Run away from this guy as fast as possible. My wife and I recently purchased a new home on a busy street. We needed a fence to contain our small children and hired Mark Picot, Picot Fence at the recommendation of our builder, Diamond Development (They win no awards for the recommendation.). We set a price, and materials were ordered shortly thereafter. Mark originally said he had a guy who would assist with the project. He did not. He's never shown up at my home with anyone other than himself. In hindsight (I'll be saying that a lot), if I had known one guy was going to install a fence, I would've asked myself if that sounds reasonable and probably would have considered other options. That said, my builder trusted him, and I incorrectly trusted my builder.
First, we needed to clear a path where brush, downed trees, and some saplings existed. Mark said he had a guy for that and he'd charge us an extra $1000. Mark does not have a guy for that either. He came by about a week after the project was to commence and started cutting through our yard's overgrowth with his personal chainsaw. About 10 minutes later, his chainsaw broke. He had to come back another day. When he finally returned several days later, he managed to borrow my neighbor's chainsaw to attempt to clear the path - eventually I had to hire a guy with a bobcat to do it correctly after I realized he wasn't capable of completing what he started. When the brush and saplings were cut, he went around town, literally, begging actual tree care experts to use their chipper to remove the cut limbs. Several days later, the outer rim of my yard was 90% free of brush and the cut limbs were shredded so he could start the actual project, albeit several weeks later than promised. Still optimistic, I was happy to put this fiasco behind me and watch our fence come to life.
Mark is a slow moving creature. When he says he'll be there tomorrow, do not expect him to show until at least three days later. Mind you, my project was the first project of the season. So Mark would come sporadically over the next few weeks to install a post or two. It was still cold outside, so I guess this is normal, but when he did show I would ask him where his help was. All he'd say was his guy was at school.
Mark never used a line level or marked where the next post would be placed. Because of this, rarely are the posts aligned properly. When I inspected his work and forcefully stated I wanted a straight fence, he said "Oh, you're one of those guys.". Are there actual customers out there who beg for some other version!?!
When I asked why he didn't use cement, he said he never cemented the posts or used pressure treated wood or aluminum H channels, or even pea gravel or crushed stone, and his method worked best in our coastal community. As a result, almost all of my posts have heaved and my panels have either been completely blown down or have significantly shifted from the wind. In hindsight (and after doing tons of investigating of my own), many pros in the area recommend wood posts or aluminum H channels inside the vinyl sleeves at least every 3-4 posts. For my type of fence, a 4-foot aluminum H channel would be the preferred method. Since the rails slide into the post, wood would prevent connecting the rails properly. The need for reinforcement near the ground is greatest, so approximately 3' below ground, and approximately 1' above ground. Each and every post should have pea gravel or crushed stone (to allow water to escape), and each post should be cemented into place, leveling the top of the cement away from the post so water runs away. Larger aluminum H-channels are suggested for the posts on either side of a gate. Frost heave is prevented by installing the wood or aluminum below the frost line. Mark's method: no cement, no wood or aluminum, no gravel base. Dig a hole, kind-of-but-not-really in line with the previous post, stick it in the ground, beat the piss out of it with a 2x4, and back fill it with field stone. Yes, field stone. Oh, one other thing. His method for driving these posts into the ground -stand in my wheelbarrow. He broke my wheelbarrow.
So the project went on like this for many weeks/months. What started in February, ended sometime in May. I begged him to stick to a schedule, as other work needed to be done immediately after he completed the fence. When he realized he was nearing the finish line, he half-assed the most important part, a gate on one side of my property. The doors are misaligned with the rest of the rails, the posts aren't lined up, and he installed the hardware upside down. To cap it off, he never cemented a center stake in the ground, so it just flails about in a stiff breeze. He came back once to "field stone" a pole I had purchased as a temporary fix.
The agreement I had with Mark was a one year warranty on his work. I've repeatedly demanded Mark return to fix our issues. He has yet to show up. read more