Myth vs Reality- Letter from Capital Pacific Homes Was a Little Premature

A couple years ago Capital Pacific Homes wrote a letter about DeckTech, saying their deck work was fantastic and they were saving money on their warranty program etc etc.

Well fast forward to now; Capital Pacific Homes project at Hollysprings Lane in Orcutt is 8 years old. DeckTech did the decks here at this project. I spoke with and visited a client at the project who has had repairs made by DeckTech multiple times to their deck. They then proceeded to tell me how many other homes had deck problems...which seems to be most of them.

Part of the project has Life Deck or Westcoat decking systems on them, and part of the project has Granite Deck on the decks. Either way, the decks are having problems.

On the sample deck I inspected, I found cracks in the field of the deck and rusted flashing. These are signs of decay that indicate poor assembly of the deck system. Careful craftsmen will recognize potential issues on a deck and before covering it, either have the condition corrected or refuse to cover defects with their work. (Old saying in construction, If you cover it, you own it.) Well DeckTech owns this job and is trying to stumble across the 10 year mark for construction defects to avoid liability.

All I can say is if you have problems with your DeckTech deck now, it's only going to get worse as time goes on. Act accordingly to protect your interests.

Cracked decking will allow water intrusion. 

"Repair" by Decktech, some caulk and paint....wow, very professional. NOT!

Rusted flashing caused by failing coating at edge. 

DeckTech's Red Herring Award From Pulse of the City News

We'd like to send out our congratulations to @DecktechInc for paying apx $1,175 for their "Pulse of The City" award promo package! Good move, when desperation is setting in, it's a good time to get the spin machine into high gear...

If you've seen any of the press releases, Tweets or self congratulatory announcement on their website announcing that they were awarded a "Best of", you, like I, may have said what the Hell is a Pulse of the City? Exactly. I never heard of them...so I went digging.

Here's Decktech's "award." Now what does it mean? Really...truthfully, not much, my opinion is Pulse of The City is a pay to play award annointer. Give us money in the form of promo packages and we'll promote you...they are a privately held company and little is known about them. Searches to confirm their 20 years in construction draw up short...Not saying they aren't but why can't I find anything concrete to verify the claim?

SO HERE IS DECKTECH'S AWARD AT PULSEOFTHECITY.COM
AS YOU CAN SEE, THEY WANT TO SELL DECKTECH SOMETHING, SEE THE RED BUTTON?

AND HERE IS THE OPTION PACKAGES COSTS. THIS IS WHY THEY "GIVE" AWARDS.
DON'T BE FOOLED, IT'S BS!

Their website is designed to sell sell sell, here's a sales pitch for you that they push...

Sites like Yelp and Angies list have rogue reviews you can't control...
but when you buy from us, well dontch'a know it's an award that separates you from your money

Pulse has only been around for a few years, handing out awards. Real awards are handed out be recognized entities. If you don't recognize something as a known institution, such as American Institute of Architects (AIA), then it's probably not. 

Decktech's award is not about customer service and that they are good, it's about getting them sold to boost their self esteem and appearance on the web. What's your opinion? 

51 followers? That's it?

DeckTech's Day In "Court" Scheduled for June

A spokesperson from the Attorney General's office told us today that a hearing on the Accusation against Decktech Inc is scheduled to begin on June 15, 2016.

After submitting a defense to the accusation, the Attorney General scheduled the hearing for a three day period, the 15th, 16th and 17th, Wed-Friday. It is not known yet to us where the hearing will be held or whether it is open to the public.

Ron McKenna entering a legal services building late last year on a civil suit
over the same matter. McKenna's insurance company settled the matter
for an undisclosed sum and the case was closed. 

You can read what DeckTech is accused of her in ths public document on their license listing at www.cslb.ca.gov  DeckTech Inc and his other licensed company Hunter-James will both be subject to the same decision.

In two months Decktech will likely have their license suspended or revoked for the alleged violations listed in the accusation. In some cases a stay is granted to allow a contractor to finish current work but cannot contract for new projects. That is often a death blow as slowing work = slowing revenues. Many of the charges appear easy to prove, such as taking to large a deposit, owner provides a check he wrote, Decktech has hard time refuting that wasn't a deposit as it states in the contract, which is contained in the accusation. Easy...

So prospective customers are going to have to ask what happens if? If either, and DeckTech isn't open to warranty their work because they are suspended or revoked...well that might be a problem couldn't it? We suggest you think long and hard.

DeckTech Recycling Old Job's With Nevada Coatings Name Swapped Out

I can't explain what the heck Ronnie is doing over there behind his computer, but recycling an old job story from 3+ years ago is and dropping mention of Nevada Coating Systems is getting sort of desperate. Recently Decktech's blog had a story about Scott R in Cayucos who had a bad tile deck...well the revised story goes on to say that they installed a "preferred deck system" for Scott.

Here's a screen grab of the first version of the post from 2013. It can be found here at DeckTech's website http://www.decktech.org/Blog.aspx#~S8K8g1

Note the prominent mention of Nevda Coating Systems in the 2013 version

Same story revised just a bit but notably drops mention of Nevada Coating Systems.
I guess the divorce is in process. 

So now you have to make decisions, when Ron is changing up his stories from "Nevada Coating Systems" to "preferred deck system", you know he's having problems with Granite Deck customers complaining. There's no more mention on his new website about Granite Deck. Granite Deck is persona non grata with them and it's out the door and onto to the products Ron disparaged so much before. Ironic right? I know. Well I posted the list of clients with deck problems, look for it and see who you might know or if you are on it.

Don't let him off if your deck has problems. Preserve your rights with a complaint to the CSLB if you deem it necessary. Read my other post on whether you were defrauded. You decide...

Call me, Bil Leys with your Decktech problems. I can help 805-801-2380

IS IT FRAUD? North County Property Owner Feels Stuck in Granite Deck Hell

The owner of a property in the North County has told us of his problems with the Granite Deck system he bought from DeckTech Inc. apx five years ago. The owner, who prefers to remain anonymous, related his issues with the Granite Deck system, which continue to mount despite paying an exorbitant amount for the original job and then on the yearly on DeckTechs "Annual Deck Maintenance Agreement" fee.

A few of the issues he described-
1. Sees no value in the ADMA and has lost his faith in Decktech and knows the Granite Deck System life span is very limited.

2. Cracks/splits  every year on nearly every plywood seam, despite numerous warranty repairs.

3. Extremely difficult to clean.

4. Faded in the hot sun after one year.

5. "Warranty" repairs don't come close to matching existing work.

6. With each call to Decktech, DeckTech's response time to inspect and repair the NCS coating gets longer and longer.

Dead Granite Deck system on a roof in Cayucos 

lasted apx 1 year before splitting at the seams. 

Now ask yourself, how is your Granite Deck system holding up? If you have problems similar to the one described, it's time to start looking at options.

One question to consider is, are you the victim of consumer fraud? 

Well, lets look at the definition of Consumer Fraud then; "The defrauding of a consumer of various products and services which do not perform as advertised, or overcharging and levying hidden charges through deceptive business practices.

Well, this is an excellent question isn't it? If the advertised product doesn't perform as advertised...hmmm. Deceptive Business Practices-could be under this too, after all, the ADMA is supposed to make this crap last and it's not working...Decktech knows this and is hiding the fact the system is a disaster and needs to be resealed yearly to reduce UV damage. If it's not, it's gonna fail! Even if it is, it's gonna fail IMO.

Some possible options for you are-

File a claim with the CSLB for construction defects. There's a 10 year statute of limitations for "latent" defects in construction, that is, a defect not readily observable to the eye. If your deck is suffering from splits and cracks and fading, those are probably latent defects in the application of the system. File a complaint today!

File a claim with the Attorney General's office for fraudulent claims-Decktech said this coating was like no other and only select contractors could apply it and it was the answer to every other deck coating manufacturer's "problems". Obviously it's not and if it's failing now, it's going to continue to fail. Act accordingly.

Sue in Superior Court.

Write Yelp reviews telling the world what is wrong with your DeckTech deck.

What ever you do, don't wait, it's just going to get worse.

Call us for an evaluation of your DeckTech Granite Deck job, I've assisted and am assisting other Decktech clients who have had enough. Call me, Bill Leys at 801-2380 or email SLODeckInpsector@gmail.com

Groan...This is Good For a Cheap Laugh at Least! Memo to DT-Use Spellcheck!

"At DeckTech, Inc., we have built our reputation on detail-oriented work."

But on detail oriented writing, well, forget it...how long has Ron lived here in San Luis Obispo County and he can't get this right on his company Facebook page? Click here to view it and laugh with us at DT's FB page (til Ron can figure it out and get someone to spell check for him)

Good God, is there no one looking out for Ron to
prevent him from looking dumb?

Well, actually this blog pretty much dispels a lot of DeckTech's claims about detail oriented work doesn't it now? 

Avila Beach Client of DeckTech Says G'Bye to Granite Deck and Buries It Under a Tested & Proven Coating System

In September I inspected a large roof deck in Avila Beach for some possible maintenance work. It had Decktech's Granite Deck system on it, along with a "Annual Deck Maintenance Agreement" cost that was in the owners estimation, high in cost and low in value.

I found a Granite Deck system that was rapidly in decline-it got a lot of UV exposure up on a roof and it got a lot of use from guests and residents of the property.

                                                        Failing Granite Deck system

                                 Hard to clean and impossible to clean are two repeated complaints

Life Deck Al covers stairs of property

My discussion with the owner was to either maintain what you have until failure really sets in or consider an alternative. The owner set about calculating costs-Decktech's maintenance costs, doing it himself using Life Deck clear sealers bought at Miners Ace like Decktech does, or having the failing Granite Deck system buried (encapsulated, haha, away from the deleterious effects of the environment) under a new decking system.

After making those calculations, including costs of possible loss of use, rent, time etc, this owner quashed his Granite Deck costs by using another contractor besides Decktech to install a Life Deck AL system over the existing system. The Life Deck AL and other systems like it are good alternatives to the Granite Deck, being able to be stapled right through the thin Granite Deck membrane and the polymer concrete adheres well to the Granite Deck.

Once all the applications of Life Deck AL's system are down, the result is a concrete based system that resists UV far batter than Granite Deck ever hoped it could, is actually really fire resistant unlike DeckTech advertised Granite Deck is and has FAR LOWER costs to maintain than Granite Deck costs. Actually, the owner can easily CLEAN the Life Deck AL surface with nothing more than a broom, some Simple Green and warm water.

Life Deck AL, Westcoat ALX, Pli-Deck Fire system, Desert Crete etc are all concrete based systems that attach mechanically to the deck via stapling metal lath and then acrylic cements are troweled down. They are tested and evaluated pedestrian traffic coating systems, with ICC-ES reports behind them proving they are what they say they are. See if you can find any reports for Granite Deck, I can't! I will pay $100 to the first person who can produce a report on Granite Deck showing it is Class A ASTM E-108.

Corners are especially vulnerable to wear and damage, unlike real deck systems. 

Owners stuck with Granite Deck should start making their own calculations-like what happens when/if DeckTech's license is suspended or revoked? Who will maintain my DeckTech warranty then? If I'm paying $650 a year for an ADMA agreement like Doug Snyder is or $385 a year like Robert Miles is, both in Oceano, that's the cost of a new deck over 10 years time, $6,500 for Snyder...actually they should call this plan the Annual Sucker Agreement, because that is what you are when you pay an annual fee to them for them to "maintain" a piece of crap deck system.

Slowly but surely owners are coming to the round to accepting that they need to replace their Granite Deck system, either due to continued failures (or warranty repairs per DT) at seams in particular and that their ADMA is a costly luxury that would be better invested into a long term solution rather than keeping a dead deck system on Life Support.

Your turn to decide is coming soon!