Mark the Fence Guy

We hired Mark to build our Hog wire fence and a HUGE custom trellise for our massive climbing roses 2 years ago and were impressed with the quality of his work. He is smart and practical and gave us a good advice. His pricing is fair and he does great work. This year we have hired him to build more custom trellises for us and we are looking forward to that! Thank you Mark!

The May storms had blown down 2 sections of my fence. Our home’s fence is over 10 years old and it has seen better days. Mark came out helped me move the 2 sections of fence and quoted me for replacement of 3 4×4 posts ($ 285). We told him to that this was fine and that he would come back the following week to do the work. We are out of town the following week, but Mark comes out and does the work with me and my neighbors blessing. When I get back however, the fence «repair» looks like a patch job. While the repair is sturdy, it is aesthetically deficient. My expectations were 3 4×4 posts cemented in the ground like a normal fence post, what I got was 3 4×4 posts, 1 has a perpendicular 4×4 piece (essentially a cross) and the other has an additional 4×4 section bolted to the fence post. It appears that this was done to support the 2×4 section or it was not spaced properly and an additional post needed to be bolted on in order to nail the 2×4 into the fence post.
When I sent Mark pictures and asked him why he did the job this way, he explained how this was a «repair» and not a «replacement» and that the 2×4’s were rotted out. I asked him why he didn’t say anything on his initial assessment and he said he didn’t see the 2×4’s when helping me move those 2 sections. Then I asked him about the spacing of the posts themselves he defended his work with tooth and nail (very rudely too) saying this was because of the rotted 2×4’s which he could have addressed when he originally came out but didn’t.
So he has $ 285 and I have a unappealing repair job.

Okay, while I love my finished fence, Mark the Fence Guy has some flaws.
My home’s privacy fence was older than dirt, not at all chihuahua-​proof, and termite-​damaged. We got three bids from different contractors, and we liked Marks’ pitch, book, and price best. Plus, a house in our neighborhood has a new fence with a sign of Mark’s, so we figured he already had a satisfied customer nearby.
We asked at our first meeting if the bid included removal of the old fence, and Mark said yes.
I winged off for a long weekend with family in NYC over July 4^th weekend; Mark was due to start demo and construction around the same time.
Because I was out of town, I totally missed the rain and the fact that our old fence was torn down, and left piled up on our front lawn. The frame was put up, but rain delayed construction. Like I said, I wasn’t home, but given that we, and my neighbors on both sides have dogs, this might have been a problem.
I got home from vacation and the fence was still not done. Mark called and left a message when I was at JFK, explaining that he had a family emergency and wasn’t able to be on site at all. So that was a second delay. Since I was just getting home, I wasn’t bothered at all.
It took about another week to finish the fence. Please note that this whole time, our old fence was piled up on our front lawn. When Mark came to submit the invoice and collect payment, we asked if he’d be taking the old fence away — and shockingly, he said NO. He said that the invoice stated that «old fence recycled/​taken away by others» meant he would NOT remove the fencing, and that it would just be scavenged by someone needing old wood.
I didn’t really care to argue with him at the time. I was more surprised that he chose to ignore the fact that, at our first meeting, that we asked and got the answer that he WOULD remove the old fence. And I flashed back to my neighbor with the «Mark the Fence Guy» sign — how effective would that sign be to get new business if it were obscured by moldy old fencing?
It was a collossal pain in the ass to have the old fence on our front yard. Not only was it an eyesore, but scavengers would go through the pile looking for anything decent, and strew planks about. My husband restacked the pile twice.
So I waited a week, then called Mark back. He hung up on me. Twice. So I called a third time, and threatened to leave a negative BBB review and negative Unilocal review if he didn’t remove the old fencing.
It was gone that night.
So, the fence is good. Good work, and good looking. But I didn’t appreciate the removal runaround.
Also, please note that Mark suggested we put up a craigslist ad saying, «Free fencing! Excellent quality». Which is what he does. Which would have been a blatant lie in our case. It was termite-​ridden crap. And about a third of it went from the pile on our lawn, which is kind of sad.