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The backyard is one of the most used spaces in your home, but it might be easily overlooked People tend to focus on improving the everyday living spaces within the walls of their homes. However, if you take a second to realize how often you utilize your outdoor living areas, for everything from summertime BBQs to wintertime fires, you might notice that your outdoor social spots are lacking functionality and appeal.
If you’re ready to remedy that, start with a deck. Decks are a great and attractive way to add usable square footage to your backyard and value to your home. If you are in the market for this backyard addition or are looking to revamp your current deck, you might be asking yourself, “how do I find the best deck builders near me?”
Services Performed by Local Deck Building Services
Owning a deck is more than just hiring a local builder and being amazed every time you walk out your back door. There is a lot of maintenance involved to keep your deck in tip-top shape. When choosing the best deck builder near you, it’s important to prioritize a builder that offers multiple services.. Keep an eye out for deck builders that include services such as:
Deck Construction
This is the no-brainer service. Obviously, if you want a deck built only hire a builder who knows how to build you a deck. But some common things to look for here are:
- Yyears of experience
- Insurance and licensing
- Quality of work and craftsmanship
- Services offered outside of deck building
Deck Repair
As with anything man-made, time will eventually wear down the materials. When choosing your local deck builder make sure they offers:
- Warranties that cover repairs for “x” amount of years or the lifetime of your deck
- Discounted service costs for general repair
Deck Staining and Finishing
It is generally recommended that deck owners, depending on the product used, re-stain and seal their decks every three to five years. While you might think this is an easy DIY weekend project, many homeowners ruin their decks by not spotting issues that lie underneath the original stain. The common faults include staining over rotted wood or staining before the wood is sufficiently dry. So save yourself time and extra money by leaving this service to your local deck building pro.
Power Washing
If you don’t already own a power washer, this service can save you the hassle of having to rent, use, clean and return the machine to your local hardware store. But more importantly, your deck builder will likely be an expert in this service and know the best cleaning agents to help preserve the life of your deck.
How to Find a Deck Building Service Near You
As always, Google will more than likely be your best bet when searching for the best deck building service in your local area. These steps will help the process go smoothly:
- Start by searching “Best Deck Building Services Near Me”
- Narrow your search based on your specific location (i.e. zip code, city, etc.)
- To find the best candidates, narrow further by filtering for the best reviews and highest ratings
- To finalize the deck builder you wish to choose, view the websites of the highest-ranked builders. Most builders will have galleries of the work they have done. Pick the one that best suits the style you are going for and the craftsmanship that appeals to your wants and needs.
When to Hire a Deck Building Service
Deckbuilding services are typically an elective service. Meaning, it’s usually something a homeowner wants, but it isn’t necessarily an essential addition. Depending on the size of your deck and the materials used, this can become a pricey venture. So when to hire a deck-building service will likely depend on if you have enough money saved to justify the expense or if you have the monthly budget room to take out a home improvement loan. Either way, if you find yourself hosting a lot of events or gatherings, you might not mind accruing the additional monthly expense or taking a savings account hit in order to give your backyard the glamorous deck it deserves.
DIY vs. Hiring a Deck Building Service
As mentioned above, when starting the journey to find the best deck building service and eventually receive the quote from your local provider, you might discovert that building your dream deck can come with a steep price. This could have you trying to channel your inner Tim Taylor and thinking you’re up for your own DIY deck build. However, building a deck is a huge project.
Unless you already have all the various power tools the build will require and the majority of supplies, building your own deck might not save as much money as you think. Also, unless you have previous experience with a lot of different power tools and carpentry, it’s highly advisable to leave this kind of project to the professionals.
Questions to Ask a Deck Building Service
Building a deck is a big investment. If done properly a deck can last forever, but if done poorly a deck can cost you hundreds if not thousands in repairs. Here is a list of great questions to ask your potential deck builder to help you feel comfortable giving your hard-earned money to the right person or company.
- How much experience do you have?
- Do you have a portfolio of your work?
- Are you licensed in [enter your state here]?
- Do you carry insurance?
- On average, how long will my deck take to build?
- Is my quote the price I can expect at completion? Or should I expect additional expenses to happen along the way?
- What decking materials do you use and/or recommend?
- Will a supervisor be present every day during the build? If not, how often does a supervisor do inspections as the build takes place?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How much does it cost to hire someone to build a deck?
The average cost of a regular, pressure-treated wood deck, which includes all supplies and labor costs, is around $30 t0 $35 per square foot. If you choose to upgrade your product to redwood, cedarwood, or composite wood, the price increases to a range of $35 to $60 per square foot. To put this in perspective:
- 20×20 deck using regular pressure treated wood: $12,000 t0 $14,000
- 20×20 deck using premium or composite wood: $14,000 to $24,000
What kind of contractor builds decks?
There are many different professionals that can build you a deck. However, it is best to find a company that specializes in deck building, an experienced carpenter or a general contractor that has a portfolio that includes deck builds.
Should I tip my deck builder?
You will quickly realize the bill for building a deck will be quite expensive. But many homeowners will choose to tip their deck builder the industry-standard 15% to 20% if they feel the workers have done a great job, or they were satisfied with their professionalism throughout the build process. However, this is completely up to the individual and not required or expected from your builder.
Do you need an engineer to build a deck?
It is recommended to have an engineer either design your deck or hire an outside engineer to examine your deck blueprints if your local deck builder isn’t affiliated with an engineer. An engineer will be able to tell if your deck will be able to handle the load placed on it, built on the right type of ground and able to withstand any natural events that commonly happen in your area.
