Great sales job... Jason was very personable and promised high quality work, but sloppy & poor execution by his workman fell short of promises. The weather was not properly taken into consideration, and the priority appeared to be pushing the job through on tight timelines to get paid rather than allowing the wood enough time to dry properly.
In fairness to Jason he attempted to resolve the issues, but used the same workman to do the work. Unfortunately a proper repair would have required completely stripping everything down and starting again from scratch to allow the stain to properly penetrate. The result was a mediocre job that did not mach the price paid.
Make sure you get EVERYTHING in a formal contract and not an informal email and SUPERVISE CLOSELY.
The major points of complaint are as follows:
* Improper preparation of wood surfaces so that the stain did not penetrate properly. (I did a small section with the samples I purchased, so I know how beautiful the selected product penetrates when applied correctly.)
* Many cut corners and areas that only received a single coat and NO initial preparation of upper railings. The frame for the flower boxes were not unscrewed, and stain was applied around them for the first coat. They weren't sanded which (based on my understanding of a conversation I had with the Sansin Representative) is the reason for the "shiny" surface and lack of proper absorption. When I complained, I had to provide a screw driver for removal of the frames (and I had to replace the frames after the workman left. Not what I would expect for a $4000+ job!!!)
* Negligence resulting in the lawn damage and failure to report the damage and be proactive with repairs. Fortunately. we caught it during inspection, but then had to follow up several times to have repairs made, and the the repairs were not done properly (first time little scraps of grass were used that weren't enough to cover the area, and the sod applied later was half dead because it was in the truck too long). Finally, we were surprised to see that the water hose was left laying on the ground and not rolled up as it was originally found.
* Questionable responses to our feedback by the workman - the most egregious occurring when the workman came very early in the morning to finish staining our deck when there was clearly still morning dew on the railings. Both of us did not catch him early enough to stop him so by the time we both pointed out our concern when he was well into the job, he said there was no dew on the pergola - (the other pergola was clearly damp, and the top railings had HUGE water drops on it) Workman said that he applied 4 coats to some parts. We noticed huge water beads and he said that it was the stain that was dripping?
