Critical factors that will affect the price of a deck:
•Size of deck and materials- A small deck (150-180 square feet or less) requires the same staircase and often the same number of piers as a deck much that is much larger. The square foot price is higher for small decks. Composite materials cost three to four times what pressure treated pine costs and require significantly more labor.
•Height above ground (it takes nearly twice as long to build a deck when working from ladders)
•Staircases- One of carpentry's great mysteries (Fact: 50% of deck builders are incapable of building a "legal" set of stairs) Sound crazy? It is mind boggling to me. But I know this is a fact! Don't worry my guys are experts. Lots of decks fail final inspections with stair related problems.
•Enclosing the bottom of the deck or "skirting" as it's referred to. This also takes time and significant materials. This can easily add several hundred dollars to a small job.
•The requirements of some building departments. Some towns require decks to be constructed to carry severe loads. This means larger lumber (2x10 instead of 2x6) Guess what? A 2x10 costs close to double that of a 2x6. Another trend of building departments is to make the staircases rest on piers that, like the rest of the deck supports, are required to be 42" deep. Seems excessive! But that is the rule. Staircase piers require a precision layout. We generally don't know precisely where the stairs will fall until we build the deck frame (a day or more into the job). By the way, if you are so lucky as to live in Elmhurst, the building department there has the deepest pier requirement around. 48 inches! We need some special equipment to dig there.
• The type and amount of insurance a contractor has.
• Ease of getting to the job site. Townhomes often present some challenges.
Get the information you need PHONE ME TODAY! (630) 620-4130 I may not be in, so please leave a concise message (I'll be supplying material to my jobs, applying for permits, estimating and writing contracts)
