Stone Mountain Fence & Deck

I came across the new company that goes by a similar name (which I apparently can't use according to the review policy at Homestars... it still contains "Fence & Deck" in it) and had received a very competitive quote from them. My wife and I were headed in one of two directions, either get our deck redone in a very nice wood (Ipe) if we could get it done for $10K... or if not, to get our deck done for as little as possible in Pressure Treated. As we ended up on the latter, this put Steve’s company in our final list. However, after some due diligence, I came across the information presented in the below reviews detailing some very negative experiences with his previous company that eventually went Bankrupt.

I was pretty much ready to write Steve off entirely but figured I should at least give him a chance to explain himself, especially since I had taken up a lot of his time with some back-and-forth on the quote (and he always seemed to respond). When I asked him about it, he had no problem speaking and tackling the issue head on. He didn’t exactly accept full responsibility for what happened but he did explain the mechanics and assured me he wasn’t in the same situation again. That helped me at least get some idea of what happened (as there’s always two sides to a story) but not enough to feel comfortable to go ahead with the work as he did ask for a 10% deposit and another 30% once the work began (essentially, I was putting 40% of the contract down as a deposit).

I asked him if he’d consider doing the work piece-meal. Basically, I offered that I’d pay for the demolition once it was done and materials once they were delivered (likely on two separate days). Since I knew my deck wasn’t a big job, I already knew that should he put up any resistance, it would tip me off that something was up since he would either be very untrusting or running the company with next to no working capital. Steve thought it was a reasonable approach and agreed with my plan.

My deck wasn't a complicated job so only one person was assigned to the job. He took about a week and was pleasant enough to deal with. There were some changes he recommended (which he showed me in-person) to the foundation of the deck and he clearly knew what he was doing. He was also trying to be conscious that I didn't want to spend a lot of money so he was trying to solve problems the most cost-effective way possible. If anything, I would've actually gone a little further (which I'm sure he would've been happy to do) but in the moment I left it at the minimum. The work got done without any surprises.

I've had the deck now for close to 6 months now and I don't have any complaints, especially when you consider the competitiveness of the quote. I know it can be concerning given the past history, but I would strongly suggest giving Steve a chance (the quote is free after all) and worst-case scenario, approach any work on a piece-meal basis.

We hired the former owner of Stone Mountain to build our 10ft x 21ft second story deck completed at the beginning of December 2012. Steve has moved on and is doing business under another name, but he definitely knows what he is doing. The pressure treated deck was built very solidly with 6"x6" posts and deep concrete footings. The top railing is wood frame with full wraparound tempered glass which gives the deck a cool, contemporary look, while at the same time being very safe with no openings that our small grandkids can poke through. We had quotes from several other companies and they were all higher. The job did take a few weeks to complete but that was partially because the tempered glass had to be ordered to exact measurements after the basic deck was built. When we asked for a few minor items to be fixed, the work was done promptly and without question. We are very happy with our new deck.

The reviews here are so much like my experience, I thought I was reading my own reviews. This comapny built a fence for me in 2007. We booked the job in April, they wewre supposed to start June 1, they started July 1 and did not finish until the last week of August. they did hit utilities twice while digging and we did "call before you dig". This was not their fault, but whenever it happened, they stopped all work and would disappear for weeks at a time. Their sub, Robert, was excelelnt and bilit a very good fence...he even used screws when most people use nails. Rhonda was downright rude and dishonest whenever we tried to get answers from her. Avoid these people.

Unfortunately, I've had a very similar experience as many of the most recent reviews, and I'm getting nowhere with the company. They are not returning my emails or phone calls.

Worst part of all of it is that the deck has not passed the inspection.

I'm looking for people who have been "taken" by these jokers. I'm not sure if I'm going to need to take any legal action, but if I do it would be great if I could show a past history of their shoddy business practices, billing, etc.

You can contact me by emailing... deckproblems [AT] whatastupididea [DOT] com

Here we go again, Stone Mountain Fence and Deck/Steve [last name removed -- Ed] is hiding behind a new name: [competitor name removed--Ed]. Same logo, same phone numbers. I'll haunt them until I get my deposit back. It is the same company that told me " you won't see your money anyway because we're going bankrupt". Do not use this company!

DO NOT EVEN THINK OF USING THIS COMPANY. Do not give a deposit. The owner, Steve S and his wife Rhonda are up there with the worst people I have ever dealt with. They are scam artists. I could write a book on this company. My job was booked in July and is still unfinished. We will be finding a reputable company to finish the job. His contractors tell me they have not been paid fully. Thanks Richard (sub-contractor) for the great job you did, I hope you get the rest of your money from these horrible people, best of luck in the future.

Reading the preceeding reviews I fell that my experience is typical but needs to be shared in order to protect "other innocent homeowners".

The deck was nicely built and done quickly ( in 2006 ). However the nightmare began when I noticed that the concrete footings for the deck were basically falling apart due to a bad mix. I had a concrete engineer do an inspection to confirm my suspicions and notified Stone Mountain. No response. They ignored my calls and dodged me finally admitting that it was bad but it was only cosmetic. I ended taking them to court where I won ( they never even showed up for the trial). Of course they refuse to pay my costs to fix the deck.

The interesting part is that the small claims court officers seemed to know Steve Steinberg and Stone Mountain quite well due to the large number of claims filed against this company and his repeated court visits. Further more, during the pre-trail motion ( Dec 2009 ) Steve bragged to me that the company would be going bankrupt and I would never see a cent.

Avoid this contractor. They likely once ran a good shop but with the owner sons grabbing the reins in the last year or so, the company is swirling down the drain.

Stone Mountain is a very bad contractor. Once the deposit is received they will come up with all sorts of excuses as to why they can't start the job as promised. The trade people is not bad since they just sub-contract to other people but the back office is terrible. They also do not pay their staff as many of them complained to the customer. Do not use this company ever!!

BEWARE – the night mare begun June 2009 after getting our deposit and never contacting us.

We were informed by the sales person that we would get our fence in 2 to 4 weeks, after many calls the excuses begun, installer wife ill, rain, no crew only excuses and demanding tactics to get our money.Well 3 months later a crew shows up (yes we were very patient – good talkers) demanding money again, by then we had already confirmed that this was their tackties to get money out of us.

NO work, NO material NO money. Then the threats begun from Rhonda and then from the office as all they wanted was $$$$ for no work, no material and even the installers were not been paid as we found out.

DO NOT USE STONE MOUNTAIN FENCE & DECK you will be wiped clean or worse the installation crew will put a lean on your home...

---Finally they NEVER did the work, but kept our deposits---

Thank you Zoran you are the best – good luck in getting your monies on all the jobs you did for Stone Mountain Fence & Deck as we were happy to pay you directly on our job.

A CONCERNED CONSUMER – Please speak out & post your nightmare.

After numerous research we finally chose Stone Mountain to build a replacement cedar of 8 by 32 feet with a stair going to the walkout basement level. The price was competitive but the work was delayed and delayed. It was finally completed 8 months later after a winter. The worst part is they don't pay their staff... the sales quit and the carpenter quit...it's a nightmare...do not use this company at all!!