I hired Lukas to build a deck this summer, fairly large, 16 by 25. This was my experience.
1. Lukas never asked me if I wanted a permit for my deck, he never even brought it up. Unfortunately I didn't know it was a requirement until a few days into the project. I brought this up to him and he told me that he assumed I did not want one because most of his clients don't. I told him that I did and he told me then I would have to get it on my own and should wait until after he is done, or the city will pause the project. I did not know any better at the time, and told him to proceed. As a professional, he should have done the right thing and gotten a permit from the beginning.
2. I had to wait several months for the glass to come. He ordered it from a large box store, which was out of stock. I know there was glass at other places but he did not want to bother to source it from anywhere else and instead I had to wait several months and had no railing. I have a small toddler and this was dangerous and very frustrating.
3. I saw his employees go to the back of my yard and pee on my trees, disgusting! This is the yard my child and dog run around in.
4. He suggested that I add skirting to my deck, told me it would not be a big cost but it would look good. He then slapped me with an extra $4000 to what our original cost was.
5. My deck is NOT built to code. There are loose lag bolts and the support beam is spanned out too far to support the size of my deck. I've had multiple contractors tell me about this. I have told Lukas, but he says he did nothing wrong.
It's very clear, customer service is not his priority. He is now ignoring my messages. I will probably not take him to court just because the cost of court and the time spent will outweigh any gain, but I will make sure that I make this public everywhere I can. He is already gaining a bad reputation on my street, and with some very experienced contractors doing other work in my yard. I will also be reporting him to the city for building decks without a permit.
Now I have to spend extra money out of my pocket to get my deck right. Lesson learned, never hire anyone who does not have a website and or some kind of positive reviews online.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $15,000.00