Friday, March 18, 2011 - Questions To Ask Your South Jersey Fence Contractor

Questions to Ask Your South Jersey Fence Contractor. 

Avoid the "Tailgate Warranty"  - You have a warranty until you can't see my tailgate anymore.

#1 - What Is The Full Name And Address Of The Company?                                                                                                                 Getting the complete address of the company can be an important factor in determining a company's time in business.  If a post office box is given, ask for a full street address as well.  Try to hire a contractor that has an office nearby.  The likelihood of better service during and after the sale and a quicker response time is greater if the company is based near your home or has a large presence in your area.

#2 - Does the Company Carry Insurance?                                                                         A contractor should carry comprehensive liability insurance and workers compensation insurance to protect you the homeowner in the event of an accident.  This can be verified by asking to see the contractor's certificates of insurance for both policies.  Let the contractor know that you want current certificates sent to you by the insurer before the job is started.  Contractors may make bland assurances of coverage that, in reality refer to other kinds of insurance such as health, life or auto insurance.  Don't be misled.  Ask specifically for proof of general liability and works compensation coverage.  Be aware that if a worker is injured on your property, you, as the homeowner, might be held liable for all costs unless the employee is covered by workers' compensation insurance.  Hospital bills for serious accidents can be expensive.  Contractors that don't carry such coverage are generally cheaper but you have to ask yourself is it worth the risk.

#3 - Is the Company Licensed?                                                                                                     When you ask this question you are asking if the contractor has their State of NJ Home Improvement Contractor License not a driver's license or a boating license.  The state of New Jersey requires all fence companies to have this License or they are not allowed to operate or even advertise.  Notice the ads in the phone book or newspaper that have the NJHIC# or LIC # in them.  These are bonafide companies with the proper licenses to do work at your home.         

#4 - More Importantly, Is the Company Credentialed?                                                                      There are few programs for professional fence contractors that establish their credentials as knowledgeable installers of fencing.  As an industry leader Certainteed has taken the initiative to establish a new standard of excellence for fencing contractors - The Certainteed 5 Star Fence Contractor Program.  To be certified as a 5 Star Fence Contractor, installers must complete and pass our Bufftech Vinyl Fence Systems Master Craftsman test, participate in ongoing product and installation training and provide proof of Workers Comp and General Liability insurance.  Those who achieve this certification have received the highest level of training on Certainteed Bufftech Vinyl Fence Systems.  Only the best receive this special designation.  Dennisville Fence recently completed this certification in February 2011 and has been designated a 5 star dealer.  We are very proud of this achievement. 

#5 - How long has the company been in business?                                                                                                                                                    Needless to say, longer is usually better.  Less than three years may signal an unstable business or one low on the learning curve.  On the other hand everybody has to start somewhere.  References are helpful and especially important when dealing with a new business.  The failure rate of new businesses is high. 

# 6 - Does the Company Use Materials From a Reliable Brand?                                                                 Some contractor that their only value proposition to you the consumer is to "Sell it Cheaper" may buy pickets from one manufacturer and posts from another to save money.  This practice may void your warranty from the original manufacturer should an issue arrise.  Installing a tested, integrated fence system from a reliable brand name company will ensure that your fence has complete warranty coverage from the manufacturer. 

#7 - What is the Contractors Workmanship Warrany?                                                                                                                                                     Industry standard is 1 year.  Some companies will try to real you in by offering a longer warranty than that.  Most issues happen within the few months after the fence is installed.  Don't get duped by an extra long extended warranty because a reliable contractor will stand behind their work. 

#8 - Ask the Contractor if they have any Better Business Bureau Claims?                                                                                                                                                                        This is the first sign of a reliable contractor.  Not everyone is perfect but if you are selling a product and service you need to make sure that the contractor is not only going to deliver the product but also the service as contracted and promised.  Be careful with the company that claims to "Sell It Cheaper" because at the end of the day you get what you pay for.  Do your homework you are making a big investment.   

#9 - Why are you only interested in the price of the job when I'm worried about the details?                                                                                                                                                                                                  Make sure that you read all of the details of the contract.  If your job is relatively simple than great.  If your job is a bit more complex then you need to make sure that you have everything in writing along with a written layout.  Proposals without written layouts are un-professional and should not be accepted by consumers. 

IS PRICE IS THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS?                                                                                                                                                    At the end of the day you want a good value for your home improvement dollars.  Dennisville Fence is committed to offering high levels of customer service at a fair price.  We may not always be the cheapest but the point it you get what you pay for.  If you want cheap - get cheap and we hope it works out for you and if it does great, but If it doesn't like the sign says at some barber shops "we fix $5.00 haircuts" but do you want to go through that?

Monday, March 14, 2011 - Press of Atlantic City Article. Thursday, November 18, 2010

FROM THE PRESS OF ATLANTIC CITY THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2010. By Kevin Post, Business Editor

Every company wants to give good customer service, but few have a way to get an independent evaluation of how well they’re doing on that crucial part of performance.

Dennisville Fence Co., a half-century-old family business, has found out its customers are exceedingly satisfied through an independent survey carried out by Home Depot.

Dennisville Fence gives estimates and installs fence as a subcontractor for four area Home Depot stores, in Egg Harbor Township, Cape May Court House, Absecon and Millville, said Earle Collins IV, 35, of Somers Point, who with his brother, Erik, 32, of Cape May, owns and operates the business.

To ensure its customers are happy with its subcontractors, Home Depot surveys a sampling of them about their completed installations, gauging their satisfaction through 10 questions.

Dan Roberts, national director of fencing installations for Cleveland-based Home Services for Home Depot, said Dennisville Fence this year scored 9.88 out of 10 on the survey.

“We’ve got 71 fence companies and they ranked the highest,” Roberts said.

He said Dennisville Fence was given an award for its highest score at a recent dealer meeting in Clearwater Beach, Fla.

“They most definitely are doing the customer service thing right,” Roberts said. “Now if I can get the rest of my dealers to follow their lead, we’ll be doing just fine.”

Company co-owner Earle Collins IV said the key is setting high expectations for making sure jobs are done right and finished on time.

“My background is in the U.S. Navy, so that’s where a lot of our systems and procedures came from,” he said.

Dennisville Fence Co. has had a lot of time to perfect its customer service, installing more than 2 million feet of fence and railing since it was founded in Villas, LowerTownship, in 1952 by Collins’ grandfather, Earle Collins Jr.

The company began as Collins Ironworks, making and selling galvanized railings, television antennas, fire escapes and such, Collins IV said.

Deck and balcony railings at motels from Cape May to OceanCity were a big part of its work, and now the company sometimes removes them and installs maintenance-free vinyl rails, he said.

The company did only chain-link fencing until Earle Collins III took over after his father retired, bought Dennisville Fence Co. in 1988 and kept that as the company name.

That business made wood fencing and cedar mud shakes, a kind of shingle cut from fallen cedar trees hauled out of swamps. Its saw mill had been operating at least since the 1930s, Collins IV said.

Today, the updated mill, which closed for a year after a fire in 2008, makes cedar fencing, he said.

The company also manufactures its own vinyl fencing and sells nationwide a popular part for firmly attaching vinyl rails to decks called the Rook Post Mount.

Collins got two patents on the square mount with an interior post attachment and brought it to market six years ago.

“To date, there are more than 100,000 vinyl fence posts installed throughout the continental U.S. using our technique,” he said.

Brothers Earle IV and Erik Collins took over the business in 2005 when their father retired and immediately started building it up.

In 2005 and 2006, Dennisville Fence was on Inc. magazine’s list of the 5,000 fastest growing U.S. companies.

A big addition was decking, which turned out to be crucial when the housing market collapsed. Decking and associated railing now accounts for about 20 percent of the business, Collins IV said.

“When things were booming, we’d have lots of new construction projects, but they’re not building like that anymore,” he said. “We wanted to keep people on the staff so we expanded into the decking market as the economy slowed and kept as many of our crew as we could.”

Even so, the 25 employees at the company are down from the peak of 40 before the recession, he said.

The brothers also make available for purchase or installation the latest products and materials, which have substantial advantages.

Vinyl decking from Azek, for example, is now strong enough to be laid on standard supports 12 inches apart instead of 16 inches.

That allows Dennisville Fence to renovate old decks and make them look like new.

“We strip the existing boards off the deck and put on new boards and rails,” he said. “Azek has vinyl trim boards to cover the sides, so it turns something old and ratty into looking like it was made yesterday.”

In a similar vein, docks can be renovated with a maintenance-free composite deck material usable on 24-inch supports, which are common on existing docks.

Dennisville Fence also sells its fence, deck and rail supplies to contractors and homeowners to do the installation themselves, and that’s been more popular in the downturn, Collins said.

“This year especially, more people are taking the supplies and doing it themselves to save money,” he said.

They don’t get the company’s highly rated installation, but if they’re not satisfied, they only need go to the nearest mirror to complain.

Kevin Post.

Tuesday, March 01, 2011 - Stocking Up For The Season

We are stocked up for the Spring Season.

We have brought in over 10 truckloads of all different types of materials ranging from 6' High White Vinyl Tongue and Groove Privacy Fence Sections, Vinyl Posts, Wood Fence, Pressure Treated Wood Posts, Spruce Stockade, 2 Rail and 3 Rail Splitrail Fence, Galvanized Pipe, Chain Link Fence, and all sorts of fence fittings and Stainless Steel Gate Hardware to AZEK Deck, AZEK Rail and AZEK Trim.

Some of our competitors like Murphy Fence, RAC Fence, Milligan Vinyl, AOMEGA Fence, Ocean City Fence and K&J Fence will typically stock up their inventories as well in preperation for the busy time of year.  

Our team is on the road all over Cape May County, Atlantic County and Cumberland County measuring and installing new jobs every day.

We are excited about this season and we are ready to shake off the winter and welcome spring. 

 Call today to see how we can help you with your new Fence, Deck or Railing project at your primary home, Second Home or Shore Home.

Saturday, January 01, 2011 - TIPS FOR CARING FOR A WOOD FENCE

Wood fences are natural products that show the signs of weather and age. Wood can be maintenance free if you do not mind the look of gray, weathered wood, but preventative maintenance will help to combat the effects of weathering and make your fence look newer, longer.

Continuous changes in weather conditions can be extremely harsh on a wood fence. A regular maintenance plan that combats the problems caused by water absorption and water loss, mildew growth and discoloration from the sun’s ultra violet rays will keep your fence looking beautiful for years. The degree to which these problems occur is dependent on many factors including climate, humidity, foliage coverage, sunlight exposure, exposure to sprinkler systems, etc… A regular maintenance plan will help protect the wood, will make your fence last longer and will help to keep natural defects in the wood from surfacing.

SWELLING AND SHRINKING- Continuous absorption and loss of water in the wood in your fence will cause natural defects in the wood to surface. Some common wood defects are: cupping/ warping, twisting, checking and splitting. Even well maintained fences experience some of these natural defects, the extent and severity of the problems are greatly reduced through regular maintenance.

MILDEW GROWTH- When wood is consistently exposed to moist or humid conditions, the wood will begin to mildew causing an unsightly and slimy appearance. Preventative maintenance including cleaning the fence with a cleaner containing mildewcide should be done to keep the fence looking bright and attractive. This keeps the fence looking nice, but it also prevents the mildew from damaging or deteriorating the fence wood.

UV PROTECTION-Left to age naturally, a wood fence will eventually fade to a weathered gray color. Some people prefer this look, others prefer to keep the natural wood color that their fence had when it was new. If you would like to keep the natural color of the wood, the fence will not only have to be periodically cleaned or brightened, but it should also be protected with a water repellent that has an ultraviolet stabilizer. The stabilizer will not prevent the fence from eventually discoloring, but it will slow that process down. Periodically re-applying the UV stabilizer will help maintain the natural color over an extended period of time.

RECOMMENDED MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE:

INITIAL MAINTENANCE:

Once the fence has been up for a few months and when the fence is dry, start by cleaning the fence with a wood cleaner/ brightener that contains a mildewcide. Since this is being done to a brand new fence, this is entirely preventative

Apply a topical sealant for surface protection. Do not use conventional multi-coat paints or varnishes. These lead to poor results and they almost always require scraping and sanding prior to re-coating. Instead, use a clear or pigmented outdoor wood sealer. Unlike paints, these sealers allow moisture vapor to slowly escape the wood after the coating has been applied. The sealer you choose should not only include a water repellent, but also a UV stabilizer as discussed above. It is advisable to cover any surrounding plants or bushes prior to applying the sealant.

FIRST YEAR MAINTNEANCE-

Re-apply the cleaner/ brightener with mildewcide as described above.

Re- apply the sealer with a UV stabilizer and water repellent. The first year maintenance should be done about 12 months after the fence is installed.

FUTURE PERIODIC MAINTENANCE-

Depending on how your fence weathers, the above steps should be repeated every 2 or so years. In some cases, a power washer may be needed to remove stubborn mildew or dirt.

Always follow manufacturer’s recommendations on the cleaning/ brightening/ mildewcide and sealing products.

Thursday, May 06, 2010 - New Website

To all of our existing and new customers,

After a lot of hard work we are very pleased to present our new website.

While it will be a constant work in progress we are comitted to offering you the highest level of customer service, quality products, as well as a reference to assist you in finding reliable information that will help you make an informed decision about your purchase no matter the product.

In todays world you have a lot of selection as to where you can purchase your products and services. 

We encourage to you to buy local and help us keep America Working. 

Every sale we make helps preserve a job for a fellow American and neighbor.    

As always we welcome your comments and feedback as to how we can better serve you. 

Check back often for New Products and our ever expanding line of residential and commerical improvement services. 

Thank you for visiting our new website and we look forward to working with you in the future and we appreciate working with you in past.

We have been serving our South Jersey customers Fence, Deck and Railing needs for over 50 years.

Thank you for your business and your support.

Sincerely,

Earle S. Collins IV

President