A question for the builders: cost of a deck

[widebody911]

I'm in the process of building a deck in my back yard, after coming home with a couple of $500+ loads of lumber, she thinks it would have been cheaper to hire someone to do it. I never got estimates because I planned on doing it myself, and I feel asking pros to come out and estimate something you don't plan on doing is unfair to them

So..

Can anyone guestimate what it would have cost to have adults with real tools and skills to have done this deck?

Details:

• 16' x 20'
• freestanding (ie not ledgered to the house)
• two french drains for drainage
• 12 concrete piers, 10" diameter, 24" long
• 2x6 pressure-treated joists
• 4x6 pressure treated beams
• 6x6 pressure treated beam closest to the house because the boss wants one of those kitchen island things
• 6"-wide deck tape
• overlapping layer of weedblock underneath, with 2 yards of gravel covering that
• redwood 2x6 decking, "B" grade (getting it locally for 3.35lf)
• all Simpson hardware and structural screws
• Stainless SPAX deck screws
• deck-level electrical connector
• semi-transparent stain

In addition, I paid $1700 to have the old 30' circular patio demolished and removed

My progress so far:

[stomachmonkey]

Hiring it out is only cheaper if your time investment took you away from generating income somewhere else.

I think the real question here is, was the cost delta WORTH your time.

Sorta like why I have lawn service.

Takes them 15 minutes to do what it takes me an hour to do and looks better so for $25.00 I'm happier to sit inside with my coffee while they do their thing.

If it was something you felt good about doing, gave you satisfaction and a sense of pride in your accomplishment then yeah, it was worth your time.

[ckissick]

How could it be cheaper to pay someone for their labor? The only way it would be cheaper to have someone else do it is if they paid you for the privilege. Not even Tom Sawyer could arrange that.

[island911]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Hiring it out is only cheaper if your time investment took you away from generating income somewhere else.

I think the real question here is, was the cost delta WORTH your time.

Sorta like why I have lawn service.

Takes them 15 minutes to do what it takes me an hour to do and looks better so for $25.00 I'm happier to sit inside with my coffee while they do their thing.

If it was something you felt good about doing, gave you satisfaction and a sense of pride in your accomplishment then yeah, it was worth your time.

^ assumes that you don't spend a bunch of time communicating with the builder what it is you actually wanted, and how to get it back in that direction, and then the conversations of whose fault the change is...

That is, building a deck is not like mowing a lawn. It involves design detail decisions.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by island911

^ assumes that you don't spend a bunch of time communicating with the builder what it is you actually wanted, and how to get it back in that direction, and then the conversations of whose fault the change is...

That is, building a deck is not like mowing a lawn. It involves design detail decisions.

No different than his wife coming out and commenting while he's in the middle of it.

[island911]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

No different than his wife coming out and commenting while he's in the middle of it.

Touché

Yes, there is that. ..the blame the builder thing. Hire it out, and you both get to blame the builder

Seriously, it looks like Thom is doing a quality build. He'll be ok.

[island911]

Oh, property taxes.

Hire a guy and permit and assessments.

"Permits" ...funny thing that they permit you to build --on your own property-- only once you get their (paid for) 'permission.' So great to have them looking out for us.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by island911

Oh, property taxes.

Hire a guy and permit and assessments.

"Permits" ...funny thing that they permit you to build --on your own property-- only once you get their (paid for) 'permission.' So great to have them looking out for us.

Truth.

When I did in ground sprinklers at the house in NY the contractor was required to pull permits $$$, deal with inspectors, plus I'd have had $8.00 per head per year tacked onto my tax bill, an additional $200 a year.

Screw that, I paid the contractor a little extra to STFU and just do it.

[recycled sixtie]

Ours was 10K $ can (about $8k us) and was professionally done. If you can do it yourself and you think you are doing a good job go for it. These prof builders are sometimes more talk and with the last deck builder did not do the final inspection. It seemed like a small point but it was a big point that I overlooked.

After the deck was built the builder went bankrupt and the city building inspector came out and told me what needed to be fixed. It was mainly to do with the stairs. I took about a month to fix it up and the inspector gave it my approval.

Yes as mentioned above planning is important but if the deck is low lying and has minimal stairs then there should be less issues. Check the local building codes to make sure you are conforming. Deck looks good!

[biosurfer1]

I'm almost done with my deck, there is a thread floating around about it but based on your scope and my endless research, I would hazard a guess of at least $15000 for your deck. I got two quotes for mine, one over $28k, the other $31k. It's not rocket science. It's taken me a couple months of weekend work but I'm into mine for about $8k with about $1500 left to buy.

I also went with Brazilian hardwood which was not included in the original quotes with the money I've saved. Don't regret doing it myself for a second. Even got some cools tools out of it!

[wdfifteen]

Wow, that's quite a project! Looks like it's going to be beautiful. One thing to factor in is the satisfaction of having done it yourself. Pride in a job well done has value, and I think you are going to do a great job.

[crb07]

Looks like you are doing fine. Doubt someone will come in and finish it for cheap. I end up doing a lot of the work around my house as South Florida contractors are way too proud of their work. Unbelievable what they charge.
I don’t understand the beams running parallel to the back of the house, the outside one is only a few feet from the end. Wood looks beautiful.

Editing because I am too lazy to read.

I doubt anyone would build it like you are doing and not charge you a pile of money. Better off finishing it yourself.

[dad911]

Glad to see the deck tape. People keep telling me they don't need it, I've taken down enough decks to show it's worthwhile. That's 10k in labor.

Ask her if it's cheaper to eat out, or cook in? Buy a drink or make a drink? Your always going to pay labor + overhead with a pro.

So likely you saved, unless you greatly overpaid for materials.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Wow, that's quite a project! Looks like it's going to be beautiful. One thing to factor in is the satisfaction of having done it yourself. Pride in a job well done has value, and I think you are going to do a great job.

Yep...like everything else Thom does. I can't cost justify half the projects I take on...fortunately,I don't have to....I'm meticulously slow

[911boost]

Good call using the Vycor (sp), I agree on needing it.

I’m mobile right now but can post pics and more later, I helped a contractor friend completely rebuild my deck last fall. Normally I would do it all myself but work travel prohibited that.

My deck pretty good sized and I used Azek on it. It was mid $20’s after everything was said and done. I didnnkt cur any corners and used quality materials so I can enjoy it for years.

[island911]

Vycor - I had to look that up. https://www.diyhomecenter.com/grace-vycor-deck-protector-4x75-roll-45639

Interesting. I did something like that before people did stuff like that (afaik). I used annealed copper to top the joists.... about 4" wide, soft enough to form folds off each side of the joist. That was 20 years ago, they still look great.

[URY914]

Building my own deck now. I had to demo out the concrete and brick stairs first, rerun my laundry drain line and electric. I've been working on it for months. I got the decking running in different directions, stairs, and more angles than I want to think 'bout. This pic is a few months old. I now have it about 80% decked out.

[URY914]

Getting all the pieces to lay out evenly or close to even is a challenge. It's like a puzzle where you have to make your own pieces to fit.

[rfuerst911sc]

Nice work Paul that is probably above my skill set .

[GWN7]

Cost of labor for a simple deck is usually the same as the material cost. So if your material is $1,500.00 your labor is $1,500.00. The prices go up for steps, compound angles or if you live in California.