FAQ PAGE NOTE: Some of our visitors have reported that they had a problem with our FAQ page. If you find you cannot open the links then simply open the FAQ page in a new window and it should work. (while holding your SHIFT key click on one of the FAQ questions and a new page will open for you allowing access to the links). Sometimes simply refreshing the page also corrects it.

- DOES YOUR COMPANY SUBCONTRACT YOUR PROJECTS / INSTALLATIONS OUT? No... We DO NOT sub contract out any of our installations. We have our own permanent in house crews that work every project from start to finish. Our crews could be considered sub-contractors, but they are paid by the hour or day NOT by the foot or project. This allows for none rushed installations and much more attention is given to the details from the over all structure strength to the over all finished product. The only possible exceptions to this rule might be things like pouring large amounts of cement for foundations, large excavations of land or demolition of larger scale structures ect,,, Even with items like that we would only sub contract these out if we were too far behind in our schedule or if it’s just too big a scale for us to be able to handle safely or efficiently. ______________________________________ If you dig deep enough into the industry and ask the right people directly involved with seeking out the installers they need to get their jobs done in a timely manner (and they are honest with you about it) they will tell you just how hard it is to find good installation crews. It’s normal for a medium to large company to go through 5 to 10 installation crews per year and still not have even one additional crew or single installer that they can add to their roster with confidence. Even with the crews or one man installers they do find that show promise generally do not care enough about the structures they build and do not take pride in their work as they should. Of course there are exceptions, but it’s a VERY small percentage of exceptions and in the end you are more than likely going to end up with a sub standard product that will either need repairs within the first year (or sooner) or you will end up having to live with it as it is and simply need to replace it sooner than you should have to. Bottom line is,,, You get what you pay for. Even having a brand name and logo on top of your written quote won’t guarantee you’re going to get a good installer or crew. ______________________________________

- DO YOU USE PREFABRICATED FENCE PANELS? No... We do not use prefabricated fence panels for our fence installations. We build all of our structures from the ground up with hand selected material for all of our many fence designs and our custom built gazebos, sheds, pagodas, etc,,, We have tried a few different types of prefabricated fence panel designs from different manufacturers in the past. In EVERY case of installing prefabricated fence panels we found that we were not happy at all with the finished structures. It was mainly because they were simply not strong enough and also because they just do not look as nice as a hand build fence. You can see the difference and you can feel the difference between a prefab panel and a hand built fence. With every prefab design we tried we always found one reason or another not to use them again. Most prefab panels we tried were flimsy and would not stand up to natural weathering very well and would not stand a chance against kids kicking or bouncing balls against them or climbing over them. We gave these products an honest shot and we learned our lesson. The only reason we tried prefabricated panels was to attempt to be more competative in the area by offering a cheaper fence that might save someone a few hundred dollars. It backfired on us because it ended up costing us more in the end because of repairs needed to some of them even only after a few months. Prefabricated fence panels have terrific profits built into them for companies that install them, but because of the many issues we found in general with them we had to stop installing them and stick with our hand built structures. We want to be known for quality and if we had continued installing prefab panels it would have eventually caught up with us and possibly hurt our reputation for being an all around quality installation company. Of course we would not turn down a customer if they insisted on a prefabricated fence, but we would do our best to talk them out of it and we would not be able to stand behind the product as we do for our hand built fences. We certainly would install the prefab panels maybe better than other companies would if we were talked into installing them, but you'll still be left with a prefab panel that has inherent weaknesses built into them that will not stand up very well in the long run. It's difficult if not impossible to manufacture a sturdy enough prefabricated fence panel that comes close to what we would consider acceptable. Prefab panels are made to be cost effective from the manufacturing process to installation day. To be cost effective they must be constructed by the manufacturer very quickly which can cause mistakes being made during the process and in the end it's the customer who ends up paying for it if these mistakes are not noticed before installed. It is also important to install prefab panels very quickly by the installers. The faster a panel is installed the more profit is made. This can cause mistakes and or shotty workmanship from getting the posts installed with minimal effort causing them to be not so sturdy and even not aligned properly which can look terrible even from a distance. Also you might look into what length of posts any particular company uses for posts. You will find that most will use 8' posts for a 6' high panel meaning you'll be lucky if your posts end up in the ground 1' 6" if there is any slope to your property. ______________________________________

- HOW DO YOU INSTALL FENCE POSTS AND WHAT MATERIAL DO YOU USE FOR THEM? We always use 4 1/8" X 4 1/8" pressure treated hemlock posts installed at 2 1/2' to 3' deep in the ground. You will find that the general depth that most fencing companies follow is 18" to 2' deep which simply does not cut it for us. Sure it makes for getting the post holes dug faster, but to really get the posts set-up sturdy the additional depth does make the difference in the long run. We also believe (from many years of experience) that the best way to install a fence post is to NOT use cement to secure posts if possible. The best way to set a post is to tamp the soil that came from the hole with a steel plate bar. If this process is done properly the post will be as strong as a cemented post and can last several years longer. Using this process also makes for a cleaner site after the job is done since the majority (if not all) of the soil that came from the hole is used to set the post and you're not left with piles of dirt sitting beside the installed posts. Of course if a customer wants/insists that cement is used we will, but we will still dig the holes as we normally would at 2 1/2' to 3' deep and set the posts aprox half way using the existing soil and use cement to top up the remaining portion of the hole. Also if cement is not used it makes using a treated cedar post more acceptable for those all cedar structures. Cement will cause a cedar (and hemlock) post to rot faster. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

- IS YOUR PRICING INLINE WITH OTHER INSTALLATION COMPANIES? We do try to be competitive with our pricing when it comes to the competing installation companies in the area. But the customer needs to be aware of the many variations of styles and quality of material and workmanship that affect the cost of a fence, deck, shed, gazebo etc before you make your final decision on who you hire to supply and install your new fence or other structure. (Using a fence as a example) Even the basic framing and finishing can make a difference in the overall cost of material. One example is,,, Even something as simple as a nailing strip on a standard fence design that holds the boards in place can make a difference in the cost of material. Some companies use a ¾ x ¾ strip some use a ¾ x 1 ¼ strip etc,,, We will use a minimum 1 x 2 strip. Some companies will use standard and better (#2 or #3) plain 1x6 or 1x6 tongue and groove (T&G) boards,,, we use #1 cedar tongue and groove (T&G) boards in our standard pricing. Also it really is not reasonable to compare prefabricated fence panels to a hand built fence. Prefabricated panels are designed to be as cost effective as possible from the assembly line to the installation day. To be cost effective a prefabricated fence panel needs to be manufactured quickly (which can cause careless assembly mistakes) and cheaply using less costly material (which can cause the use of lesser grade and smaller dimension material) and they need to be installed as fast as possible to make a good profit (which can cause weak and even misaligned post installations). We know you get the point by now. We do not cut corners even when it comes to the smallest detail of a fence. So if our pricing is a little higher than other quotes you’ve received, you now know the basics of why. (This was only meant as a simple example, but the basic idea of it does carry over through EVERY style and design of structures and products we install) ______________________________________

- SHOULD I STAIN MY DECK, FENCE, SHED OR GAZEBO ETC,,,? Do you offer staining of your structures? Staining any cedar structure helps it look fresher and newer as the years go by. Natural weathering from the sun and rain can cause cedar to discolor over time and a fresh stain every few years can keep it in newer looking condition. It's very hard to offer an exact life expectancy of a stain, so we recommend that all you do is keep an eye on the weathering of your stained structure over the years and you will know when it's time for a fresh coat of stain. When you feel it's not looking as fresh as you would like to have it, then it's time for a fresh coat. In the past we have not offered staining of our structures as a service because of mainly time restraints, but also because of issues with dealing with over spray when working in windy areas. Becasue we have seen some pretty poor efforts at staining some of our previous installations we are considering offering staining of our pruducts to only customers we install a structure for. We have not made a final decision on offering this service yet, but we are looking into it trying to get an experienced inhouse crew put together. This will be difficult to organize because there are delays between projects and being ready to be stained as we build the structures. Hopefully we will be able to come up with something that will work for everyone in the near future. ________________________________________

- DO YOU RECOMMEND COMPOSITE DECKING MATERIAL? It's been our experience that some composite material (not all) has it's short comings. We don't want to name any brands or manufacturers, but we have seen some discoloring within a year of installation in certain products that we believe is unacceptable. Even more important to us is, if you really think about the pros and cons of composite material you might want to reconsider the additional cost that comes with using most any composite material for your deck. (Example) When building a composite deck you still end up with a wood frame structure with the composite decking installed ontop of it. Yes, the composite material decking will generally last many years beyond a wood (cedar or other) decking, but when you consider that having a wood frame supporting the deck you might end up not getting the years of service that you were expecting from it. The frame will generally not last the life of the composite decking so your deck will still need to be replaced or repaired when the life of the frame has reached it's end. The only real advantage of using a costly composite decking material is the fact that maintenance is easier. You can simply scrub and hose off composite material compaired to having to maybe stain a cedar finished deck every few years. We prefer the overall look of a cedar decking even with the addtional attention it needs to keep it looking fresh, but we also understand that maintenance is a concern for some folks and we will install composite decking when our customers insist on having it. There are ways to extend the life of framing to last longer so it supports the composite deckings long life, but it does add to the overall cost which is acceptable to some folks. We will of course do this for any customer that requests this and is willing to invest the additional cost involved. ______________________________________