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November 9, 1997

Dear Don:

The deck which you built for us is wonderful. I'm enjoying it for many reasons:

First, the workmanship is perfect. I didn't know what post and beam style meant until I could see how all the wood fits together to support each board with no weight placed on the nails. Every board is tight and properly aligned. The old deck which you demolished exposed quite a few problems with the house itself. You made sure all of these faults were fixed before the new deck was built.

Second, your design work produced a deck worthy of being in a designer magazine. A several hundred square foot wrap-around deck with a lot of strange angles is no easy effort, but you made it look simple. The original builder should have known that more footings were needed, but the additional ones you poured and the refurbishing of the old ones will keep the deck stable probably longer than the house will stand. Susy and I especially like the cedar railings you made, we've gotten many compliments.

Third, your crew was professional, friendly, and caused minimal disruption despite the amount of new materials and the old deck scrap. You left the area as neat as the day you arrived. Thanks.

I almost forgot to mention the new front steps to our house. Again, a great job. Although we couldn't decide on items like where the deck steps ought to be, what the rails should look like, etc., you worked with us and made good suggestions - and still met the budget. This was a good experience (I always thought homeowners were supposed to have arguments with contractors). Please use us as a reference, and feel free to stop by and show the deck and steps to prospective clients. Thank you again.

Bruce and Susan Barniker

Mystic, CT