Get matched with top awning pros in Smyrna, DE

"Josh and his team rescued us from a horrible situation. After spending much of our life savings on a 4 season room build we were left with an unfinished addition that was in no way functional. Having to spend more money to hire an attorney we were finally given the ok to find someone to finish the room. Then we met Josh! He understood our dilemma and knew that we were somewhat nervous due to the previous contractors lack of professionalism. In one week Josh and Andrew completed our room, installed our awning and renewed our faith that there are still good people out there with old school work ethics. Josh is on our speed dial and is highly recommended for all your home improvement needs."

"They were very professional, courteous and neat. I work from home and they worked quietly and quickly. They were extremely knowledgeable with their recommendations. Would definitely use their services in the future."

"These guys are the best. They were prompt, professional, and did a very fine job. Highly recommend."

"Sandy (owner of the company) was very on top of our project. We had an opening cut out of a load bearing wall. It was very large opening and the wall was stabilized for continued support of our home. Very well done. The project did require more time and our home was protected as much as possible from construction dust . My only suggestion is for Sandy to have an electrician that she has trust in and a working relationship. Respectfully Deb W"

"excellent work. Would definitely hire again"

"Very professional, prompt and reasonable."

"Major reasons for my frustration:
1.  They said that they had inspected my house and were confident in their ability to put up lights without problems, but on the installation day, they discovered that I have a slate roof and gutter boxes, not metal gutters, which prevented them from installing lights on my roof and gutters.
2.  One of the guys was smoking while putting up and taking down lights.
3.  AC kept telling me to call him so he could re-do my landscaping and fix my balcony railing.  Great, but I never asked for his opinion, and I had just told him that I had JUST re-done all of my landscaping and that my contractor was working on installing a new deck on the balcony so it was not finished yet.  Despite my replies, he kept telling me to call him to work on my house.  
4.  They did not call or email me before coming to take my lights down.  I had out of state company staying with me when they showed up.  I told them that I expected notification before they arrived, and they said that was the last day for take-down.  
5.  They were unable to get the lights off of the balcony railing and recommended cutting them down.  I told them not to cut them, and when I went up and looked at the lights a couple of days later, I was able to easily take them down without cutting them. 
If you want more details, keep reading:
I received an ad for Christmas light installation by Roark Remodeling in the mail.  I went to the website but had some difficulty figuring out if I had submitted everything correctly because I did not receive a confirmation page.  I sent an email through the website, and AC White called me back very quickly.  He and I settled on a date--Saturday, Dec. 6, 2014, in the morning, for the work to be done.  He then explained that I still needed to request an appointment through their website and submit payment that way, and they would email a confirmation to me.  I was a little nervous about paying for service that I hadn't received yet, but did it anyway so I could secure the date for installation.  It was also an inconvenience to have to go back online after having just set a date via the telephone.  But, whatever, I did it.  
AC and his assistant arrived on Saturday, around 10 or 11am.  They called earlier in the morning to give an estimate of when they would arrive, and they were accurate.  Upon walking up to my house, AC told me that they had driven by and already inspected my house, so he was confident that they could put up my lights without any problems.  So, when I asked if the slate tiles and gutter boxes were going to be a problem, I was surprised to hear him say, "Oh, you have a slate roof?  And your gutters are just extensions of the roof and not metal attached ones?"  It turned out that they were not able to put any lights on my roof or on my gutters, as he had initially told me they would.  I sort of figured that they wouldn't be able to, but was disappointed that their "inspection" didn't involve looking at the roof or gutters.  Also, AC's assistant was smoking when they walked up to my house and continued to smoke while installing my lights.  He remained outside the whole time, but I thought it was unprofessional to smoke on my property while working.  Any time there was a question (3), I had to breathe the smoky air.
I was having them install my own lights, rather than provide lights.  They did not tell me that I also needed to provide at least 5 extension cords.  I had always used 2 for previous years but was able to find 2 more outdoor cords, and they wrapped an indoor cord with saran wrap to make it usable outside.  (Safe??)  In the end, the lights looked nice, but I could have easily done that job myself.  Additionally, AC kept telling me all of the ways that he could improve my landscaping and my house...but I never asked for his opinion or assistance.  In fact, I had just explained that I had completely redone all of my landscaping this past summer, and that I LOVE it.  He told me to call him back to fix my balcony railing because it would not meet OSHA standards and was very unsafe.  I reminded him that I was having new deck flooring installed and that my contractor was not finished yet.
In order to schedule the take-down appointment, I had to submit preferred days of the week and times through their website, which I did as soon as I returned from a NYE vacation, and selected Wed or Sat afternoons.  I did not receive a confirmation call or email with a date or time.  I had out of state company staying with me when AC and his smoking companion showed up to take down my lights-on a Sunday afternoon.  They did not call before arriving, and I had to go back inside (had just gotten ready to go to the local park with my goddaughter) to get the box for the lights and cords and to unlock the back yard gate.  I explained that I had expected a call or at least an email before they arrived, and AC answered that this was the last day for taking down lights.  Apparently it was that day or not at all.  
The assistant later knocked on my door, smoking on my back porch, and asked me to come and answer a question.  AC told me that he could not get the lights off of the balcony railing because new deck flooring that had been installed after the lights were up was too close to the bottom of the railing, and he couldn't get the plug out from underneath it.  He offered to cut the lights off and bring a new set next year, when I called him to install lights again next year.  I told him to just leave them up and I would take a look at it later and perhaps have my contractor replace them if needed.  When I looked at the lights a couple of days later, I was able to slide the cord down about two feet and take the lights off without any problems.  (There was no snow on the roof or ground when they came to remove the lights, and it was still daylight, so his view was not obstructed.)  
Overall, the lights looked good and worked all season, but I installed the lights in the same way myself last year.  I was annoyed with AC's repeated recommendation that I call him to "fix things up" or to "re-do my landscaping."  I was frustrated with the smoking and with the lack of attention to detail--the "inspection" that did not inspect what he needed to see, the inability to remove the lights that I then did without a problem a couple of days later.  I would not hire him again, as I could do the job that he did, without the smoking and without the interruption of my visit with friends, and most importantly, without the repeated request to call AC for future business."

"Excellent, would definitely hire again."

"Professional courteous installation team. Knew what they were doing, a clean installation and left the site just like they found it. I did not have to do any cleanup. We are already enjoying the benefits of the awning and Solar Shades. Chris is great to work with and knows how to satisfy the customer. I recommend The Great Outdoors to anyone looking for an awning or solar shade."

"It went very well, they are prompt, on time, prof, reasonable rate, and everything went really well."