Built fence & deck. Meticulous, perfection-driven, obsessed with details, hard workers, fast…read more
This is a family business, with dad and two young adult sons doing the hard labor, and mom handling the business end.
I have what you could call a "special needs" fence, deck, and yard. Electrical lights and outlets on the fence posts, an extra wide gate in the rear for bringing in a washing machine one day, removeable deck panel for access to AC lines, wanted the deck built on concrete blocks instead of chopping post holes into my driveway and live oak tree roots, pet turtles in the yard, and a koi pond that it was essential to not disturb the filter or plumbing or connections. Other companies didn't understand what I was needing, argued with me, or didn't speak English. But all DWS said was: Yes, yes, yes.
My experience with contractors is that they're bulldozers, and I fully expected my yard and items to be trashed. Not with DWS. They carefully removed the electrical and then replaced it on the new fence posts - everything works. I had cleared the space as well as possible, but there were still items they had to move. All my garden décor, windchimes, turtle pen, etc. were preserved and neatly set where I could find them. Best of all, there was no damage to the pond, plumbing, or garden. They even did some "extra" things, like haul off pots that were too heavy for me, and trim a few branches on a baby tree.
They didn't start too early (no morning noise to bother neighbors), and they wrapped up mid-afternoon. They use quick-set cement, so they can dig a post hole, erect the post, and then add rails and pickets all on the same day. They worked incredibly hard in July heat, and finished job a day early. Cleaned the driveway, sidewalk, and yard of all debris.
A few things should have been hashed out better ahead of time. Type of gate hardware and locks, pergola / shade cover, retaining wall, moved the fenceline in 6" (made my yard smaller), cutting a limb off my precious live oak tree. Luckily, some of these were discussed the day before install, and were able to make last minute changes, with price adjustments where appropriate.
The price for about 100' of cedar fencing and two modest decks was a gasp moment - but in line with other companies. The 50% deposit was daunting, esp for an outfit I knew nothing about, but it's in line with industry standards. Plus, they didn't ask for it until the week before install. Easy on-line pay, good communicators.
The finished fence is sturdy, beautiful, and pickets all straight along the top. They hide the gate hinges for a neat look. Decks are exactly what I asked for.
As an example of detail, a portion of my deck goes around the oak tree. Instead of cutting a circle out of the deck to accommodate the tree trunk, they cut the boards into pie slice-shaped wedges, so the boards fit around the tree like a pinwheel. ! This had to take amazing engineering, measuring, and cutting. Folks, there was no need to do this. This is a small deck in the back of the yard that's going to be covered with lawn chairs and potted plants and no one will ever see (except me). I can only think they did this out of obsession with detail, and had fun with the math and logistics.
When they left, Dan shook my hand and told me he offers a 150% guarantee. Indeed, as the summer went on and lack of rain caused the fenceposts to shift and the gate started sticking, they came back twice to make adjustments.
There's more good stuff to tell, but I'm hitting the word limit. Bottom line, I couldn't be more pleased with the people, quality, workmanship, and professionalism. You will be, too.
