Best contractor I've ever had. Will definitely do business with them in the future…read more
A storm took out my original fence recently, so Rainier was one of the companies that I contacted for an estimate for repairs. I also asked for an estimate for a new fence, and a couple of other combinations, which they readily accommodated. The original fence I had in place was built by an incompetent contractor who made many mistakes. After careful consideration, I decided to go with Rainier to replace my misshapen fence with a brand new one.
Some important highlights:
- They have an administrator (Lisa) who takes care of communications. This turns out to be a huge help, because you can contact them without fear of interrupting their work or them being 'too busy' to take your call. She usually responds the same day by email, and if you call during business hours, always answers her phone.
- They have a physical office in Auburn, which makes it very easy to just drop by and talk to them at your convenience, drop off payment, sign paperwork, etc.. I prefer in-person communication myself, and this makes it very easy to deal with them.
- Doug came out to perform the estimate exactly on time, and provided a written estimate within a couple of days. The price was very reasonable, and considerably more detailed than other contractors I contacted for the same job.
- I like unambiguous paperwork. The estimate they provided was more detailed than other contractors, it had specific responsibilities of all partiers, spelled out in the contract (other contractors flat out refused to put some of this stuff in writing), and on top of that was a lower price estimate.
- The job was estimated to take 2 days. They showed up exactly on time, and finished exactly on time. The fence is BEAUTIFUL.
- I didn't have to lift a finger. They did literally everything.
- The workmanship is very solid. They used oversized posts which will last longer, and made sure the fence isn't touching any dirt (which can cause rot). They also properly mixed the concrete for posts, which sounds like a small thing, but a lot of contractors 'forget' to do this. They hauled all the unsightly debris offsite so I didn't have to deal with it.
Some advice for anyone looking to do fence work:
- If you are building a new wood fence, be sure to ask them for what they recommend. They'll do anything you want, but they'll let you know if what you're asking for is unreasonable or a bad idea. They've been doing this for a long time and have a lot of experience and opinions built up, they can help you figure out what looks 'good'.
- Be picky. Ask them for exactly what you want your fence to look like. In my case, I don't like knots in my wood -- when I said this, they recommended 'clear' cedar and am very happy with the look, and it barely affected the price at all. Want a particular color? they can color match anything.
- If replacing a fence, make sure to clarify any upgrades you want, especially exactly what style of gates you want beforehand. In my case I forgot to tell them that I wanted round top gates, and so they replaced the gate with the same as what was originally there: flat tops. It still looks good, but just remember to specify as much detail as you want beforehand so that you'll be completely happy with your fence.