Darcy Gibbs Home Improvement
Introduction: My focus is doing the job correctly the first time. This means not cutting corners, even when it is more expensive. Some of my competitors charge less and deliver less. We will take the time to make sure you are 100% satisfied and that the job is done correctly the first time.
Overview
Hired 3 times
Background checked
3 employees
6 years in business
Payment methods
This pro accepts payments via Apple Pay, Cash, Credit card, PayPal, Square cash app, Venmo, and Zelle.
Featured Projects
25 photos
Reviews
Customers rated this pro highly for work quality, professionalism, and value.
Good 4.0
5 reviews
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This pro's rating is a combination of reviews posted by customers both on and off of Thumbtack. Thumbtack cannot verify external reviews.
Charlene h.
Nov 10, 2023
Very Professional. I had to go out of town for business. Darcy and his team handled the entire project while I was out of town. Sent me daily updates and waited until I returned to do the final walk through. We decided to remove some of the molding as it didn't go with the modern look we wanted. He removed it and touched up the paint for free.
Leann J.
Sep 24, 2023
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Hired on Thumbtack
Hired on Thumbtack
AWFUL!!! Where should I start with Darcy and my stressful experience with him while dealing with my 10 month old baby??? We hired him to build our floating deck/exterior patio and we have sooo many complaints: from his condescending/rude attitude to his lack of accountability & dishonesty to his inexperience with construction to his cheap/bad quality work to his unsafe practices….This man is just awful! From day one (during estimate visit), he gave me a bad vibe—cocky, condescending, impatient and seemed annoyed when you asked a question about his process. That should have been a big red flag 🚩 !!! Very shady!!! However, because he provided the cheapest quote, was within our budget and we wanted to support a small business, we decided to go with him. Before starting the job, he came to me last minute and said that he forgot to mention he will need $1000 up front. Cool. That money was sent. Then the next day, he came back again asking for almost the entire amount of the remaining balance. I asked him why should I send this amount when he has not finished the job and all he did the day before was dig up 6 holes and I have yet to see materials brought to our yard. Materials that should have been bought with the first $1000. He kept lying about our initial agreement but because I needed this deck done by a certain date (staircase contractor was scheduled to start work the following week), I paid him the additional money and left the matter alone. As he continued to work on our backyard, my nanny and my husband noticed his rude attitude and complained to me about it (same attitude that I had noticed and was bothered by). I thought “ This man just needs to get this job done and get the heck out of my yard”. Once done, let me just say —-the finishing touches were a HOT MESS! Looked like an amateur worked on our deck!!! Like someone who had one construction course and came to work on our deck as an experiment. Where do I start??? Jaggedy edges of the boards, the skirt of the deck did not make sense at all (uneven boards, boards not matching and aligning, large spaces in between the boards, boards not nailed on to joists, ends of boards not supported by any joists (causing the edges and tips to bend as you step on them), hangers too large and not supporting, cosmetic board type used (boards meant for decorative use—-not decks/heavy foot traffic), screw shank/thread/tip showing outside of boards when it’s not supposed to (See attached pics)… aww mehn the list goes on!! Then, our staircase contractor (a renowned & highly reputable contractor) came to start work and told me that an unprofessional built our deck. He refused to build a staircase on top of it because it was “not safe” and “will not last more than a year”. He asked that I call him when Darcy fixes the issues. Even suggested that he rips the whole thing up and do it better. I. called Darcy about it and he made one excuse after the next. Even sounding like he is believing his own lies! Real manipulative man! Darcy claimed that his work was “ flawless” and had a plaster for ever soar (an excuse/justification in bulleted points for everything thrown at him). No accountability and ownership! Did I mention how I stressed to him that the boards were unsafe and bending and I’m worried about the safety of my infant and visitors?? Yet he didn’t care!! These same boards that I complained about (that weren’t supported or in joists) are now split!! Yep that’s right!! Two weeks later!! With light foot traffic—-split!!! Imagine if it had broke in half when my baby and I were stepping on it!! He even suggested that the staircase contractor was bashing his work in order to lock in a repair contract with me. Keep in mind, I offered the staircase contractor the job to repair Darcy’s work and he turned it down, saying he does NOT fix contractors’ messes.He asked that I call him back when the deck is fixed BY DARCY. Why would he risk losing his $4000 staircase job?? He has not called back since. Then, I got a 2nd opinion from another reputable staircase and deck contractor. The 2nd person took a look at the top and underneath the deck and said the same as the other contractor. He did eventually build an amazing/great quality staircase for us but had to make modifications underneath and fix some of Darcy’s mess (FREE OF CHARGE/DIDN’T ADD REPAIR COSTS TO THE ALREADY DONE ESTIMATE). Needless to say , we will hire this man again for his great quality work and great customer service. For our pergola, 2nd home and our future project in our unfinished basement. Keep in mind, when I had addressed Darcy about the issues AGAIN (via phone), he asked me to list the issues out and send him pics (not videos, which I found interesting 🤔) and he will come back to fix them. However, after sending exactly what he asked for that clearly showed the deck issues, he denied everything via text and email (again—he is a dishonest character and snake!!!) What a CON MAN!!! And did I mention, he initially told me it would be him alone working over the duration of 5 days ?? He had explained that this is the reason why his price is so low. But then he shows up to my house with two helpers. My guess is he low balled his price thinking he could get it done alone and then realized that he could not (NOT MY ISSUE) . In turn, he ended up having to hire/pay his helpers and then he cut back on spending on decent materials and bought cheaper decorative boards instead and had to cut corners resulting in messy work and an unsafe deck. Also, the helpers were not around for the last two days so he rushed things out if frustration and did the sloppy finishing touches. To add, they left construction debris and wood under our deck and all over our yard and food packaging and tangerine peels. Not only did he do a horrible job with our deck, he couldn’t even clean up his mess before leaving! Rude!!! And utterly disrespectful!! (See attached pics)
Details: Concrete • 100 - 250 sq ft • I need the professional to purchase the materials • Home
Darcy Gibbs Home Improvement's reply
I’m sorry you feel this way. I’m not sure why you would spend this much time writing lies and half truths, but let me dispel a few of them.
For anyone who doubts the truth of what I’m saying… I’ve left pics of your yard and the deck in my picture gallery.
The only words I said to your husband was hello and goodbye as he was at work during the time we were there. The only time I spoke to your babysitter was to ask her to move her car out of the driveway so that we could unload supplies.
Your deck was built with the most expensive supplies on the market. The entire deck is constructed of ground contact pressure treated wood.
My guys refused to come back after two days because they would rather work a job indoors than work in 90plus degree weather in a yard filled with broken glass, mosquitoes, and dog poop.
The repairs you claimed you were told the deck needed would require that the entire deck be dismantled. I don’t believe that anyone would disassemble and reassemble the deck for free. Besides anyone who is knowledgeable on the subject would take a look under the deck and see it was built correctly. So the only repairs that were done for free was probably adding some additional screws as I told you might be needed.
You left out the part where you thanked me profusely for the work. You were so happy and relieved with how the deck turned out because your husband didn’t want to do the project because he didn’t trust your judgement. Stemming from the fact you paid someone to grade the yard and they did a terrible job.
I’m sure if I was to take a picture of your deck today it would structurally be the same.
BELOW IS MY INITIAL RESPONSE TO YOUR CONCERN OF HOW THE DECK WAS BUILT
1: the planks that do not have joists under them have blocking which are connected to the joists so that they are supported. There is no planking on the deck that is not supported.
2: the joist hangers are made for 2 x6s or 2 x 8s which is irrelevant since the joists are attached directly to the headers. The hangers are a secondary means of support.
3:The posts are sitting in ‘deck blocks’ which are made of concrete. They are only made for 4 x 4 posts so anyone telling you that you need 6x6 posts don’t know what they’re talking about.
4: all wood used for the deck is ‘ground contact’ pressure treated wood. Rated for direct contact with earth.
6:the deck is plumb and level.
Because of the rain and the fact that you have new fresh wood, there will be some initial warping. These planks should settle down after the wood drys out over a month or so. It’s like hardwood floors. You have to let them sit in the area for a week or more before installing so they can get acclimated.
If there is still warping after a few weeks; just add more screws.
Floor Installation or Replacement
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Nikita Gibbs