Hey Rich, you are planing an addition to your house with the given some of the things you mentioned will not be installed with this project several of them will.

In my service area what I think you are talking about would bid out around $90 a sq ft. John

Rich, I just finished a deck, not screened or covered, approx. 625 sq. feet. I did all the labor and so far it has cost $5800.so your bid sounds like a fair deal. Ipe cost 3200. A lot of labor involved.
Bob

Easy answer: Because that is what the marketplace allows. There are enough people willing to pay that much. Doesn't matter how expensive a house is. Totally irrelevant.

I think that decks are the perfect DIY project: Not too complex, not too heavy materials/labor, doesn't have to be exact to 1/16" (nothing like cabinetry or other woodwork), no time pressure (because who needs a deck asap?). You don't even need helpers. Just do it one board at a time. Easy.

And you can save a TON of money.

If you absolutely don't have the time, a cheaper alternative would be Lowes. The one close to me installs decks for approx. $21/sqft (labor only).

But with DIY you can save a lot. I am currently building my 341 sqft deck and save more than $7000 based on Lowes labor cost. With my salary and living expenses, I would have to work at least 3 months to save that much. I'll be done with my deck in 5 weekends total and didn't have to pay a dime for labor.

Yes - it's definitely what the market allows. My question was about whether it is related to actual cost - I can't figure out how it can be.

So, if a contractor can charge $90/sq ft for a house or $90/sq ft for a deck (which must be a fraction of the cost of a house), why aren't there more deck contractors? It seems that you'd make a heck of a lot more money building decks! I just don't get the economics of the deck-building market...

Thanks,

Richard Ames

John - I guess we posted at the same time!

Yes, all of the points you bring up are very good, but a house has all the same issues plus a whole lot more! So it must cost the GC much more money (per sq ft) to build a house but the market puts them at the same price.

So if were to become a GC, I guess I'd rather build decks!

Richard Ames

Oh John,

Your post sounded a little condescending so I have to respond: Don't assume that I don't have building experience.

Building a deck, even a 9ft elevated one isn't that difficult. What's the heaviest item that you have to lift up there? A 2x6 (or 2x8, if you are generous) 16ft PT joist for the substructure? The posts?
What's the big deal getting the piers drilled and filled with concrete? This isn't even that expensive (for perspective I paid $500 to get twenty-eight 18inch diameter 9feet deep piers drilled. To get them filled I ordered ready mix conrete, called a concrete pump service and filled them up by myself with the help of one more person).
And permits... Why are people making a big deal out of that one? If you have a good set of drawings, getting a permit is no more difficult than buying groceries. At least I never had a problem.

About Lowes: You think the checkout-clerks are building decks or what ?!
They sub those jobs out to local contractors so how can you say the quality is bad, if you don't even know who is building the deck (because you don't know who Lowes is subbing that out to)?

I wouldn't hire them either, but not because I am afraid of their quality but because I think that they are still too expensive. DIY all the way.

And $100/sqft (or $90)? You have got to be kidding me. 36 thousand dollars for a 360sqft deck? Hello?!
For example, with my income (low 6 figures) it takes me more than a year hard-core saving to save that much. I can guarantee you that in one year DIY during weekends (let's say every other weekend depending on weather) such a deck can be easily built. I view that as tax-free 36k additional income generated during weekends.

But I am cheap, I admit.

JR, man if you think its easy come on over here I need Men like you!! Why hang around that dead end job?? come on down to OKC and make some real Money!!

Rich its a strange deal with new constustion, either the GC sickes his framers on the wanted deck and they do it on the weekend or,and this happens most of the time,he passes completley on biding it. There is just not enough in it for them to mess with a deck.

Now building a house the GC gets to make $ on all the subs plus his fee. Most of the time he dosent even have to get out of the truck to do this. Working for a GC the subs agree to a lower price for their work because the man can keep work in frount of them all year. Around here anyway few new houses have decks at all. Placing a slab patio goes so much faster than a deck the GC can make his 20% in a few hours.Its a fairly steady thing for me to go out to a house just a couple years old and cover the slab with an outdoor project.

So botom line the GC can clear a lot more money at $90 sq ft building houses than he can building decks.

Lets see 360 Sq ft,18'' above leval grade, one 3' stairway, one side conected to the house, 5/4 incense cedar decking handrail skirting, one coat twp finish. Easy access good ell power no clean up no permit, 1/2 up frount 1/2 on the day of completion. JR I could get you into something like this for around $3900 and have you drinking a beer on it in 3 days and make more $ doing it per sq ft then I would doing the Rich job at $90 a sq ft.

Intersting side note>> couple of years ago I got a visit from a sales rep for Home Depo wanting me to sigh up as one of their Contractors,sitting in my office he kept saying there would be no cost to me. It wasent until he was ready to close pen in hand when he came out with the bottom line, I was to mark up the Gross,the Groos mind you, 25% in writting to home cheppo do the job and wait for them to pay me. No cost to me all I had to do was mark it up and I would make the sameI got E-mail from several Deck Guys who had this same little visit we all got a big yuck over it. John

im just starting out and can build a deck im thinking 9.00 a sq ft for pt deck im i crazy

im thinking of charging 9.00 asq ft i live in va am i crazy