Complaint Review: All Steele Carports (Muncie Indiana)

We recently purchased a steele carport. Something I have wanted for a very long time as we live surrounded by walnut trees, see snowy winters and rainy springs, etc. I wanted to protect our vehicles. I was very excited when my husband finally agreed to let me make the purchase. We saved up the money to pay cash for our carport. Wednesday, Oct 9th, our Carport was installed.  As I drove down the drive and saw the carport, I was happy.

It looked great, until I got close. The installers were just tying down their truck and preparing to leave. They were 3 young hispanic men. I was upset because apparently, the ground was not as level as it looked. They used some of our wood blocks we burn for heat to level the carport. I tried to speak to them about it, but the only one who spoke English quickly got into the truck. They gave me a paper to sign and left. 

When making arrangements for the carport, we were given no instruction. I had asked, "Is there anything we need to know or do to prepare for the carport?"  The Missouri rep, Dana, asked is the ground level? To me, it looked level. I answered, "I think so". She said, "Nope, that's it". 

The problems: 1) It looks awful. One of the wooden blocks they used busted, I guess when they hammered in the rebar used for the anchors. 2) What happens after a winter of snow and soggy ground when the untreated wood they used out of our yard to level it begins to rot? The hunks of wood are already split. It wont take long for them to rot. 3) The attitude of Dana when I called for help who spoke like it was my fault.

On Friday, October 11th, after a day of discussion with my hubby, I called Dana back. We were willing to pay for the guys to fix the problem. I asked What can be done? Her reply was very flat. She said "I can tell you right, probably nothing. We deal with this problem all the time".  She went on to say the installers are told "Make it level".  They were just following their instructions. She said if they didn't use the props they used it would have installed crooked and "As is". I asked, "You mean even if we pay, they won't fix it?"

She made a disgusting sigh, and put me on hold to speak with a manager. When she came back on said "We will charge 30% of the original cost of the structure, plus $100.00 for 8 ft. legs (They had already charged me an extra $100.00 for an upgrade from the standard 5 foot legs to the 7ft legs that were "recommended"). She said it would then cost another $150 "or so" to take the carport down and reassemble it with the correctly sized legs. She something about a charge for each leg that had to be adjusted. By then, I was pretty upset and just told her "Thank you, I'll try another company to fix the problem". 

To clarify, I love the carport. It's what I wanted. The problem is with the installation and the poor service that followed. I'm willing to take my share of the blame. We have never had a carport installed and did not realize what would be needed to make it right. Had we been instructed to do so, we would have leveled the ground. Dana was so casual the day before. When she asked "Is it level?", I was thinking in terms of level ground vs a sloping driveway?  I assumed measures would be taken to set the thing on the ground. The company should explain what preparation would be necessary. They do this for a living. 

Secondly, I did not investigate the company before making my purchase. I've seen similar carports everywhere. Each and everyone sitting on the ground, not propped up on broken chunks of wood our of our yard. I assumed the company would use professional installers who would know how to make the proper adjustments to the length of the poles to account for various surface types. 

I hope this information helps the next guy that is hoping to purchase a carport.