Contractor helps get the party started

When Kevin and Teresa Rose throw a party, it's no small affair. That's why, when it came to their dream of a 400-square-foot elevated deck for their country home outside Philadelphia, they couldn't leave it to an average contractor.

Frustrated with a pair of less-than-stellar meetings with deck builders, Kevin turned to ServiceMagic, where he found Erik Walz at Matthew Ryan Home Improvements, LLC, which has offices in Feasterville, Pa., and Cherry Hill, N.J. After one meeting, he knew he'd found the right resource.

"After we had agreed on a basic design and price, they asked us to describe our vision for entertaining on the deck," Kevin said. "When I told them we'd had over 100 people at our last outdoor party, they immediately started talking about increasing the number of supports a deck of this size would typically have to make sure it would be secure. And they didn't charge more for that."

Elevated complexity

The new deck, built with composite materials for low maintenance and long life, was not a simple project. Attached to a walkout-style home rising three stories in back, the deck would be 10 feet above ground level. In addition to extra support features, the Matthew Ryan team also helped the couple source and purchase just the right lighting to illuminate special events.

"We were able to help them get the exact fixtures they were looking for and, because it was a large order, we also leveraged our contractor discount to save them some money on the purchase," Erik said.

In addition to maintaining a clean work area and completing the job on schedule, the Matthew Ryan crew received praise from the Roses for several finishing touches. For example, the contractor added decorative trim to cover the bullnose ends of deck planks, and color-matched caps to hide 200 screw holes in the deck floor.

Attention to detail

"When the job was all done and Erik checked in to see how we liked it, I mentioned I found one screw cap missing," Kevin said. "The next day, they delivered a bag of 20. That's the kind of service we received."

During the past three years, Erik said, Matthew Ryan has done business with more than 130 customers who found their company through ServiceMagic. Nearly all of those people — including the Rose family — are informed consumers who are willing to go the extra mile for great results.

"When prospective customers use ServiceMagic, they're not necessarily looking for the cheapest price," he said. "They're looking for the company that can offer them the best value and quality. That works well with how we do business."