We hired Dominion Fences and Decks to build a 6ft cedar fence around our backyard. I sent them a picture of the exact fence that we wanted before hiring them, and they assured me that it would be no problem. We signed a contract which included 240ft of fence, a single gate in front, double gate in back, removal and clean up of original chain link for $6800 with half due up front and the rest to be paid on completion (july 8th). Adam, one of the owners, assured me that they would finish the project in a week, if not sooner. The work progressed slowly until July 7. I came home that day and most of the fence was in place. Immediately I called to notify them that the fence we had, was not the fence we had asked for. It looked nothing like the picture my husband had sent them. I asked them to stop where they where, because it needed to be fixed. The next day, Adam shows up and I explain to him my concerns, and of course he is unhappy. He tells me they will have to redo almost everything, but eventually he assures me that he will get it done, even if money had to come from his own pocket. The only thing he asks is for the other half of full amount of fence. I was very reluctant to pay the remainder before completion, but Adam convinced us that he was a man of his word who cared about the reputation of his company and he would make this right. Unfortunately, I wrote him a check for the remainder. This is where the trouble really began. Almost immediately after making the payment, Adam's father and partner, Dennis calls and tries to convince us that the fence will dry out and look how I want it to. We go back and forth the rest of the day and finally, Adam again agrees to fix the issue. He assures me it will be corrected and I'll be happy. The very next day Adam calls and says he'll need more money to fix the issue, and doesn't think he should have to pay for his mistake. I was adamant that he would get no more money from me, and finally, again, he said it would be done. Another couple of days have passed with no work being done on the fence and me speaking almost exclusively with Dennis. Adam told me that Dennis had taken over the project and to speak with him from now on. So Dennis sends over a couple of guys to "fix" their mistake. The pickets were supposed to be 1in apart, but they had placed them flush. So the solution Dennis came up with was to have their guys go picket by picket cutting off 1/2in from each side. From a distance it looked pretty good, but upon closer inspection you could see they had cut grooves into every fence post, so it looks sloppy. They did that for a few panels and left. After that, nobody shows up for days. I call and text Adam to ask what was going on, and he says to talk to Dennis. I ask Dennis, and he says he has done his part, and to call Adam! Finally, Adam says he'll send some guys over to finish. Later that night he texts, and says he needs another $300 to finish the job. We argue back and forth and nothing is done the next day. At this point I tell Adam that I am going to file a police report so I have record of the issues. This gets him to relent, and he tells us "of course I'm going to finish no matter what, I care about my company". We go out of town for 4 days, he guarantees it will be done before we get back. He tells my husband that he will personally send him pictures and updates while we are gone. Needless to say, nothing was touched and nobody was answering calls or texts. Adam responds immediately after I text him that I believe they are in breach of contract. He argues a bit, but guys come the next day and finish most of the fence. We argued back and forth for them to come and put in the gates, due to other projects he says his guys will come when they can. This whole time my yard was left open to the alleyway and the front yard. My husband walked the perimeter of the fence and noticed some issues, such as nails sticking through pickets not secured to anything, and warped 2x4's. He let Adam know by text, and he responds that the warped boards "are not my problem", and he'll take care of the nails "haha". They come and finish most of the front gate, and my husband happened to see Adam that evening. Adam told him specifically, "my guy's will be back in the morning to finish up the gates, and we'll be done with this". The guy's do come back the next day, and they finish the front gate. The space that was left open for the double back gate had been closed off! So he decided not to put the gate in at all, with no prior correspondence with us. He also left large gaps along the bottom, which he had assured me would be taken care of. The fence is extremely flimsy, throughout the process we asked if there were going to be supports placed to strengthen the pickets. He said that the vertical picket placed along the front between panels would be enough. They aren't. His crew left trash in my yard, not to mention piles of dirt and cement along with pieces of the old chain link strewn about! This was a direct breach of the contract that was written up by him and signed by me. He told me that he would add the gate, if we gave him another $650! Dominion Fences and Decks refuses to finish the job, and at this point we do not want or trust them back on our property. We have contacted another reputable fence company and asked them to estimate the cost of adding the double gate, strengthening the panels, fixing the warped materials that they used, and closing the gaps. They provided us with an estimate, which assumes that everything can be fixed without damaging the pickets, of $1500.
