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I am looking for recommendations on deck costs and pricing. I called 15 companies and only 3 responded. I want a fair price and don't want to underpay or overpay.
I had two companies come out and give me a quote and they both seemed rather high. 3rd company was a no show.
Company # 1 Gave me a quote of $17,425 for a 884 sq ft deck with only using PT lumber, With two tiers one being 248 sq feet and the second tier being 636 sq ft with two sets of stairs with gates included in the total sq footage of 884 ft. This does not include the necessary electrical for the decks to pass code and inspection.
Materials cost : $ 8,825
Labor cost : $ 8600
Seemed high to me for the materials needed, I already know the wood cost etc. as I calculated it as if my husband would do the project ourselves. I also have a friend who owns a lumber yard and asked him.
Company # 2
We asked company # 2 to shrink the deck space if they needed to get the cost closer to 11-$12,00 he came back with this.
Gave us a estimate with 554 sq ft using the same wood as company # 1 but included the electric required for code and inspection for a total of $ 16,500 ( He only estimated the electrical as being $ 350 )
I was really surprised by company # 2 coming in at almost the same cost as company # 1 with almost 40% less deck space.
Any thoughts and or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
I would keep calling for quotes to see what the range is. I had five contractors come out to look at my space and they all consistently told me the same price, except they all broke down the pricing differently. It ended up being less, because we picked lower cost finishes and the labor costs were fixed. I refused to talk to contractors who wouldn’t break out their quote.
My friend's husband owns Triangle Deck Builders this company. He does great work and really focuses on the details to ensure a nice finished product. https://triangledeckbuilders.com/ I don't know how their pricing lines up with other people but you could give them a call to see.
Quote #1 is $20/sqft. Does not seem bad to me when you want 2 levels, 2 sets of stairs and gates. This is definitely not a basic low-frills deck. How high is it off the ground? What are the dimensions?
Lumber costs vary. At the low end, there's HD and Lowes. At the higher end, kiln-dried PT from a real lumberyard.
“We are in a lumber supply crisis,” said Stinson Dean, a broker in Kansas City, Mo., who ships wood from sawmills to lumber yards, in a note to clients. “None of us have experienced a market like this.”
The owner of THH Construction is a personal friend of mine. He does great work and only tries to provide honest work for an honest living. Call him and ask for an estimate. However, I will ask you not to waste his time by using him just for price comparison. If you're not serious about hiring someone to do the job find someone else. But Brett is an honest guy who does good work.
Thank you all for the replies thus far, I really appreciate the feedback.
Farebluenc : I feel the same way, I want to feel like I have options in what I am paying for. With the estimates I have received the wood they are offering is the lowest basic cost wood so I am not even sure saving money on materials would be an option.
Luckeeesmom : I will reach out to them on Monday and at least as them if my deck ideas are feasible or realistic for my budget in mind before having them come out.
Dedratermi : Your right that the cost per sq ft is only $ 20 for Estimate # 1 and $ 30 for Estimate # 2 , However the material costs for this size deck comes in just under $5,000 ( I received this number from a friend who owns a actual lumber yard ) and I'm not sure about you but I can't justify paying someone $12,000 in labor in 4 days to build a deck can you? If I could eliminate the stairs and gates I would, However both told me for code its required because its next to a pool? The deck is ground level for almost the entire dimensions except a small corner that is 3 x 4 wide that is 3 ft off the ground.
Turkeydance : Us being in a lumber crisis would make sense, Although my friend works at a huge sawmill facility up north and he says they have so much wood coming in they are having a hard time processing it on time? So I'm not sure if it has to do with our region or as a whole.
UnderPSI : I'm going to be honest with you, I find your comment rather rude and really annoyed me. First off, Obviously people are going to shop around for estimate cost's for potential jobs.That does not mean they are wasting peoples time, If your in Business and you offer estimates then you already know that they may not take your bid, If it bothers someone then they shouldn't offer estimates or they should charge a fee for the time and the estimate. The main reason people price shop as you call it is to 1. They want to know the cost of said job 2. They want to get a feel for the person they will potentially hire 3. They want to make sure they are not over paying or under paying for said job. In order to do any of the 3 I listed you need to in your terms waste peoples time and get estimates. Of course I am serious about hiring someone to do my job that's why I'm asking for recommendations and getting estimates.
Again, I grew up in construction, My Dad flips houses for a living I know cost, construction, labor etc. I also understand that people our in Business to make money and I want to make sure the quotes I am receiving are normal for this area and for the amount of work to be conducted and not just inflated because I live in an expensive zip code.
Last edited by Southerngal4244; 04-15-2018 at 01:31 PM..
Those costs look in line to me. If you wait and ask for estimates towards the end of fall you'll probably get better numbers. You may have started this too late for favorable pricing.
Since you live in an expensive zip code it may be worth it to pay the premium to get it built now rather than waiting.
Paid 12k for a single story deck with one staircase, PT decking, vinyl railings, lattice underneath with one access door, similar size maybe a bit smaller, about 5 years ago.
This was a different state, but 17k seems reasonable to me especially if lumber prices are high.
I tried giving a good referral but she got "offended" because I simply requested she not waste my friend's time.
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