March 2024 "I moved into my Lombard home 5 years ago and had many jobs done, many different contractors. Frank Lamphere and his crew far outshone all the others. Frank listened to my ideas, incorporated them into his plans, demolished the old deck, put up the new one trouble-free. No hassle with the village. I wanted a privacy wall on the west side and a clothesline on the north side of the deck. No problem. His crew was professional, friendly, competent. They cleaned up each day, worked quickly and quietly.
Frank came often to the site to make sure all work went smoothly. He answered all my phone questions. Soothed my anxieties. Told me stories. Made me laugh. Treated me more as a friend than a client. I was so sorry to have the job completed.
I've had so many positive comments about the finished deck. I've successfully had parties of 15 or so which I never could have done with the old rickety deck. The railing is 5" wide all the way around, which makes it easy for people's drinks, lessening the need for tables. I love the privacy wall. I can't see the neighbors, they can't see me (except for when the neighbor brought out a bucket of soap and water to wash his garage door at the exact same time I had a party). My need for a clothesline was a surprise for Frank, but the end result is exactly what I need to hang rugs, blankets and jeans in the summer. I walk to the edge of my deck and there it is, right where I can reach the line.
I hope you decide to go with Frank's A-Affordable Decks. You'll be so glad you did.
- Lombard customer
Feb 08, 2022 "We hired Frank to do a complete tear out of our old deck and a new one from the ground up. Couldn’t have been happier with Frank’s suggestions, pricing and attention to detail from start to finish.
I work up on the North Shore, Highland park, Lake Forest, Glencoe. I’m constantly working along side renovators and general contractors on very high dollar projects. I know a thing or two about how work should be done and the shortcuts people take.
The attention to detail Frank’s crew has i don’t see up on the north shore, let alone the Woodridge Dupage County area! These guys are super organized, work clean, everything was picked up daily. No sub prime boards , hardware or short cuts. Every board and hole was aligned perfectly, pre drilled then screwed down. This takes 3x - 4x more time than simply using a nail gun, which was my old deck. Not to mention this is the only way to stop boards from splitting years down the road.
My old deck used to pop n make loud cracks during the winter as the temps changed. This was because the deck was never truly square or laid properly. It looked fine and was solid but it wasn’t right. This winter I haven’t heard so much as a peep out of our deck as it’s properly built. My old deck the stairs were way too steep, out of code and not in a great spot. Frank and co. Offered really good solutions and it’s amazing.
Our house was in the track of the tornado that hit woodridge naperville. Woodridge has very strict codes on decks. I never had a problem with the village and Frank’s crew worked seamlessly with them. I have 3 neighbors that were denied permits and got stop work orders due to not meeting code.
We ended up going with pressure treated lumber over anything exotic as we had a lot of damage to repair on the house. The state of lumber in this country is poor. Most lumber is warped, knotted to hell, already splitting or worse. Frank must of picked through a ton of lumber because everything on my deck is grade A.
I see what this lumber looks like at the yards and by the bundle at job sites, half of it is unusable in my opinion and thankfully frank feels the same.
All my neighbors are envious of our new deck. All of them commented on how they’ve never seen guys do this quality of work. I was away at work during the construction but I get to enjoy the finished product.
-Adam
Nov 19, 2020 "Frank and his team did an excellent job on our new deck. We are absolutely thrilled with the result and amazed at the quality of the work that they did. Even the building inspector said that this was one of the highest quality built decks that he has seen in the area for a long time. They were very professional, timely and kept our yard clean throughout the entire build. We highly recommend A-Affordable Decks" -Mike G.
Feb 14, 2020 "I bought a house in Glen Ellyn last year and the existing deck was scary! I found Frank and his crew. They were prompt, professional, and he offered some great advice. When we ran into something that would cause additional money, we talked about it thoroughly before any steps were taken. I even asked them for advice on another issue on my house, and asked them to fix that as well. They were wonderful to work with! I have gotten a lot of compliments from neighbors on how the deck looks!"
-Debbie