areas which caused wood to split. Back porch repairs were done improperly. Wrong sized columns used on back porch. The trim literally is falling off. The spindles are uneven and not attached in many places. The railing is not supported. Wood is not cleanly cut. Wood is splitting apart in places where it has been screwed in. This project will need to be redone in two years. Throughout the process owner refused to give time frames on when the job would be completed. It was a negative experience and I strongly do not recommend.

Signed contract for work to start 10/15/19 for porch rebuild. 10/15 no call no show. Company used a calling service and difficult to speak to someone directly. Worker came to start demolition, tore down the porch and left one side completely unsupported. Which caused the porch roof to pull away from the house. Owner contacted and he did not believe porch was unsupported. I insisted he come take a look. Owner sent workers to support roof, however, the roof did come away from the house and was never fixed. Owner sent several different people to work on the porch over the course of the next 3 months. None of the workers had any idea of what the other workers had completed. Very poor communication. We were well into Fall and owner stated that he could not install a wood porch when temperatures are too low. Porch finally completed second week of Jan 2020. Currently the porch is falling apart. First step off of porch is uneven to the following steps. Front porch is not level. After installation front decking the next day it warped due to rain as it wasn’t properly sealed or attached. Next day worker hammered out warped areas which caused wood to split. Back porch repairs were done improperly. Wrong sized columns used on back porch. The trim literally is falling off. The spindles are uneven and not attached in many places. The railing is not supported. Wood is not cleanly cut. Wood is splitting apart in places where it has been screwed in. This project will need to be redone in two years. Throughout the process owner refused to give time frames on when the job would be completed. It was a negative experience and I strongly do not recommend.

We entered into a contract with Shane B one of your contractors at the end of July and knew it would be mid-September before they could start on our deck and fencing. Per the contract we would pay 1/3 the day we signed the contract which we did for $1666.00 and it was cashed the next day.

We live in a community that has an HOA and are required to submit plans for building/adding additions to our house, Shane was aware of this at the time of signing the contract and said he would have his business partner email me the plans. I sent Shane a text 8/1 asking when I could expect the emailed plans. He replied 8/2 that they would send them out that weekend. I texted Shane again 8/8 asking again for the email, he replied with he would make sure his partner gets them sent out 8/9, on 8/9 at 9pm I received a text from Shane asking for my email again which I gave him.

I received an email from Aug 10 from *** with the deck plans. I reached out again 8/25 asking Shane if we were still on track for the targeted date of mid- September. No reply so I sent the same text again on 8/28 and received a reply from Shane asking for my email address again.

On 9/13 I text Shane again asking if we could get a better idea of a start date for our deck/fence. No reply

On 9/16 I sent the same text to Shane at 7am on 9/17 at 330pm I received a text from Shane saying they were a couple weeks behind and would let me know a week in advance of starting.

No communication during the month of October

Nov 8th I sent Shane a text stating that we would like to cancel the work order due to lack of communication or starting of the job.
Nov 9th my daughter sees someone in our back yard, I go outside and it’s Shane marking where holes where going to be dug, I asked him when they would start he told me his guy that digs the holes would be out, I came home later in the afternoon and a guy was digging the holes. At the beginning of the following week Shane returned to pour concrete and said he had to let it sit for 24 hours than would return and start framing the deck and asked for the second installment of $1666.00, We wrote a check for $1000 and I told Shane that they haven’t really done anything and that I would pay the rest when the job was completed.
On 11/17 Shane called me at 6pm saying that they needed the amount to be $1666.00 or they couldn’t start and that his partner shredded the check for $1000.00. He asked if he could come get another check that evening and I told him that’s fine but I want something in writing saying when they would return and start the work, he brought a hand written note on Columbus Deck Company letterhead that said they would be out on 11/20 to frame the deck and set the post for fence, work would continue throughout the next 7 days and that they should be ready to install the sliding glass door.

As of 11/21 no one has returned but they cashed the other check for $1666.
On November 20 I was in contact with *** one of the owners of Columbus Decking after I sent a detailed email to Columbus Decking. He and I discussed the poor customer service and lack of communication during this process. *** and I agreed over the phone that he would make things right and give us a discount on the remaining amount due after the project was complete. He and I agreed that once the project was completed we would pay a remaining $1100.
November 26 I contacted *** through text telling him the HOA needed a start date. He replied that they would be on Friday November 29. We return from out of town on December 1, they had installed more fence post and four shorter approx. 3-4 feet high post for the deck but the deck post needed to be 6 feet high. I contacted *** the week of Dec. 2 letting him know that the post were too short and they would need to replace them. The wood for the project was delivered and placed on half our driveway sometime towards the end of December 5-6. We went out of town weekend of December 6 and when we returned on December 8 it appeared they have installed the correct size deck post and put up two corner of the fence.
I contacted *** on December 11 at 2 pm asking if he had any idea when they would be return to complete the project, He replied they were looking to complete by end of the week and that they should be out on December 12. I contacted *** on Dec 13 at 9am letting him know that no one had shown up on December 12 and was wondering if they would be out on 12-13? He stated he was waiting to hear back from the crew. Later in the afternoon *** sent me a text around 2 pm saying the crew just got back to him and that they would be out over the weekend working.
It is now December 15 8:45 pm and no one showed up to do anything.