Keystone Outdoor Living — Local services in East Earl Township

I contracted Keystone to reconstruct our patio and build a roof extension for a covered area. I received multiple quotes and chose Keystone because they have a ton of positive reviews online and because they said they could build our preferred roof type (open gable) even though the vertical space was tight.

The construction was a struggle for us from beginning to end. Below is a summary of some of the problems we endured and a few pictures.

Day 1 (December 11), I warned the patio subcontractor about a shallow electric line that had to stay powered. They severed the line while digging that same day and told nobody about it. 2 days later I found the damaged cable and shut off the power to that circuit. I made multiple requests over the next couple weeks for the damage to be properly repaired. The wire was buried under the new patio with a poorly repaired splice that had exposed wires (picture of repaired cable is included).

Grey bedding stone was dumped partially on an area with existing decorative red stone. There was no apology and it was never cleaned up.

A fence rail was broken. There was no apology and it was never replaced.

An existing outlet was damaged. The outlet was replaced later in the spring.

One of our patio chairs and our grill was used to pile equipment for the work crews.

When the roof went up, I noticed that the roofline was a little flatter than the drawings and that the open gable had disappeared. Keystone told me that something was measured incorrectly and they couldn't get the open gable to work.

Small sitting walls were part of the design. The patio subcontractor came to do the walls, and at the end of the day I saw that instead of following the design, they added wide pillars to the ends. I asked about it and was told it was a lack of communication and the wider pillars were needed to support a roof post.

The electrician showed up one day without any notice. Fortunately I was home so I could let him in. He ripped down large areas of insulation to run the electric from the patio. He drilled multiple holes in the block walls trying to get access through to the outside. None of the extra holes were dealt with and the dust and insulation was left on the floor when he was done. Nobody ever came back to clean up.

When the patio pavers were down, the subcontractor packed up and left without placing the sand between the pavers. They told us that the sand could not be done until spring due to a 40 degree limitation. The following 2 days were forecast to be in the 60s with lows in the 40s.

A feature wall made of barnwood was part of the design, and a TV would be mounted to the wall. Due to a long list of prior issues, I spoke with Keystone about the TV height and even marked on the wall with tape where the outlet needed to be. That same day, the TV outlet was cut out of the barnwood around 18" too high. At a later date the barnwood pieces were moved around to provide as much of a fix as possible.

After the pavers were down and the roof was completed (January), all crews packed up and left until spring. However, every single piece of trash was left sitting in our muddy yard. Broken metal, shredded styrafoam, orange peels & other lunch trash, chewing tobacco spit, plastic ties, piles of glue, wooden stakes, base stones and bedding stones, broken pieces of wooden pallets, all left sitting in the mud. I spent an entire weekend cleaning up trash (3 pictures included). There is no way any of those workers would have done that in their own back yard.

Roof shingles were installed with 1 row buckled almost the entire way from bottom to top. I was told this will flatten when it gets warmer. As of late May, the shingles are still buckled.

Patio sub came out a couple weeks later to repair the joints that were damaged. They cleaned out several strips of the cured, damaged sand and threw the pieces onto the newly seeded lawn area.

As you might guess, I would not recommend Keystone for any...

[Update March 2024] We worked with Keystone again to implement “phase 2” of our deck project, which was to add on a screened in covered section of our new deck. We had already worked with Ron to create the design last year, and finally were able to do the construction. This time we requested to work with John and his crew since we liked him so much from last year, and we were lucky enough that Keystone obliged and sent John out with his new crew, Aaron and Linford. All three of them were exceptionally skilled, punctual, courteous, and professional. Our project was somewhat unique in that we installed the largest skylight they had done to date and on top of that we also asked then to undertake installing Smart Tint on the skylight in lieu of blinds. They agreed to install it and did a fantastic job considering it was the first time they had installed something like that. In addition, we had them install a glass pocket door that is almost the size of the entire wall that meets the deck. We cannot praise their skill enough. Our covered deck is now the room of our dreams! It has shifted the center of gravity of our house outdoors. Thank you once again, Keystone, for doing an unbelievably excellent job!

[April 2023] We worked with Keystone to tear down our old deck and redesign and replace it with a new composite deck. We also worked with them to construct an extension to our garage to make a permanent woodshop space. At a time when other companies wouldn’t even pick up our phone calls, or couldn’t do what we wanted, Keystone was extremely responsive, communicative, professional, and exceptionally good at what they do. Throughout the process, Keystone always let us know exactly the costs of what we were selecting, and we were never in the dark about the process or the timeline. They took care of all the permits and communication with subcontractors such that it was perfectly seamless for us.

Working with Ron to design everything was such a pleasure, and he really helped us to gain a vision of what our new deck and workshop space could look like. He even helped us to imagine and design a balcony nestled in the roof of our new workshop space that we could use directly from our master bedroom. This is a very unique feature that we had never seen before and it has quickly become our favorite space. Ron showed us a few different tiers of construction based on different budgets, so we were able to see exactly what we were opting for in the bigger context of what all we could choose.

When the time came to implement our vision, John, our project manager, along with Mike, Aaron, and the whole crew delivered it to perfection. They were at our house by 7am every day like clockwork. Their work ethic was admirable, and they finished the project in record time — even our neighbors were impressed with the speed and quality of their work! On top of that, they never sacrificed precision for speed. They were very neat and tidy, we never had to feel self-conscious that we had construction going on. They cleaned up after themselves every day before going home.

John was very patient with us, listening to and remembering every detail we wanted. He was always responsive whenever we needed to ask him questions, and never made us feel like we were asking too many questions. As a woodworker myself, I can say that the craftsmanship that this crew achieved was impeccable. The product they delivered was beyond what we could have dreamt of. We are so thankful to the entire Keystone team for working with us and being such kind people throughout the process. We can’t wait to work with Keystone again for our...

My wife and I recently had the pleasure of working with Keystone Custom Decks to transform our outdoor living space, and we couldn't be more thrilled with the results. From start to finish, the entire Keystone team exceeded our expectations in every way.

After a previous challenging experience with another contractor, we were quite apprehensive about embarking on another major project. However, from our initial interactions with Ron Yoder, who made multiple visits to ensure all our requests and measurements were accurate, we felt confident we had made the right choice. Ron’s professionalism and attention to detail set a positive tone from the outset.

As we moved into the design phase, Sarah Schupp was instrumental in guiding us through various options we hadn’t even considered. Her expertise and recommendations were spot on, making the decision-making process much easier for us.

Permitting, often a lengthy process, was handled with exceptional efficiency by Paul Campbell. What we anticipated to be a 10 to 12-week wait was impressively completed in just two weeks, allowing us to start construction much sooner than expected.

The construction phase, led by our project manager David Beiler and his outstanding crew, Chris and Ben, was nothing short of exemplary. This includes the masonry crew led by Will. Their craftsmanship, attention to detail, and commitment to quality were evident in every aspect of the build. They kept us informed daily and made sure all minor decisions were discussed with us to ensure our satisfaction. Their pride in their work and their dedication to going above and beyond were clear throughout the project.

Our project also included some repairs to our existing covered deck, which were seamlessly integrated to match the new construction perfectly. The end result is a beautiful, cohesive outdoor space that has already become the heart of our home.

Throughout the month-long project, we not only admired the team's professionalism but also enjoyed getting to know them personally and talking about the Phillies. Their friendliness and enthusiasm made the entire process enjoyable, and it felt bittersweet to see them go once the project was completed.

It's been a month since we completed the project, and my family and I are thoroughly enjoying our new deck, especially the built-in hot tub, outdoor kitchen, and all the added conveniences that allow us to stay outside more. Our goal was to create a space where we could enjoy outdoor living to the fullest, and Keystone Custom Decks delivered that and more.

In summary, Keystone Custom Decks has earned five stars in people, process, and quality. Their expertise, perfect process execution, and a team that truly cares about their work have resulted in an outdoor living space we love. We highly recommend Keystone Custom Decks and look forward to working with them again in the future.

Thank you, Keystone team, for making our...