NOT HAPPY. We called about 10 fence companies, and this was the only one to set up a time in the…read morefirst call- no return calls from the others, or they said they would call back and set up a time, and they never did. I read great reviews of Abba on Yelp (which are no longer there- what happened?) so I decided to go with them. Carlos came out the next day and provided a reasonable quote, so we were happy to get it started. After permits we're aquired, we were then in the crew's hands. Our fence was chain link with wooden gates, and the chain link went up okay (even though the horizontal bars on one side were a good 4" from the top of the links, but that was not the biggest problem). When the wooden gates were built, I was shocked by the low quality of work. Nails were placed at random, and some were nailed through and bent down on the other side. Cuts look like they were made with no regard to making them square, with a full blade. Hammer marks were all around the nails as if a child did them. The cap we requested was not lined up across the top, showing the wood behind it. Two pieces were butted up against each other instead of using one uniform piece across the top. One hinge was half covered with the cap. Warped wood was used on one of the gates so that it does not close completely flush. These are just a handful of the problems- ill let the pictures speak for themselves. I told the workman (who speaks no English whatsoever and I had to try to give him directions in Spanish, which is not my native language. How am I supposed to communicate exactly what I want when I have to figure out how to say "uniform nail placement", "pressure treated", "hinge angles" and such?") he proceeded to tell me that the fence was fine, that by bending the nails on the back made it stronger. I told him I would take it up with Carlos.
I called Carlos after texting him pictures of the poor workmanship, and he promised he would fix them right away after final inspection. We got final inspection, and he sent the same guy out to fix it. The guy brings his two kids, wife, and grandmother who all waited in the car while he attempted to get things right. Couldn't he have dropped them off at the park or something so that he wouldn't have to hurry? Again, the work was sloppy with wood being split from using too many nails in random places, and he tried to show me that the fence was warped because of the rain. It's 2 weeks old! I almost laughed when he tried to bend it back into place. I told him that in order for the hinge to be right on one side, he would have to take the gate apart and rebuild it with the metal frame being lower. Instead, he just left the metal frame where it was and moved the hinge do that it is mounted only to the fascia boards. I had no more faith in his abilities, so I just told him it was fine. I called Carlos and told him that I would finish the fence correctly myself and that I would not pay full price, and he told me I could knock off $190. It is a $4,000 fence!!! My wife got on the phone and yelled at him. I felt bad, but I could have done a much better job if I had the time. Instead of offering a reasonable discount for all we had been through, he instructed me to go and tell the guy everything I wanted fixed and he would fix it on the spot. I did, and was again disappointed to the point where I gave up. He obviously does not have the skills to make things right so I am on my own. I took my $190 discount and will repair the fence myself since I know it will not get done right no matter how much opportunity I give them.
When he was "finished", I asked if he wanted anything to drink and he asked for a bottle of water. I brought 4 bottles of water out to him and heard his children cheer from the car "agua!!!". His grandmother asked me if she could use our bathroom and I said sure, but he insisted that he would take them to McDonalds and that they could use the bathroom there. The park is a quarter mike away, with benches and water fountains. I don't know if he was going for the sympathy vote, but I also couldn't stand to see his family just sitting in the car all that time.
