Deck, Porch, and Spa were built / installed by a crew that could speak no English what-so-ever. I was finally able to get a bilingual office assistant to the local Franchise Owner to come out at least once, and sometimes twice a week to attempt to address the many problems. However, the problems continued-----as I am not bilingual, I can not attest to the instructions that were actually given to the crew. 1.) Nothing was screwed together---everything was nailed with a low-pressure, Air-Nailer.......EVERYTHING !! And,long before the project was even half-way com- pleted, the poorly nailed deck pickets & very thin ( 1' instead of 1-1/2' ) deck flooring. I actually live in a designated Historic Neighborhood; and, since so much of the materials and workmanship is of a shoddy nature, ( both the neighborhood homeowner's association president, and a city code enforcement officer visited my home, and then called in the pre- sident of the local Historical Sites & Landmarks De- signation and Enforcement Board ). Then, after they took numerous photos of the originally existing por- tions of my home, then photos depicting all of the additions and alterations as possible, we visited 4 other homes in my immediate neighborhood that were of an almost identical 1920's Bungalow-Style design and structure. Each of the 4 had also had major ren- ovations or additions within the past 3 years. It was immediately obvious to us that these projects had been performed by true & experienced craftsmen; and, all of the materials were of a far superior quality both aestheticly and structurally. I was actually ashamed for them to return to my home and backyard area where my project was located. All three of the officials were obviously sympathetic with my dilemma- -------especially after learning of the small fortune this 'mess' had cost me, along with the unbelievable inconvenience we had to endure-----especially, as the project went 3-1/2 weeks past the Contract Completion Date (for which we were given no reason), and $6,700 over the Contract Price----again, no reason given other than the fact that materials had increased be- cause of Hurricane Katrina (even though no mention of this was ever made, even though the project began on the Tuesday after the Hurricane). Also, we never,ever made a single design change to the BluePrints, and never chose any materials or accessories not stated in the Specifications & Contract. Fortunately, due to the obvious 'hardship' and deceptively fraudulent actions of Archadeck, Inc., they've given me a dead- line of six months (rather than the usual six weeks) to bring up all aspects of the project into compli- ance with both the neighborhood, and city, bylaws & regulations, as-well-as those of the Historic Comm. 2.) In an attempt to save as money as possible now, I am being forced to demolish and dispose of the porch, deck, and spa by myself now. Fortunately, several of my neighbors learned of my predicament; and, also out of sympathy for my family's fraud and loss of so very much money, have happily asked if they could assist us with the demo., and as much of the additional work that we can do. 3.) Also, now that we have started the demolition, I no- ticed that the shingles used to cover the porch and the spa area were three-tab, plain shingles, and not the color and style of those on the rest of our house I took a couple of the shingles to the lumber yard that had delivered all of the other materials for my 'initial' project, and showed them to the lumber co's assistant manager. He located the matching style, and told me they're the cheapest 3-tab shingle they stock and sell.....and, that they are mainly used on dog- houses, chicken 'coops', well-houses, and similarly cheap structures; and, that they carried a limited warranty of 15 to 20 years----the cheapest available. And,that they were not at all like the much heavier, thicker, far prettier 40-year warranteed shingle like the 'Brand Name' Architectural-Grade,simulated cedar- shingle style that were exactly 'spelled-out in de- tail' in two places on both my Contract and Specifi- cations. Furthermore, when a few neighbors & myself began removing the shingles, we discovered that the new shingles were attached by two metal staples..... one at each end, and only about twice the size of an office staple. And, as we progressed, we became aware that absolutely no felt, tar-paper, or vapor barrier had been installed anywhere on the 600 s.f. addition, along with no flashing around an existing chimney that arose through the new addition, and no flashing around any of the four skylites in the new addition, or around the smaller chimney that was built with the addition. There was no caulking, but there was some kind of heavy, black, gooey substance that had begun to 'run' down the shingles / roof for about 2 or 3 inches in each place it was applied. 4.) There were / many, many other areas where far sub- standard materials were utilized, inumerous building code violations (which were cleverly disguised or hidden), and, just plain, shoddy, unacceptable work where it should've been workmanship or craftsmanahip. The electrical installations had many areas that were deemed unsafe, or a potential hazard; and, much of the plumbing had been installed with either recalled or long ago been deemed code-unapproved materials and fittings------and, we were told that there had been an extremely high probability ( %60 - %65 ) that we would have, in all likelihood, incurred a signi- ficant failure in a number of different areas of the 'new' plumbing system within possibly 6 months to a year; and, an 'almost certain' catastophic plumbing malfunction / failure within 5 years. 5.) As I noted earlier, I could almost write a novelette about the nightmare(s) we endured at almost each and every single juncture / phase of the project. Also, to validate and formally / officially hired two ( 2 ) different, completely unaffiliated Licensed Home In- spectors, who did not know one another,and were sche- duled to arrive about two weeks apart so that each would have no knowledge of the other, and we could be almost totally self-assured that we were receiving two (2) completely unbiased Home Inspection Reports. It was never that we did not trust the Inspectors, We simply desired to reveal that we were indeed receiv- ing two (2) highly-detailed Inspection Reports from two (2) much-respected Professionals from within the Home Inspection Industry. Both of the inspections were somewhere around the $600.00 range, and each was well worth the expenditure. Each Professional had numerous tools, implements, and devices that assisted them greatly in their inspections. Also, one had a Polaroid camera, while the other had a digital camera and a small, portable printer connected for power in his truck. Both men were extremely diligent in their work, took only a couple of breaks, and were thorough almost beyond belief. Each lasted no less than five hours; and, each presented us with a final Home In- spection Report numbering approximately 20-22 pages, with an assorted attachment of photos almost equal in number, & either documenting or supporting the docu- mentation recorded within the specific areas of the final Home Inspection Report. Also, upon completion, each Licensed Home Inspector spent a minimum of at least 1 to 1-1/2 hours 'going over' each and every page, section, and phtograph of the Report(s) making certain that we understood the entire report w/photos and, very patiently addressing any of our possible concerns, & answering each of our questions in both the specific language of the construction / archi- tectural / engineering industries, and then simpli- fying everything in 'layman's' terms to our complete satisfaction; and, then 'pulling' the entire Inspec- tion Report together thus allowing us to then realize and fully understand what a 'sad' shape our project was in, & the necessary steps to rectify each inade- quecy. However, in consideration of the value of both our beautifully-landscaped lot, & the beauty, nature, and intrically detailed and crafted design of this unique & rare 1920's bungalow that has been discover- ed to be one of the few to have both been designed & built by a member of the top etchelon of extremely prominate, gifted, and foward-thinking Architects of the turn of the century, all parties agreed that all remnants of the addition(s) be completely demolished and crafted into existense by one of the few promi- nently known General Contractors that is much more of a specialty builder concentrating on the care and craftmanship that should be afforded a treasure or historical landmarks. 6.) Now, it has been two years this spring since that building debacle of a project with Archadeck, Inc., and, we've yet to settle the case after more than two and a half years of legal motions. My advice: STAY AWAY from ARCHADECK, INC., and do not be lulled by any of their 'slick' advertising and promises.