4.5 stars overall. In September 2021, I was looking for companies to build a new Trex deck in my backyard. My neighbor had told me about Roycroft Contracting, LLC, and I also saw this company listed on Trex's website as one of their TrexPRO Gold builders.
I had difficulty with obtaining estimates from many companies, but I was able to easily communicate with Emily and Jason Roycroft from Roycroft Contracting, LLC through their Facebook page and Messenger. Emily responded to my text messages usually within mere minutes, and she stopped by my house within a couple of days to give an estimate.
For weeks, I was exploring options such as adding a gate, sunroof, and ADA handrail as well as transforming the current two-level deck into only one level. Emily contacted her Trex representative, answered all of my questions, and updated my estimate.
In October 2021, Emily wrote an updated estimate and contract. The payment terms were a $500 deposit, half down 3 weeks prior to the job starting, and the other half at the completion of the job. I did have to catch a typo of 12'x28' dimensions rather than the correct 14'x24'. We planned to build the new deck in early March 2022.
In January 2022, I realized that my township had no plot plan on file for my property, so I planned to hire a survey company to do a land survey. Emily contacted my township, and she confirmed that I needed a land survey. Emily understood that I needed a little more time to get a land survey done, so she flexibly pushed back the start date for the construction of my new deck by a couple of weeks.
In mid-March 2022, Roycroft Contracting, LLC began the demolition of my old deck. Then they dug new holes in the ground for my new deck posts. The weather was very cold and rainy and caused the muddy holes to partially collapse. The inspector approved the holes on his second visit.
When the workers were digging the new holes in the ground, they accidentally hit one of the grounding rods for my new electrical panel. (We had not known exactly where the grounding rods were located.) They told me that they inserted a new grounding rod into the ground. (Weeks later, my electrician looked at the grounding rods, and he said that the code requires using two 8-10 foot grounding rods that are 6 feet apart. My electrician tidied up the grounding rods and wire a little bit.)
The entire process from demolition to building of the new deck took roughly one week. To this review, I attached a couple of photos to show the work in progress, so you can see the framing, boards, and railing over time.
When the building of the new deck was completed, the township inspector returned to inspect the deck. He noticed that one post for the stairs shook. I think that the post is actually two pieces that might not have been joined together tightly. The inspector questioned the workmanship for the post, but he said that he did not expect the post to be a huge problem. Everything else looked great, and the inspector approved the inspection.
Overall, the new Trex deck looks very nice. One of my backyard neighbors commented to me, "It's a really nice job...That new deck looks really really awesome. You'll be grilling out on that new beautiful deck in no time flat. Wow! What a nice job...The finished deck looks spectacular!" Indeed! :) read more