Called in for Estimate on a small project. I met with Jacob C. and it was an informational and helpful meeting. Jacob provided guidance, advice, and resources to start my project. Jacob is all about customer care and satisfaction, and wants to get the job done right. He is sincere and very friendly. I would recommend Jacob and Bayside Builders to get started.

Nancy M.

I would not work with this company again.

We decided to work with Bayside Builders on our backyard renovation because they presented themselves as a large company that does big projects, handles most things in-house, and at the outset they made it seem that it would be a smooth process working with them. Our experience was the opposite. Our project coordinator was unprofessional, frequently failed to follow up, never provided us with a detailed cost breakdown, and missed major details in working on our project. We were glad to walk away once our 3D design was finally complete, and we are relieved that we did not contract with this company for the full project.

Skipping over the multitude of minor issues along the way, the most disconcerting thing about working with Bayside Builders was the series of pricing discussions that followed after our design was refined. As a large, professional company, we expected to be presented with a breakdown of material and labor costs along with a total price. We also expected to have conversations throughout the design process about our budget and about decisions between materials and design features and how the pricing would vary as a result.

Instead, we were never once asked about our budget or given any information about pricing options during the design process, and then once the design was refined we were just given a total price for the project with no information explaining how this number was arrived at. One day later we received a text from the project coordinator that claimed, "we've found out we're starting another project very close to your location shortly" and, "we secured approval from the owner to consolidate orders and utilize surplus materials," and they dropped the initial price by $10K. This felt unprofessional and disingenuous, and we were left with the feeling that the quoted price was not based on anything in particular, and this made us uncomfortable signing a larger contract with them.

We continued in the weeks that followed to push for a cost breakdown, and we were eventually given an incomplete list that was scarce on details. One of the central features of the design was installation of a 240V hot tub, and there is not a 240V outlet in that part of the property. At no point did an electrician or the project foreman inspect or evaluate our electrical system, and then there was no mention of any of the needed electrical work on the cost breakdown they eventually provided. When we pointed this out, we were told that the price "includes all electrical work." However, not having looked at the existing electrical system, not having this "included" electrical work mentioned on the cost breakdown, and already being given a final price left us again feeling like the project cost we were given was arrived at arbitrarily.

Leaving off this significant part of the project in the cost breakdown seemed not just an oversight, but a major red flag that was indicative of the lack of attention to the actual details of the project. I can only imagine what would have happened if we had first signed a contract for the full project and only later realized that electrical work wasn't listed out, and this glaring omission was the last straw for us.

EDIT: 2/12/24
ADDING .5 STARS TO ROUND UP TO 4
Over the past 10 days, Bayside Builder has been pretty eager to figure out a way to make us whole. Although we cannot get back the 4 months of unfinished work and 2 months of an unfinished door, ultimately we are happy with the final product of the deck.

EDIT : 2/2/24
UPGRADING TO 3-STARS
TLDR: They hired a better crew, rebuilt the deck and finally sealed the door. Overall we're glad the deck is up and it looks good, we're glad that they were responsive but it doesnt give back the 4 months of inconvenience of an unsealed door in the bedroom during the winter, having to move our home office and having trash all over the back yard.

After my review, someone from the main office contacted us and we (finally) started seeing some progress. The original 2 or 3 subcontractor teams were subpar and they hired a new team. This new team looked at the work and said almost everything was wrong including the size of the deck, the stability, how close it was to the property line -- it's a bit comical now that we think about it because it was so off they TORE DOWN the existing deck and redug new holes! It's like the past 4 months were all for nothing, except we still had gaps in the door.

This new crew was 1000x better than the previous ones. They communicated and came each day they said they would (even in the rain!) and cleaned up after each day. They also looked at and followed the approved drawings without any intervention from us. It took them about 4 weeks from beginning to end due to some of the stormy weather we had.

The new deck looks a lot better and feels more stable (no wobbly slats under our feet) and we finally got the door sealed up. If we had this crew from the start, I'm sure this project would have finished on time and I would be raving about what a great job they did. I'm thankful that Bayside Builder made good on their side of the contract and were responsive, I just wish this deck didn't have such an extended time frame. The unsealed sliding door for months was disruptive to sleep and our home office and it still bugs me that the door opens the wrong direction.
---------
ORIGINAL REVIEW 1/2/24
I would not recommend Bayside Builders Group.

We contacted them in August to build out a deck and they quoted 2 weeks to build out a deck and 1 week to install a door -- 3 weeks total finishing in September if we were to sign right away. They later said it will surely be done by mid/late October. We are now in January and still not done and the crew has not shown up for at least 3 weeks.

In the beginning, they were very responsive and professional so we felt good about the decision. Now I've learned that this is not the case anymore.

Here are just some of the issues we've had:
- It took almost 2 months to dig the holes for the deck but they kept doing it wrong and the city inspector had to come out FIVE times in order to get approval on the holes they dug. It likely would have been 6 or 7 inspections if we didn't act like a secondary project manager telling them that their measurements were off.
- After the foundation was poured they quickly built out the deck in less than a week, but they didn't finish and 1/4 of the deck was missing and to this day it's still missing some of the supporting slats.
- The sliding door has been half installed for the last 1.5 WINTER months, with holes all around the door so there is rain/wind coming into the bedroom.
- The expensive custom door they ordered for us opens in the wrong direction. They didn't consult with us on which way the door should slide open so now we're stuck with keeping it as-is or spending another $5K and time to get another door created (and who knows how long it will take to install a new one given the first door isn't even installed yet).
- The crew seems to show up whenever they want to. We have received several messages that the crew is scheduled to come and they never show up and there is NO communication or response. I don't have enough fingers on my hand to count how many times this has happened.

EDIT: 2/12/24<br>ADDING .5 STARS TO ROUND UP TO 4<br>Over the past 10 days, Bayside Builder has been pretty eager to figure out a way to make us whole. Although we cannot get back the 4 months of unfinished work and 2 months of an unfinished door, ultimately we are happy with the final product of the deck.<br><br>EDIT : 2/2/24<br>UPGRADING TO 3-STARS<br>TLDR: They hired a better crew, rebuilt the deck and finally sealed the door. Overall we're glad the deck is up and it looks good, we're glad that they were responsive but it doesnt give back the 4 months of inconvenience of an unsealed door in the bedroom during the winter, having to move our home office and having trash all over the back yard.<br><br>After my review, someone from the main office contacted us and we (finally) started seeing some progress. The original 2 or 3 subcontractor teams were subpar and they hired a new team. This new team looked at the work and said almost everything was wrong including the size of the deck, the stability, how close it was to the property line -- it's a bit comical now that we think about it because it was so off they TORE DOWN the existing deck and redug new holes! It's like the past 4 months were all for nothing, except we still had gaps in the door.<br><br>This new crew was 1000x better than the previous ones. They communicated and came each day they said they would (even in the rain!) and cleaned up after each day. They also looked at and followed the approved drawings without any intervention from us. It took them about 4 weeks from beginning to end due to some of the stormy weather we had.<br><br>The new deck looks a lot better and feels more stable (no wobbly slats under our feet) and we finally got the door sealed up. If we had this crew from the start, I'm sure this project would have finished on time and I would be raving about what a great job they did. I'm thankful that Bayside Builder made good on their side of the contract and were responsive, I just wish this deck didn't have such an extended time frame. The unsealed sliding door for months was disruptive to sleep and our home office and it still bugs me that the door opens the wrong direction.<br>---------<br>ORIGINAL REVIEW 1/2/24<br>I would not recommend Bayside Builders Group.<br><br>We contacted them in August to build out a deck and they quoted 2 weeks to build out a deck and 1 week to install a door -- 3 weeks total finishing in September if we were to sign right away. They later said it will surely be done by mid/late October. We are now in January and still not done and the crew has not shown up for at least 3 weeks.<br><br>In the beginning, they were very responsive and professional so we felt good about the decision. Now I've learned that this is not the case anymore.<br><br>Here are just some of the issues we've had:<br>- It took almost 2 months to dig the holes for the deck but they kept doing it wrong and the city inspector had to come out FIVE times in order to get approval on the holes they dug. It likely would have been 6 or 7 inspections if we didn't act like a secondary project manager telling them that their measurements were off.<br>- After the foundation was poured they quickly built out the deck in less than a week, but they didn't finish and 1/4 of the deck was missing and to this day it's still missing some of the supporting slats.<br>- The sliding door has been half installed for the last 1.5 WINTER months, with holes all around the door so there is rain/wind coming into the bedroom.<br>- The expensive custom door they ordered for us opens in the wrong direction. They didn't consult with us on which way the door should slide open so now we're stuck with keeping it as-is or spending another $5K and time to get another door created (and who knows how long it will take to install a new one given the first door isn't even installed yet).<br>- The crew seems to show up whenever they want to. We have received several messages that the crew is scheduled to come and they never show up and there is NO communication or response. I don't have enough fingers on my hand to count how many times this has happened.

Update 2/12/24
Adding a half star which rounding up is 4-stars due to their desire to make things whole.

Despite the terrible beginning of a 3 week project that ended up being a ~5 month project, once the back office got involved were able to get the deck up and cleared final inspections the first time around. Though the experience and the amount of time it took was not great, there isn't a way to undo that and ultimately the deck appears to be built well.

I can't stress enough the importance of having a good crew and what a difference that can make.