New 2-story deck missed the mark across code, Trex guidelines, and aesthetics. Poor planning. Won't make it right. We lost 5 figures on a 2-man crew that lacks longevity with owner. Hire inspectors before paying final invoice. FYI "Custom Deck and Fence Austin" also has poor reviews on multiple sites noting owner Todd Louis Ratajik of "Good Day Baked Energy Snacks" (Forfeited Existence). Sites now name "Cesar" as owner. Negative reviews disappeared. AFFD has pending lawsuits with Travis County Courts. Unknown AFFD subcontractor alarmingly used my name and address in another client's lawsuit wtf! Standard: Visual consistency. AFFD: Mismatched railing. Todd's words: "It's the same railing but pinched." (A contractor's FB review notes lack of materials to properly complete jobs.) Std: Concrete pad supports stairs. AFFD: Stair stringers hover in air, failing to land on concrete. Todd blatantly texted that stringers would step out (not down) from deck. I refuted the abnormality. Top step was cut off; stringers don't reach concrete. Instead of extending pad or redoing stringers, an ugly post was set. Std: Stairs treads w/o gaps. No overhangs. AFFD: Stringer cuts forgot stairs' fascia; treads weren't 11+". Gaps added to meet code, so stair noses are 1.25+", ie trip hazards. FYI Use rise-to-run guidelines. Std: 42" deck railings. 34-38" stair railings ABOVE boards. AFFD: 44" deck railings. Didn't supply 34" stair railings; boards grossly notched to lower height, which start at 44"! Std: Posts sit on existing FINISHED concrete pads. (LOL) AFFD: Post had no contact with pad (after removing makeshift shams to hide the blunder) ie ZERO deck weight on ground. Todd asked if this was okay [to not deal with]. Post not corrected at start. Rough concrete poured atop pad to meet post. Ew. Std: 16" oc MAX joist spacing (Trex specs). AFFD: 7 of 13 spacings are 16+". No blocking. Add 1 or 2 joists = ~15.5" or 14" spacings. Todd said his ways are "affordable" and "economical". Eek. Best: Competitor contracts: "12-in joist spacings", "blocking", "glulam beam". Std: Trex Cocktail Rail Kit (full-width support, hidden fasteners). AFFD: 5.5" wavy floor boards nailed to 1" rail. Visible screws, rough shavings, corner gaps, no support eg 2x4s to flatten board. No countersunk screws and putty to hide nails. Std: Professional aesthetics. AFFD: Not spraying railing cuts = RUST. No continuity in stairs fascia to meet deck edge. Silver bolts on black railings. Posts unequal distance from deck edges. Cedar's shorter lifespan requires staining / maintenance is inferior to Trex's composite fascia. Std: Disclosure of unforeseen issues. Protocols. Loyal crews. AFFD: Crew wasted a day plotting makeshift repairs after causing roof damage. Licensed roofer was furious about erroneously-cut flashing. Roofers returned after crew again made damaging cuts where told not to. Zero acknowledgement from Todd. AFFD: Crew noted holes in house's ceiling after removing joist nails. No repairmen references. Not-our-problem mentality. AFFD: 15+ days by 2 tired guys: the hire + his actual neighbor. Ditto to reviewer compelled to supervise. Days start late, end after 7pm. My neighbors had 5 deck builders who left by 6pm still jolly. AFFD: Non-recyclables in recycling bin. Concrete and stinky liquid in trash bin. Cigarette butts, nails, and construction debris across yard. AFFD: Crew won't tell owner about gray areas and errors in judgments. One unsure if he'd get paid wth. Std: Professionalism. AFFD: No final walkthroughs. Owner ignores items in emails. Condescending; when I climbed a ladder re an issue (that I called a roofer to fix), Todd muttered that I was "an inspector, eh". Instead of talking measurements, Todd's retort was "I'm the owner of a deck company", as if titles alone grant proficiency. Labor is hired out, crew turnover is high. Workmanship depends on whoever is outsourced, who aren't deck builders so much as guys who "have built decks before". Expect no corrections on what Todd Ratajik deems as "good enough". read more

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I recommend these guys. They replaced a wooden fence for us for a reasonable price, with good quality material, promptly. The workers constructed the fence artfully around some barriers. They accidentally broke an underground sprinkler and very promptly fixed it. read more

From my first communication with Austin's Finest Fence & Deck, I had a very good feeling about their service. I can now confidently say that my initial feelings were right. Cesar gave me the best bid of the three companies I had contacted. He came by and listened carefully to what I wanted to be done. His bid was complete and very thorough, including three options for the fence work to be done. They did a superb job and left our backyard in spotless condition. After the work was completed, he came by to verify and make sure we were happy with the service. We are very glad we worked with them and will certainly use them again for other fence and deck needs that might arise in the future. read more

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Estimator never came to house to provide an estimate. We rescheduled the first time at his request, and he didn't show for the second appointment with no message. I hope others have a better experience. read more

Need a fence? Great. Need that fence to have a gate? Look elsewhere. Our experience with 512 Outdoor was incredibly mixed, starting off great and ending up incredibly disappointed. We were very pleased with 512's support, pricing, and communication all the way up through the start of the project earlier this year. The crew who handled the fence was *excellent* - hard working, smart, adaptable, and courteous. The fence went up quickly and looked great. The crew who handled the fence gates, on the other hand, was a completely different story. The gate crew first installed a gate reversed from how we had designed it with 512 (ie swinging the wrong way) and had to redo it. They plugged their welding equipment into our septic outlet and tripped the septic system's breaker without telling us, leaving us to troubleshoot and figure this out several hours later. They left the project despite one of the gates not closing without scraping against itself, and we had to request the crew come back out to fix it. They then needed to come back out a second time to repeat the fix because the first fix didn't work. A few weeks later, the same issue started happening on a different gate, which began to sag and scrape against itself. We contacted 512 who said they'd send someone out, but then they never did. 512 began ignoring our texts and calls, and it seems like they'd rather ghost us than stand by their work and see it through. To top it off, now the gate hardware has started to rust too. We're happy with the fence but incredibly disappointed with the quality of the gates as well as 512's lack of post-project support. Just wanted to pass along our experience, because I wouldn't want anyone else to end up in the same spot. read more

Todd had installed a new composite deck for us earlier this year. We were really happy with the work and rated accordingly. Recently we discovered a sag in the composite deck boards at one end. Upon further discovery, it appears that a joist expansion was too far apart. I contacted Todd. Today,Todd and his A-Team showed up and did a great job repairing the deck by adding a joist and strengthening the structure. Todd makes good on his warranty. Thats BIG in my expr. His team was qualified, efficient, polite, and cleaned up the worksite at completion. I couldn't be happier! Thank YOU Todd and team!! Way to go guys!! read more

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These guys rock. They added two decks to my front yard (one on each side of the front porch, one of which included a pergola) and did a superb job. They were efficient and fast, knowledgeable and were able to think outside the box (worked around an existing tree!). I plan to have them return for a future project. Highly recommend. read more

512 Outdoor - West side - Decks & Railing Near Me

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Todd and his crew helped fix our deck! My family lives in the Oak Hill neighborhood in Southwest Austin and Todd came out to provide an estimate on the same day I reached out. We had some issues with wood rot and they quickly replaced the damaged boards and then restained the deck. I'm very pleased with the final product and it came out much better than I could have hoped for. Would highly recommend to anyone in the Austin area! read more

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We had several bids from competitors to replace our 6 foot privacy fence as well as build a new wrought iron fence with a gate to enclose one side of our yard. The price came in better than most of the other bids we received, and the crew they sent on site to replace the fence did an excellent job even when interrupted by rain. I'm so pleased that if I had to pay for another fence again I would definitely make them my only call. read more

Todd, Troy, and the team were great to work with. The prices were great and the service was excellent. I'm really happy with my pergola and concrete slab that will house my future hot tub. read more

512 Outdoor - Decks & Railing Near Me

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I was so fortunate to find this place on Yelp. After contacting them, Todd came out and provided a quote within a few days. His quote was not only the lowest but the most detailed and timely. After getting HOA approval, he and his crew scheduled the work within a week. It took them half a day to complete the deck which is beautiful. Todd and his crew were professional and courteous. My wife and I are thrilled with the outcome and will consider Todd and his crew for future projects. read more

I'm very satisfied with Austin's Finest Fence & Deck. Cesar and his team were responsive, fairly priced, and most importantly, did a quality job. read more

512 Outdoor - Decks & Railing Near Me

Our new fence is the bomb! We've worked with other companies in the past for other houses and it was always a complete fight to get a high quality fence. Christian assured us that we would be happy. Diego and his crew knocked it out of the park. We have a craftsman fence with an expert paint job. We will definitely use them again on other homes. read more

Troy, Todd, Heath and Team did a great job! They were very responsive in the planning and quoting process, were clear, on time, and on budget. We had to get creative on a few areas during the build and they problem solved with us and came up with a great result. They went above and beyond! read more

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I hired Todd and his company in July, 2020 for my fencing project. The quote received was very competitive vs some of the other contractors I looked at. Todd had good communication from start to finish and his crew who installed the fence did really high quality work. I would recommend anyone to take a look at this company if they are looking into new fencing. read more

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I requested a quote from 512 Outdoor. The estimator arrived and sent me a 1 line quote. It said, "replace deck." It didn't say what the work entailed, just "replace deck" and a price. Ridiculous. read more

Jay and his team did a great job with our deck project. We built a platform that incorporated a stock tank pool into our yard. Jay was quick to come out and do an estimate, provided some great recommendations, and was responsive and quick with scheduling the job. His crew was knowledgeable (had built 2500+ decks) and got the job done in a day. I'd recommend them for any deck and fence projects! read more

AFF&D built an extension to our existing deck, which included decking around our stock tank pool. This was done on a significant slope with a pretty big ditch below! The crew was timely, professional, courteous, and fun to have around for a few days. They were flexible with some on the fly changes we wanted to do, and the manager came by a few times during the week to make sure everything was going according to plan. Once the crew finished up, everything was inspected to ensure we were happy with the finished product. Overall, AFF&D did an excellent job at a great value. They were very responsive and easy to communicate with. We'd certainly work with them again! read more

We were never fond of the small concrete porch on the back of our house, so when we finally pulled the trigger to upgrade it, we used AFF&D. Our project manager Silas was great to work with and always answered the many questions we had throughout the process. We were very impressed with the crew that built the deck, who checked in with us constantly during each step of the build over the 3 days. The deck turned out beautiful, is sturdy and made well, and provides us with much more room to enjoy our backyard. We would definitely use them again for any future deck, pergola, or fence needs! read more

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Todd was so easy and great to work with. He was super quick to respond to my inquiry, make time to come out to chat about the project, and gave great ballpark estimates on cost/time. The crew that came out to work was really great, respectful, and efficient. They did a great job, and we're really happy with how it came out! read more

They built great wood fencing all around our place according to what we wanted, together with our neighbors. I also appreciated the communication through the process from scheduling an estimate to build to e-payment. There was some irregular scheduling due to equipment/worker availability issues, so just be prepared for that, but they they worked with us to get around those issues. read more

Not the cheapest, not the most expensive, of the three quotes I got. Most informative, and professional service. Fence well made, with subtle special features and measurements accurately carried out. One year warranty. read more

Happy to work with Todd on installing a new deck on our backyard. When we contacted them for a quote, they responded quickly. The provided a very competitive quote. He visited the site to make sure the measurements are correct on how we wanted the deck to look. Good communication with Todd on when the project would start, when the materials would arrive and how long it would take to complete the project. We are very happy with the outcome of the deck! read more

Silas was great. Professional looking fence. They completed all work they said they would do and under the estimated time. Property was clean and respected by friendly workers who communicated well with me. Good company. Said what they were going to do and did it. Rare these days. Thank you Austin's Finest! read more

We needed to have the back portion of our fence replaced along with a small side panel. I put out a request on Yelp for quotes and Todd responded right away. I had him and another company come out to give quotes and Todd's was competitive. The work was scheduled quickly, done quickly and done right. I am very happy with the results. Todd was professional and responsive during the entire process. I would recommend this company. read more

Todd was very responsive to my questions, provided us a detailed quote, and his guys did a great job on the build.

I can't imagine anyone would give this business anything less than 5 stars. We had a stellar experience customizing some fencing, a deck, and a screened room with Cesar and his crew. They were exceedingly accommodating, knowledgeable, and professional. An absolute pleasure to work with such a fine team and the end results of our project look fantastic. We will definitely be booking their services for future properties. read more

Todd and his team were amazing! We reached out to him for a quote on finishing off our fence and putting in a deck at our new home. Todd promptly went over to the property to get measurements and give us an accurate quote. He was also super helpful throughout the process picking the right wood to fit our needs. His team was incredible timely and professional. We would 100% recommend Todd and his team on any project. read more

512 Outdoor - The new deck! - Decks & Railing Near Me

I was looking for a quick fence repair, gave this place a shot and was pleasantly surprised. Todd was very friendly and informative, and most importantly got the job done right. Definitely looking forward to using his services again in the future. read more

I hired Todd and his crew to replace my existing fence, and I couldn't be happier- they completed the job within the estimated time, stayed on budget, and did an excellent job. Highly recommended. read more

I reached out to two other fence companies to replace my fence after a storm, and Austin's Finest Fence and Deck answered the phone quickly each time I called. They showed up on time for the assessment, and on time to replace a long wooden fence. The crew was very nice to work with, and I even added a custom rot board so my dog would not dig into the neighbor's yard. Everything turned out great! I will definitely use them again for my next fence project, and I will recommend them to anyone needing fence or deck installation. read more

Great to work with. The work was quick and efficient. Would recommend. The price was reasonable and the team was quick to respond to questions. read more

Great job with the fence, quality workmanship, competitive pricing, professional, timely and prompt. Working with Todd was a pleasure and I will contact him for future fencing needs. read more

Very dissatisfied with this company. Made arrangements to replace some fence months ahead for 1 and 1/2 days project, but when time came here is what happened 1) on day one no one showed because truck did not work, 2) on day two a crew of dubious characters showed up and lasted 1/2 day, 3) on day three in the afternoon another crew showed up. Apparently, the Company I contracted does not have its own crew. They bid out. None of the workers that showed up had ever worked with the outfit before. 4) on day seven the project is completed with us basically supervising the entire work. Never again. read more

Todd helped us install a new deck with a fence and rail, and it turned out great. We would definitely use Austin's Finest Fence in the future. Thanks, Andrew read more

Great work from Austin's Finest Fence & Deck team. I had a unique project, with a graded sidewalk and retaining wall on a corner lot that backs up to an alley. The team was able to remove the old fencing and replace it with a much nicer-looking horizontal cedar fence with steel posts. Though the project was a little delayed due to some weather issues, the team was communicative I always felt like I had a line of sight to what was coming next. I'd recommend them for your next fence project. read more

Silas, Todd, and the crew were easy to work with and I'm very happy with my new deck. The price was also very competitive compared to another quote that I received from one of the highly ranked deck companies. read more

Our 7 ft horizontal fence turned out beautiful and Parker was excellent! He made the process smooth by communicating quickly, answering all my questions, & taking care of everything efficiently. I got at least 4 quotes and Austin's Finest Fence was the best deal so our neighbors are joining in as well. Thank you again Parker and Austin's Finest Fence! We are already enjoying our new fence! read more

Austin's Finest Fence and Deck, were so great to work with! Their estimate to rebuild our back deck was the lowest price, out of two other decking companies we requested an estimate for. It was easy to schedule with them and we had a new beautiful deck within two days, once they started the work. We will plan to use them again for future projects. read more

Our finished product looks good, but we are in the middle of a lawsuit with a subcontractor that was short paid due to rework, and Austins Finest is not taking responsibility for it, so we are now fighting. read more