My parents had C&L build a deck for them in 2017. There was a number of problems during construction and installation that one should not expect from a company with supposed "top-notch service", as their website states. We are currently expanding the deck with someone else, and while removing the skirt to start the expansion we saw some additional problems that were not visible 3 years ago on the completed deck. Unfortunately, even though she was very unhappy with the finished project, my mother signed the paperwork to just get these guys out of here, so we were unable to contest it once I came to look at the work done. We simply decided that we would never do business with this company again and tell everyone we know about our experience with them. However, after uncovering even more of this job, we are fed up. We are filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau so that when this happens again, they might be held accountable. I have pictures I took from back then, as well as some I took just recently after new construction started, and decided to write this review as the poor quality still irks my parents and I. My parents paid $14,000 for a ~400 sq ft deck that was not built with the "quality materials" or "skilled staff" that was promised. At that price, it should have been built with real redwood or Trex decking. Instead we got home depot grade lumber, and shoddy workmanship.
Part of the deck was installed over an old cement porch. Either construction adhesive was not used or not enough of it was used, causing the boards laid over it (which were warped because apparently it was cheap lumber) to bow up from the old porch and bounce when you walk on them. I had to correct this using cement screws and directly fasten the deck boards into the porch. I had to do this fairly soon after completion 3 years ago.
While installing the vertical posts for the deck, they poured the concrete around the 4x4 posts, creating a depression immediately around the post. While it was a pressure treated 4x4, over time this will cause water to pool around the post, and seep up into and rot it out. My parents caught this at the time and had to make them pour additional concrete to prevent pooling, but some of the posts are still very low (pics 1& 2).
They used wooden fence boards for the front skirt, which they only stained the front of and THEN cut the boards (with a rough cut which ruined some of the stain anyway *pic 3*) to length so they sat snugly on the dirt below the deck. There was no sealing the bottom of the boards, and they didn't even level the ground so after I dug a drainage ditch, all of the boards were different lengths (pic 4)
The walking surface of the deck was not stained until after it was installed and only the visible side was stained, just like the skirt. It looked like they only smeared a bit of stain over the surface after the fact, not caring at all that you could clearly see that there was no stain between the boards. They left three out of four sides of ALL of the boards with no stain or sealer, which would have caused them to rot more quickly than they normally would (pics 5, 6, & 7). My 60 year old mother and I had to spend 3 days on our hands and knees in the LA summer heat with small paintbrushes repainting in-between ALL of the deck boards to hopefully give it a bit more longevity, but there is nothing we can do for the underside.
There are numerous unprofessional cuts made with a skill saw (ironic) in the wood, where rather than make precise cuts that would look good finished, there are over cuts that are visible while sitting on the deck. (pics 8 & 9). Most of these we tried patching with wood putty, but again, its a fix WE had to do after C&L finished.
Many of the boards used for the guard rail have visible lumberyard stamp marks on them, and when initially installed (pics10 & 11), still had the barcode stickers on them, that had just been stained over. Again my mother and I had to restain all of it.
There were spots where the stain was uneven, or spilled and left to dry, not even in inconspicuous areas, but on the front skirt and the steps (pics 7 & 13) They also weren't careful while applying stain so that around the bottom of my parents house there is stain on the walls next to the deck (pics16 & 17)
Not even all of the posts they used match. I don't know if they ran out of posts, but some are pine, and others are pressure treated 4x4s. (pics 14 & 15).
Additionally, one of the guys cracked a window while handling a long board (honest mistake) and they offered to fix the window, only to turn around and say that "they don't make windows that size" (6'x3') and that they needed to replace the whole thing and could do the whole house while they were at it. So they tried to spring a whole other project on my overwhelmed mother.
In conclusion, the best thing you can say about this deck is that it is built. AVOID C&L Construction AT ALL COSTS.
