Deck Guru — Local services in Bellevue

I contracted Deck Guru to replace some worn boards and coat my deck in their composite coating, the latter being a service which only this company seems to provide in this area. My experience with them has been substandard, to say the least.

I signed my contract with the company and paid 50% of the cost in November of 2019, and was told to expect the work to be done around March of 2020. Obviously a pandemic hit and such plans were understandably upended. However, Deck Guru made no attempt to contact me to indicate their plans for servicing my contract at all during this interim period. Not the biggest of issues, but I would have hoped for better communication given the amount of money I had given them upfront.

Once work began in early May, immediate issues began to arise. The initial cleaning that was done was incredibly cursory, with no sanding of any materials done beforehand. The crew that then came to do the majority of the work then proceeded to an absolutely horrendous job. First, they used incorrect boards. They literally installed about 10 boards on my nearly 1000 sqft deck that did not match the rest of the deck. I don't know how you don't stop yourself once you realize you arrived to the job site with the wrong boards, but there you have it.

They then proceeded to install about 1/3 of the boards incorrectly, either cutting improperly so that the new boards jutted out from the edge of the deck, or messed up the screws so that they protruded out from the deck floor. Then they proceed to coat the deck in the most haphazard fashion possible. Several areas were either not fully coated or not touched at all. Large blotches of coating were left to solidify in several places. They absolutely dosed the tree next the deck in their coating, killing off large sections of leaves.

To their credit, the company quickly responded by agreeing to send out a different contractor to fix these errors. However, their ability to actually schedule these fixes was comically bad. At one point two different contractors passed each other on their way in and out of our neighborhood because their main office could not communicate with them properly. Twice contractors arrived at my house without my prior notification.

Ultimately, the second contractor to work on my deck did an excellent job, but all the sanding prep work at that point had been done by me and my wife, because it seemed pretty obvious they weren't going to do so. We also replaced a few boards ourselves, because apparently they were not obligated to replace/repair more than what the initial estimator had prescribed back in November of 2019. This is a definite mistake on their end, as we would have paid for more to be replaced without hassle.

So I now sit here at the end of June, having just put my deck furniture back on my deck for the first time in three months. They just sent me a final bill via email yesterday, with no call to see how the final work was, no inspection, nothing.

So does my deck look better? Absolutely. Do I feel like I received proper value and service for my money? Definitely not. Unfortunately for me though, I own a large wood deck that needed some long term protection from the PNW weather. Had I the option of working with another company for the same service, I would have gladly done so. If you find yourself in a similar position, and are compelled to work with this company for one reason or another, know that they will not keep an open and ongoing line of communication with you like most respectable construction companies. You should also immediately and carefully scrutinize any work they do, and do not pay until you get the...

Deck Guru demonstrated a sincere commitment to excellence from my first meeting with Yegor to completion. Their work far exceeded my expectations in both the final product and the entire process. My deck could have been a winner in a “Makeover” competition when it was completed! I absolutely love the new deck and beautiful railings.

Remodeling the upper patio deck, staircase, and a lower deck seemed daunting. My old decks had mismatched materials and were weathered and peeling, and the deck railings were rotted. Some companies encouraged me to tear the old decks down and start from scratch. Deck Guru let me know from the get-go that my project was a great case for “refacing”, with the hope that the underlying structure would be in good shape after stripping off the top layer.

Yegor listened to what I hoped my deck could look like and explained what Deck Guru’s team could do. He took extensive measurements of all widths and heights and angles (unlike others who estimated quickly). He showed me options for products and colors which he brought on site (unlike others who said to look online or visit a showroom). The detailed bid included very specific numbers for materials as well as disclosures about additional costs that might be incurred if any rotten wood was discovered underneath during construction. There were some support boards which needed replacing, triggering a change order for additional materials and time, which I felt prepared for because of the disclosure in the bid.

The demo of the top layer involved painstakingly ripping off the old impervious surface, done completely by hand. I was impressed at how thorough their cleanup was each day. Then the team attached a huge tarp to cover the exposed upper deck supports to protect them from January rains and to allow them to fully dry.

The lower deck was complicated with tricky angles and corners. Levcleverly arranged the border pieces to compensate for the original deck’s strange shape. I was amazed at how creative Levi was and how perfectly he measured and cut each Trex board to fit. He also came up with brilliant solutions to widen the staircase while retaining the bones of the original structure. Each element turned out beautifully, as if it had been designed for a new install rather than a reface.

Not only was their work fabulous, but Levi and Rhianna were terrific to have around. Extremely kind and thoughtful toward my large family with four generations in the home (even being respectful of my grandbaby’s nap times!).

As the project neared completion, owner Alex and craftsman Levi took great care to put final touches on areas where the old railing had been. They clearly cared a lot about attention to detail and even waterproofed a few small exposed areas. I highly recommend Deck Guru. Beyond professional. Extremely talented. And...

After years of putting ceramic pots over holes in my old cedar deck, I finally decided to bite the bullet and go for a whole new backyard including a new deck. After calling many companies for information and quotes, I settled on Deck Guru. Their sales rep Yegor was professional, always available and up front about all their services and prices. Now, Deck Guru wasn't the cheapest option, but in this case I felt like you get what you pay for and boy was I spot on. Once I signed the contract and set the install date, all I had to do was sit back and enjoy the construction of my new deck. Levi, their lead project manager stopped by prior to the build date and looked over the site, asked me if I had any questions or concerns, went over the plans that Yegor and I agreed on and even videoed the site to make sure the install team knew not to damage my blueberry bushes located right next to the deck.

On install day, a group of three showed up, introduced themselves and together we walked the project. The team that showed up to actually build the deck were amazing. They demoed the old deck, removed the old wood, removed the old concrete pilings, rebuilt the entire understructure, installed the new deck, railings and two sets of steps in just four days. They were professional, never bothered me during the day and I work from home, which was easy, even with them there. They cleaned up after themselves, asked questions when things were unclear and in the end delivered an exceptional product.

If you're truly looking for a professional experience, a quality job and a worry free experience, Deck Guru's definitely worth giving a project. I would recommend them...