Hired Derek for a pool deck. Very professional, polite and informed us throughout the entire process. I would definitely use him again!

We advanced Derek Barber money to frame, stain and screen our deck. He also contracted with us to repair and stain dormer ends of both the front and back of our house, and repair front and rear soffits and damaged sections of the front of our barn. On June 15, 2026, in a written quotation, Derek described the work he would do and told us he would complete it in 2-3 weeks. Three months later (mid-September), Derek left Massachusetts for Texas having taken thousands of dollars from us and without anywhere near completing the work. He's now somewhere in Texas and, since his last text message - containing a disingenuous apology - he has not responded to our texts or emails. We have since learned that Derek Barber of Upper Deck Builders has cheated other people, including reputable contractors, out of thousands of dollars. You can verify this by searching the internet, including the Better Business Bureau, where complaints have been lodged. I, for one, will file a complaint against Derek Barber and Upper Deck Builders with the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General . If you've been taken by him, I invite you to do the same. https://www.mass.gov/how-to/file-a-consumer-complaint Tom - Orange, MA read more

took 2 deposits (4k total) to reface my deck. he ran off after every time. didn't start the work, or give me a definitive start date. came back again remeasured told me he miscalculated and the total cost would be 15k. i said impossible to be that far from original agreed price, i want my deposits back. told me he doesn't have it. he has to move some things around. after reading these i'm filing in court not wasting any time or headaches. google upper deck builders you'll see other that have gone through this as well. don't do what i do. read more

Tried to rip off my elderly parents. This man doesn't understand business and will put you off for bigger jobs then try to float your deposit for as long as possible. There are literally hundreds of people in the area that are more competent and won't try to steal from you or lie and prolong the contract. read more

I hired Upper Deck Builders Company to do my 2 decks replacement job - Received a quote from the Owner - Derek Barber - licensed HIC and CSL - On April 30th 2021 - I gave Derek a check for $6,500 - 50% deposit - (have a signed contract with Derek's signature acknowledging receiving deposit) - was promised that job will start at the end of June 2021 - after multiple delays, on August 17th Derek sent a message that he is no longer planning to do the job and will return my deposit - after refusing to meet, on August 18th Derek said - stop bothering me with your pointless messages - check is in the mail - today is September 6th 2021 - still no check, and Derek stopped responding on my texts/calls - filed a small court claim in local district court - filed formal complaint to the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulations !!!STAY AWAY - SCAM - TERRIBLE COMMUNICATIONS!!! read more

Hiard, Derrick Barber, from upper deck builders it to remodel of my entire house to make it livable and up to code it was $101,000 job. He needed a $30,000 deposit after the $30,000 deposit he never started the job never pulled a single permit and gave us excuse. After excuse for years here we are now two years later, facing homelessness with two small children and paying for our house. We can't live in stay far away from this guy. He will take everything from you and won't fat and I he won $1 million in the lottery and still stealing from the less fortunate stay far away and report his contracting license if he has done some thing similar like this to you. !!!!!! he's trying to file for bankruptcy so he can try to get away with all of this theft report him as fraud. Don't let him get away with this.!!! read more

Derek came out for a quote for adding a shower to half bathroom on a Friday. He sent contract out which we agreed upon on Monday, I was ready for him to pick up check and contract on Wednesday about 3-4 days later, but after ignoring a phone call and not returning it that night, I called again the next afternoon and again no answer, I then got a text Wed night saying he found a bigger job that he has to take during our agreed upon time that we had 2 months out. I was very disappointed. He said his word is his bond and he cares about his work, but he quickly pushes off a smaller project for a bigger project. I do not recommend hiring someone with these work ethics and morals. read more

took a 25,000 deposit on a 100,000 job. its been 4 months now and he went dark. stole 25k from me now I can't even afford to hire anyone else. stay far away! I will be suing read more

Derek Barber from Upper Deck Builders was referred to me by a friend who he is related to and quoted me $6,000.00 to repair my deck. I hired him to do the work in November 2023 and he asked for a $2,000.00 deposit. I gave him the deposit and when it came time to do the work I received excuse after excuse. At the beginning of May I asked him to have the work completed before Memorial Day weekend so that I could use my deck and he said "I think that's a fair timeline". The week before memorial day weekend I checked with the town and no permits had been pulled and I had not heard from Derek that he was starting the work. I asked him to give me my deposit back that I would just do the work myself. At first he said he would but after weeks of chasing him and him coming up with more excuses as to why he hadn't given me my money back he stopped responding to me altogether. I now have to take him to court to get my deposit back. Reading some of these reviews it seems that scamming people out of their money is something he does all the time. I don't recommend using Derek Barber from Upper Deck Builders. read more

Stay away from this guy, and hire literally anybody else. Derek is unreliable, untruthful, and sneaky in my opinion. He took money, did not do much work, did not come close to what he promised, and then claimed he needed more money to continue....but was unable to explain what he spent the money on. I cannot say enough bad thing about my experience with Derek.....I would stay as far away as possible for this guy read more

I originally engaged Upper Deck Builders before Memorial Day to replace 9x3 deck that is 2 feet off the ground with a 10x10. They quoted $7500. They asked for 1/3 down, which was a deposit of $2500 plus $300 for the Permit, he had no problem cashing the $2800 check the same day I gave it to him. I was told the initial $2500 was for demo of the 9x3 deck. Another $2500 for design of the 10x10 replacement and the final $2500 for constrcution of the new deck. I was told that they would have the permit requests into the Building Inspectors Office that week. That was the week of May 31 to June 4th. Nothing happened after they recieved the initial Deposit. No email, no phone call absolutely dark. The emails that I have received from them over the course of the last 2 months give nothing but excuses and no committals. To date nothing has been done or scheduled. I fired them 2 weeks ago and asked for my deposit back via email. No response, no phone calls, no emails, nothing. I would avoid Upper Deck Builders like the Plague. The last email I got from him stated that he is still working on the Permit, 2 months later and he still has no permit. Nothing but delays and excuses. I will be filing a claim in small claims court. This is no way to treat a Senior Citizen and Viet Nam Veteran. I found another Contractor that will demo and build 2 decks for $2300. Derek Barber is useless. read more

Avoid using this company so you can spare yourself from going through the nightmare that I did. I strongly discourage you from doing any business with the owner, Derek Barber, as he is a shady guy. Derek is unethical, unprofessional, unreliable, dishonest, and does not have nearly the skills and experience that he claims to. In December 2021 I gave Derek a deposit for a large renovation project (new front deck, back deck, screened in back porch, front door, back patio slider, roof, and siding) that was supposed to begin in mid January 2022 and be completed by April 1, 2022. Derek did not start the project until March and completed it at the end of July 2022. All the while he lied to me by telling me that he had all the materials in his shop and then when it came time to do the work I was told he was waiting on materials and then there were times he told me that workers would come and put in a full days work and they either did not show or put in just a couple of hours or half a day. It was just one lie or excuse after another which became very frustrating and stressful. It literally made me physically ill and affected my mental health and quality of life as well. The contract stipulated that I would pay 1/3 as a deposit then 1/3 when the job started and a final 1/3 when the job was completed. After paying the first 1/3 in December and then the second 1/3 in March, Derek frequently asked me for more and more money above and beyond what I was contractually obligated to. In good faith (and desperate to finally have this project completed) I gave Derek more money at the beginning of June and was promised that the project would be completed in the next one to two weeks. Derek took advantage of me, kept not showing up and not doing work, and finally due to my exasperation and having some strong words with him, Derek finally finished the job on July 25 (almost 4 months past the promised date noted in the contract). The men that were working for Derek were great and did nice work but everything that Derek touched was done incorrectly or poorly. Subsequently I have had to hire other tradesmen to come repair flaws in the work done by Upper Deck. I strongly discourage you from using this company for even the simplest or smallest project. read more