We have a new house we like, but we really didn’t have a place to sit outside or use the fire pit we had enjoyed so much at our last house. We had some ideas about what to create being fairly new to the area, we didn’t know the local market. We believe in using local craftsmen so we began our search. Out of three local contractors we felt could do the work, we decided to try Taylor Construction/ Virginia Deck Works. I called Lowell Taylor and he answered the phone. Now that seems like a small thing, but I’ve had trouble over the years dealing with unresponsive contractors. It was the first positive thing about dealing with Lowell Taylor.

He made a good impression on the phone. He was interested, and he listened. We set up a meeting. He was on time. We took a tour of the property, discussed what we were thinking and talked some more. Clearly, we needed help with the design. He pumped us for our ideas and showed us some pictures of previous jobs he had completed. He said he would take the first stab at drawing up the plan. He also wanted us to look for patio/deck pictures on the Internet that showed aspects and ideas that might be incorporated into the final project. The give and take took a couple of weeks, but the process resulted in a plan that incorporated our ideas and his professional experience. We signed the contract.

Lowell showed up on the start date with a full crew and got to work. The crew had a foreman, but Lowell was involved in the entire process. The team showed up early and stayed late. These guys all seemed to know what they were doing, and the quality of their work reflected that. There were subcontractors for concrete and the brickwork. Lowell handled it all, including moving some gutters to facilitate drainage. The subs were all as courteous and capable as his immediate crew. There were a couple of delays, but they were all weather driven.

We are very happy with the outcome. I watched the construction and know the quality that went into the project. The quality of the materials used was excellent. The quality of work performed was excellent. We used Trex on the deck, and it’s really outstanding. We’re both retired and expect this house to be our last. We made this investment to satisfy us, not because of what it might do to the resale value of the home. That said, we did invite our realtor over to see what’s been done since we got into the place. She was very impressed and said we’ve significantly increased the overall value of the property. Since she used that word, that’s where I want to close: value. We are both impressed with the quality and effort that Lowell put into this project. We are completely satisfied with the value we’ve received for the cost of the project. This contracting experience is now my standard for how I think a contracting experience should go.