Tag: Professional contractor

All too often, we hear horror stories from homeowners that have become our customers as a result of hiring some “handyman” to build their outdoor structure, only to find out too late that they did not have a clue as to what they were doing. Then that homeowner ends up calling us following the disaster to make amends and build the structure properly. I guess you could say we sometimes serve as “the calm after the storm”. This is a tattered tale  of one such event, listen closely to see it you can figure out the moral of the story…

Once upon a time a homeowner hired a contractor to do a TimberTech installation at his residence. Before the job even got off the ground the homeowner realized there were a lot of things awry with the job.First of all, the contractor he hired did not obtain a proper permit. By law a building permit for any structure, or addition is to be posted in clear view at the job site. It is also crucial to make sure the contractor has proper liability insurance, you can indemnify them by adding their name on it.

The contractor did other bad deeds as well, such as putting rubber membrane underneath the decking boards, so it was between the decking boards and the joists. The contractor then screwed the decking down through the membrane. The screws and nails they used for the job were not supposed to be used for exterior applications, so in a short time, the nails they used for the framing would have deteriorated when used in combination to the treated pine joists. Also, the hidden fasteners used were not the proper TimberTech fastener system.

This particular contractor, did such a horrendous job, A video showing the deflection of the boards when you pushed on the boards was made. We made the video to warn other homeowners of the potential hazards and pitfalls of not hiring a professional contractor. There is no way to do enough research to understand what the contractor is doing wrong or the requirements for each job. This is the beauty of hiring a professional, we have knowledge of the products, the requirements and we build quality into every inch of our structures. We call it ” the Archadeck difference”.

With almost all synthetic decking, such as TimberTech, it requires that you run your joists at a minimum of 16″ on center when you run the decking perpendicular. If you run the decking on a diagonal it needs to be a minimum of 12″ on center. We always make sure the joists are 12″ on center. It is crucial with any synthetic decking that the contractor follows the installation instructions by the board manufacturer.

This story did end on a happy note, the very distressed homeowner called TimberTech.  TimberTech gave the homeowners our name and told him to call Archadeck of Columbus because of our prior knowledge, experience and expertise of working with the TimberTech products. Archadeck of Columbus is completely re-doing the job, the way it should have been done to begin with.

We asked the homeowner how they found the bad contractor. They indicated that their neighbors had a deck built by the other contractor. So, we went next door to see if the contractor did the same thing at the neighbor’s house. Take a look.

I guess by now, you figured out the moral of the story. Always hire a professional such as Archadeck of Columbus, to ensure a happily ever after every time. Contact us today to get started (740) 879 – 3730  westcolumbus@archadeck.net