Contractor wanted for deck rebuild

[undoneson.livejournal.com]

I'm interested in any suggestions you have for a contractor to rebuild a deck. I live near Inman Sq. on the 3rd floor. Last year, we had to dismantle an existing deck due to the previous owner's faulty construction, and now we'd like to rebuild it. If you have had good experiences, please share. Thanks.

Comments

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

i had five porches built/rebuilt by sullivan construction and they did an excellent job. not cheap, but excellent :)

[hikermtnbiker.livejournal.com]

Google turns up a slew of Sullivan Construction companies. Could you provide more details?

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

sorry! they're at http://www.fmsullivan.com/ -- i discovered them by walking around the neighborhood watching porches getting built for a few years, and liked theirs the best. they did a great job on mine too (part of a larger rebuild including insulating and residing, but i am esp. happy with the decks).

[rhino88888888.livejournal.com]

We had great luck with DM Power Construction. They built a beautiful two level deck for us near Magoun Sq. http://dmpowerconstruction.com/

[undoneson.livejournal.com]

Hi R, this is J, from IC. :) I recognized your username. Thanks, we've re-contacted DM.

[rmd.livejournal.com]

Stealth Construction (http://www.stealthconstruction.net/) did a good job tearing off and rebuilding my front porch and turning it from a one-story eyesore to two-story awesomeness.

[trouble4hire.livejournal.com]

we tried to contact Stealth after a previous recommendation on this community, and they never replied to either email through their website or voicemail. Just FYI.

[secretlyironic.livejournal.com]

I'm doing the same thing right now. Does the community have any recommendations for decking materials, columns, that kind of thing? Opinions on composite vs. wood decking and railings? Suppliers that are better than bog-standard Home Depot vinyl porch-column facing?

[supersojo.livejournal.com]

So... as I wrote below, we made a final decision to go with composite decking. I was really torn on this issue as like the look and feel of wood. However, when we factored in upkeep and time we'd need to spend to seal/protect given our direct sun issue, this made a lot of sense for our situation. We ended up with Azek, 6" wide planks in a gray. We're quite fond of it.

We visited Sterritt Lumber in Watertown (110 Arlington Steet, 617-547-0040, Watertown, MA 02472) and they had a range of materials and options. The guys working there are fully knowledgeable, very helpful, and decent human beings. I definitely recommend working with them.

[daviscubed.livejournal.com]

We went cheap on the rails (one above the cheapest available at Lowe's, so the stair rails matched the deck rails), and got Trex (more on the pricy end) decking. This was just last August, so all I can say is that so far, no fading has occurred. I mostly talked to the contractors at Lowe's & Home Depot (probably made 6-10 trips before buying anything), and those conversations are what led me to Trex (ended up going with gray). I remember the guy at Lowes saying he had never gotten a return on Trex, but had gotten returns on everything else they sold (mind you, every guy I talked to had their own opinion). I really like the hideaway fasteners.

We did the flooring part ourselves, and it was pretty easy.

I think composite + hideaway is the way to go if you're going to be at your place for a while. As for the rails, the composite really looked and felt better, but wasn't within our budget (the cost of rails was the most surprising thing about the project to me). I don't mind the vinyl rails matched up with the composite decking at all.

[amy-s1.livejournal.com]

We build a deck with Timbertech Earthwood composite decking and after 4 years it looks great. When new it scratches somewhat easily but all of the scratches fade away and become invisible pretty quickly. Another good brand is Fiberon decking. Trex has had alot of lawsuits in the past, perhaps they are better now, but we thought the Tumbertech and Fiberon looked more real and seemed to have better reviews.

[dphilli1.livejournal.com]

We've used Kevin Flaherty of Kevco Construction for our 1st and 2nd floor renos, but his big thing is building decks.

[supersojo.livejournal.com]

We used Fresh Start Contracting and were incredibly impressed with their work, communication, cleanliness, thoughtfulness, and their professionalism. Not the cheapest option, but definitely worth the cost. (Contact details below). The porch we rebuilt is south-facing and top floor, we had a tough time keeping the old, already in terrible shape, wood protected from the elements, most especially the direct sunlight. We opted for composite decking and although we wavered on making the choice, it's doing a great job holding up and looking good. And the maintenance is absolutely minimal which is perfect for us since we make approximately zero time for many household jobs now that we have a new project: our infant.


Fresh Start Contracting
(617) 877-5582
www.freshstartcorp.net

Office Address:
Fresh Start Contracting Corp
94 Park Avenue
Belmont, MA 02478

Workshop:
Fresh Start Contracting Corp
131 Fawcett Street
Cambridge, MA 02138