Outdoor Solutions was an exceptionally easy company to work with for our deck project that was completed in February, 2017. I would like to share a little detail about the positive process my family experienced. Jim (co-owner with his wife) was very quick to respond to our request for quotes. After our initial phone call, he visited our house within a couple of days. It probably would have been sooner but our busy family schedule wouldn’t allow that week. At our first meeting, on a Friday evening with 2 crazy boys running about, Jim met with us to discuss our design ideas. We discussed our budget, the design and materials we preferred. Jim was very helpful, in a very polite and consultative manner, to work with us on different design options. My family and I recently moved to a new area within the Twin Cities and Jim was really helpful in educating us on city building codes that were important in our design considerations. At the conclusion of our initial meeting we received a reasonable, competitive, very honest quote. As of the following Monday, we decided to choose Outdoor Solutions. Within a couple of days, the permit was obtained from the city and the design specifications submitted to our HOA on a Thursday. All prerequisite approvals were received on Sunday and footings were drilled the following Wednesday and filled with concrete either Thursday or Friday the same week. The construction crew began building our deck before the concrete cured, using temporary supports and was finished within 2 days. After approximately 5 days for the concrete footings to cure, the crew returned and spent about a half day building the permanent support posts. On the concrete footings…I live in MN and in February the ground is frozen solid and had snow on the ground when the footings were drilled, hence the 5 days to cure (this was expected before we started the build).
A little about the crew that built our deck…the guys were awesome for the following reasons:
1.I have 2 boys, 6 and under. On day 1, the crew was on a first name basis with my boys. For some context, we have a lookout with the patio door being elevated about 8 feet. My kids would crack the patio door and talk with the crew every morning before school and daycare. The crew was very engaging, polite and interacted with our kids as if they were their own; after school was the same!
2.Every morning they said they would be here at 7:30, they were and were a few minutes early each morning.
3.One of the days, the forecast called for snow but instead steady drizzling rain. The crew didn’t flinch and powered through the conditions. I was at home that day and stated my admiration for working through the conditions and they didn’t seem phased.
Lastly, February MN weather can be unforgiving yet that didn’t affect the quality and workmanship. Outdoor Solutions and their quality of service was outstanding. Their owner and crew were as good as it gets. I’ve worked with several contractors on various projects in my over the past 15 years. While not each project was the same, Outdoor solutions was the most reliable, honored their commitments 100%, and was the most genuine and honest of them all. Upon final inspection by the city, the inspector told me the build quality is better than most and exceeded several building code standards.
Since July 2016, we’ve interviewed 12 contractors with 5 of them being in 2017. We did our homework and chose the best company for our project, design requirements and budget! Outdoor Solutions is a small locally-owner business. My parents were small business owners where hand-shakes, honesty, reliability, hard work and sense of community were valued. Outdoor solutions is all of these and more!
At the time of this review, it is pitch black. I will take photos and hopefully be able to update this review.
That's how we treat every customer. Deck was done on a handshake and we both delivered.
Jim and Christy Funk
Owners-Outdoor Solutions Inc.