We had a deck and patio put in last year and used a guy who did a great design for us but the workmanship was meh. I had to have him fix a crooked walkway, replace the deck rail which was shoddily put on, and gave him a lot of leeway on some other things such as extended time he needed for various reasons, (late shipment, broken saw, yadda yadda) some of the paver colors being off, etc.
He's also a giant bully in a way. Very arrogant, is never wrong. Gets hot headed etc. I had to really press the issue with the deck rail being uneven and he finally agreed to replace it.
Fast forward now 1 year later, and one of the deck rail caps I noticed is twisted, and it looks like one of the 4x4 posts inside the plastic sheathing has warped and is twisting the rail with it. It's probably not obvious unless you're looking down the length of the rail but it's there and probably getting worse.
I'm not one who likes confrontation, but I think this should be covered under the 2 year warranty. I'm very anxious about how the convo will go with him as I'm sure he will bully me into accepting it as is.
Anyone have any suggestions on how best to deal with this? What kind of leverage (other than a google review) do I have? And frankly knowing this guy I'd be afraid to leave a bad review lol
Thanks BBI
Read the warranty, document the issues, and put it all in writing.
Anything you are unsure of, research it in advance. because he will absolutely try to tell you it's normal, not his fault, etc. Be prepared, nothing to fear.
With the info in hand, let him "explain", and just calmly reply. ANd stay firm.
Keep pointing back to the items fall under the warranty & that you expect it to be taken care of.
Don't threaten with bad reviews. He will know it, and will either care or not. At most, slightly imply you prefer not to do so and want to fix the issue the right way.
Document, document, document...
Sometime I will share my story about a pest control company I had treat my lawn for moles. They charged me a ton, did a shitty job and basically shoulder shrugged when I called them out for it. I left some negative yelp and google reviews and I had the president of their company call me and within two days had like 5 trucks at my house, lol. So overkill but finally some action on a poor job.
I know a contractor is probably a sole proprietor but in my area there is no more "word of mouth" business than the contractor. Bad reputations can kill a business so normally I would give someone like him a chance to make it right and if he doesn't I'd go scorched Earth online.
Sometime I will share my story about a pest control company I had treat my lawn for moles. They charged me a ton, did a shitty job and basically shoulder shrugged when I called them out for it. I left some negative yelp and google reviews and I had the president of their company call me and within two days had like 5 trucks at my house, lol. So overkill but finally some action on a poor job.
I know a contractor is probably a sole proprietor but in my area there is no more "word of mouth" business than the contractor. Bad reputations can kill a business so normally I would give someone like him a chance to make it right and if he doesn't I'd go scorched Earth online.
No I'm just worried that he won't do it. And I won't have much leverage to make him. It wore me down last time getting him to fix obvious problems. Here's what I'm drafting to send:
I hope things are well and you are enjoying the summer. Our patio has been great and has received many compliments.
I'm writing to you because of an issue with the deck rail, specifically, one of the 4x4 posts. The "New England" style post cap is twisted, and upon further examination, the body, including the vinyl sleeve is twisting as well. This has led to the beverage cap protruding towards the outside, and the top rail post closest to the house tilting inward.
I've attached pictures to this email as well. In accordance with the 2 year workmanship warranty on page 2 of the proposal, I would appreciate it if your team could replace or fix that deck post so the deck rail again looks straight and in line and no further protrusions or tilting of the posts will occur.
Please feel free to call or stop by to discuss.
Specifically, normal wear includes but is not limited to maintenance issues such as wood color, wood warping and wood shrinkage which can all be prevented / minimized by the customer / owner.
So after 1 year I'm left with a shitty looking deck rail I guess
Either way, that sucks. re: warranty.
anyway, my post caps do move a little and it's by design I think.
I can adjust them myself when they move.
but I have composite railings on my deck.
I was always planning to call first, but above people were saying document document documents so I was gonna have that also sent as documentation
too much is not documented.
Email or text.
have a conversation, but follow it up in some way in writing otherwise things are undefined. It doesn't need to be contentious.
It sounds like it's nobody's fault so if you approach it that way maybe he'll share your pain. Depending on how your deck is built it should be relatively simple to replace the post. Maybe a compromise is in order like you buy the materials. Those trex post sleeves are $40-70 and the caps are under $15.
to that point, I also leave positive reviews after good experiences and while I am not on social media other than here and twitter, my wife will often reply to people she sees on social media ask "who can recommend a landscaper, handyman, plumber, electrician, mechanic, etc...in our area"