Deck Prices to Much

I can't believe the prices that are being charged for a deck! Every time i think that i am charging to much, i am

surprised that i am not even close to the price that other contractors are charging! Well, i don't feal right

charging that much!
Some contractors are charging $10:00 a square ft. Some are charging more then that! I don't think i could charge

that much and feal good about myself! Building a deck is not hard, well it isn't if you have a plan and can

understand it! Maybe i will come up with a plan that is real easy to understand, and put it out for the do it

yourselfer!
I don't like the fact that people have to go into dept so far, just to have a simple thing like a deck added on to

there house. I have been in business since 1993 and have done hundreds of decks, all the decks were considered

over built, and i didn't have to charge an arm and a leg to build them that way!
I guess another reason is that i do the work myself! I don't have any overhead to worry about, although i should

have some younger help as i start to get older!
One thing i know that will drive the cost of decks up is if you have to poor concrete sono tubes for the columns

to sit on, this usually is needed in an earthquake threatened area! When you have to get a permit for a deck, this

will drive the price up also! Using composite decking will drive up the price by almost double, depending on how

much you put the composite material on!
The main places to put composite on is top of deck and deck rails! The framing of the deck can be fur if you are

up off the ground and sitting on decks blocks or sono tubes! The framing should be treated lumber if you are in a

very wet climate and or your touching, or are close to touching the ground in places, or water will splash soil up

on the frame! You can check the regs. in your area and then determine what has to be used for material on your

deck before you get a bid! Then you will know what to do to lesson the bid price and still have a beatiful deck

that will last!
One thing that i have found that will cause a deck to rought faster is having leaves or pine needles stuck in

between the boards! Use a hose or something to clean in between the boards, this will let air get down there and

dry it properly after a rain, or snow! Clean in this manner every time you start to see a build up in between the

boards!
I hope that i have at least given you somthing that you can use!


Montana
Need a bid on a deck or other project?
http://decks4u.blogspot.com