Customer ReviewsforDave Van Rite Construction

At Dave Van Rite Construction, LLC we take pride in our customer satisfaction rate, craftsmanship, product quality, and overall experience we offer our customers.
We have our customers sign all documents including Estimates, Contracts, and Change Orders before any invoices are sent. On 10/5/23, *** signed a Contract for $18,464.00 for a Trex Deck with Lighting Package. The Contract has the following terms & conditions listed:

This proposal is subject to the following Terms and Conditions:
Any Additional Work to be Charged as Time & Material at $95 per Man Hour + Material Cost
Plans & Permit Cost TBD
Subcontractors subject to 15% Markup
50% Due Upon Approval
Progress ******** may be required throughout course of project as work is completed.
Remaining Balance Due at Project Completion
Late Payments Subject to Late Fees
Cash, Check or ACH Payment Accepted, 3.5 % Convenience Fee for Credit & Debit Card Payments
Dave Van Rite Construction, LLC is responsible for calling **************** to mark all public utilities to complete this work. Any private utilities should be marked by the Home Owner - Dave Van Rite Construction, LLC is not liable for any damage done to private utilities.

Due to the current fluctuation in costs of materials, pricing on this proposal is subject to change.

On October 5, 2023, ***** spoke with the homeowner on the phone and informed her that she was tentatively scheduled for December. The homeowner said she was not in a big hurry so if someone else's project needed to go before her, that was fine. She stated all she cared about was that she had her deck by Spring. 
On November 22, 2023, our Project Manager emailed homeowners with information regarding footing installations that would be beginning the week of Dec 4. On Dec 8, our Project Manager sent an additional email to *** individually, stating her footing installation would be the week of Dec 13th. The homeowner responded via email with "Thank You," acknowledging receipt of the email.
On 12/14/23, our Project Manager sent *** Change Order #1 to extend her deck by 1 ft to ensure it would meet the height of her pre-existing deck which had outcropping stones surrounding the perimeter. *** signed the change order that same day, 12/14/23. On 1/3/24, our Project Manager sent *** Change Order #2 to add more lights to her deck. *** signed the Change Order on 1/5/24. Upon Project Completion, the ******* explained we would be coming back to clean the deck. When the final invoice for the remaining balance was sent, we received only partial payment toward the remaining balance of the project, and our team reached out to homeowners the week of 1/30/24 while we had 50 degree weather to offer to come back to clean decks. *** responded letting us know she did not want us to come to clean the deck at that time due to her water being shut off still, and the ground being soggy. ***** called *** on 2/6/24 to explain that we would be happy to come back at a later date to clean the deck, however since the outstanding balance on the project was over $5,000, we would need an additional payment sent since the deck was fully built, just needed to be cleaned. *** then expressed her frustrations including a claim that we had "several price changes throughout the course of her project which were against [her] will" which was not factual. *** was quick to claim we were doing "bad business" which would strike a chord with any passionate business owner that knows we followed proper processes in sharing costs openly with customers and having all of the proper documents signed. The homeowner stated she would take us to court if she had to. We responded letting her know we would share that information with our owner, but that we had a Contract and 2 Change Orders that were signed by the homeowner, and that they state that the Balance is Due Upon Completion. We sent the following email on 2/7/24 including the signed documents:


Hello ***,
As we discussed on the phone, our crew needs to come back to your home to clean your deck when you are ready. Although we had reached out to you to try to clean your deck last week, we are perfectly fine with waiting until the weather warms back up and you have your water turned on, etc. In this case we will hold back $500 until we clean the deck in April per your request. Since the outstanding balance is $5,512.20 at this time, we are requesting $5,012.20 to be paid by the end of this week per the payment terms on your signed Contract. Please note Late Payments are Subject to Late Fees.

I have attached the copies of the Contract, Change Order #1 and Change Order #2 that you signed for your reference.


We did not receive a response to the email, but instead received notification the morning of 2/9/24 of this review. Since there was conversation about the deck originally being expected to begin in Spring, we were going to provide the homeowner with extra time to pay her remaining balance by returning in April to clean the deck. Before we were able to submit the comments to this review and share that response with her, *** came into our office the same day 2/9/24 and paid all but $500 of her remaining balance. ***** brought *** to speak with ****, our owner, so she could share her experience. **** listened to ***'s concerns and they walked through the details of the project. It was clear *** was satisfied with the end result and agreed she did in fact sign the documents, but had additional feedback she wanted to share. *** stated she had a specific budget in mind and due to us starting the deck when we did, was not prepared to pay as soon as we were able to finish the project. She stated she shared that information with the salesman early on in the estimating process.  **** stated he would remove the $500 from her invoice for any misunderstanding, and we would clean her deck when she is ready for us in Spring. As a team, we discussed ways we can continue to improve our processes internally, as we strive for 100% customer satisfaction and take all feedback seriously.