So what all is included in a deck quote?

Hello,

 Well the deck building season has begun for us. I do my own design, sales, and me and my brother build almost all of our projects.  So it is harder to find time to keep up on writing here.  A topic I want to look at today is the deck quote - what all is included?

We have been very busy in the last month with quotes.  We have done at least 50 or more proposals it has been crazy.

But what I would like to address is the price of building a deck, I think alot of people get sticker shock or have no idea what it costs to build a deck. Generally square foot prices for decks are -

Pressure treated pine (select cut)   $16  square foot

Cedar  (selkirk)                             $22 square foot

Budget composite                          $30 square foot

Top of the line
cap-layer composite or
PVC                                              $40 square foot

For some more ideas of deck pricing and design and size pricing go to our website michigan deck store


So again what is included

Scope of the work:

1) Plans and permits - time to draw the plans, turn them into the building dept.  The permit fees which usually run between $150-$400.

2) Post hole footings -  auger rental is included which is usually about $200.  Cement cookies for the base of the posts $20-$40 a piece

3) Pea stone -  Under the deck most building dept. require a layer of 6 mil plastic weed barrier and 3" of pea stone. $200-$300

4) Deck frame - usually runs about $4.00 - $6.00 a square foot for materials. 6x6 support posts, 2x10 beams, 2x8 joists.

5) Decking - depending upon product choices you can run any where from $3.00 square foot to $12.00 square foot for high end pvc decking with hidden fasteners.

6) Railings - depending upon product choices you can be anywhere from $4.00 foot for pressure treated pine, to $45.00 foot for Timber Tech Radiance railing.

7) Misc. Hardware - Hangers, lag bolts, screws, etc. usually about $300 for small decks to $800 for large decks.

8) Fascia - We don't use a fascia for our pressure treated pine deck, but for Cedar and all composites we do a fascia board. Cedar we do a two tiered fascia usually 1x8 & 1x4. Composites you usually do a single 1x12. Cedar is about $3.00 - $4.00 foot to Composites and PVC $10 foot

9) Picture frame border - on all of our decks except for Treated Pine we do a border board. We use the border board to cover the fascia/frame gap so no water or debris will gather behind the fascia board. It also hides the end cut of the deck boards.

10) Labor - generally is 1/3 of the overall project

11) Removal of a old deck, dumpster fees - $2.00 - $3.00 square foot

12) Company Profit - 20% is the goal, usually it is 5% - 10%

This is just some general ideas of the costs that is included in a deck quote. Prices will vary depending upon the size of a project, the scope of a project, and the materials used in a project.

This does not even cover all the cost of doing business as a company - liability insurance, vehicle insurance, license fees, vehicle maintenance, tools maintenace, gas, and advertising.

That is why a company has to make a profit to pay for all the other costs of doing business. It is also the reason why we cannot work for the same price a handyman or some un-licensed carpenter can.


Thank You for reading.

Bordines Spring Expo

Come visit us this weekend at the Rochester Hills MI Bordines Nursery. Their famous spring expo is being held this weekend 4-17&18 at the corner of Rochester Road and Hamlin Road in Rochester Hills MI.

Bordines will be having all kinds of great seminars and there will be an american backyard theme this year. There will be all kinds of different vendors and kids activities. We will have deck displays - Timber Tech XLM and Radiance railing, Correct Deck CX, Fiberon Horizon Tropics, and a cedar pergola, and bar.

Bordines Spring Expo web page

Here is a link to infomation on the different seminar topics being offered and their times of the seminars.

Seminar topics

Thank You

Rialings part 3 - composite pvc options

Hello again,  Spring is in the air and we have been busy doing estimates!  For the last few weeks we have been looking at different railing styles and products. This week we are going to look at composite and pvc,  low maintenance railing products.

For us we generally offer 3 different railing products for low maintenance decks.

The first product choice we give is Correct Deck CX and their DCL railing with metal balusters.

The DCL - Dimensional Composite Lumber 

Which means it can span long distances with the strength required for a railing. Most composites/pvc are not very strong.

The nice thing about the Correct Deck DCL (basically a 2x4) is that it has the cap layer covering the composite base. Which puts it into the ultra low maintenance class meaning it does really good in resisting Fade, Stain, Straching, and Mold. It is also more affordable than the composite kit rail systems most manufactures make.

One other nice feature is that the DCL 2x4 combined with the metal baluster option gives the railing a nice contast to the all one color kit rail systems.

 
 
I would like to see Correct Deck come out with some different options with rail posts, skirts and caps.
 
Their rail post are basically the same as a 4x4 in size, where most all of the other manufactures rail posts are sleeves that fit over a 4x4 that are bigger and look a little nicer,  also Correct Deck post caps and skirts are very basic. We usually use the De-kor post caps when we use the DCL rail system.
 
 
 
 
 

Next we offer the Timber Tech Radiance Rail

 

Which is a kit rail system meaning, the top and bottom rails and balusters come in a box in 6' and 8' lengths.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Radiance Rail is a little more expensive than most other low maintenance railings on the market, but it is the nicest out there. It also matches the colors of the XLM decking and they have white and black colors which look really nice.

 

Next we offer the Monarch white railing Bermuda

Which is a budget minded product and still is low maintenance

There are many other railing options on the market that are very nice also.

Trex has the Artisan rail which has been re-named the Transcend railing 

The Transcend railing has alot of different options

Azek has a few different profiles of the old Premier railing

There is many vinyl railings on the market here one we like with many different baluster patterns    Michigan Lakes Railings

Most of these products are very durable and are composite with a PVC cap layer which really hold up well to the UV exposure which tends to tear down paints, stains and cheap vinyl rails.

We hope we have inspired you with ideas for your outdoor living areas

Railings part 2

Last week we looked at Deckorators balusters and accessories, we forgot to review Deckorators new aluminum kit railing product Aluminum Railing System  This kit rail system has a maximum span of 6' and comes pre-drilled for all the different Deckorators balusters. It also has a snap on top cap rail with no exposed fasteners. There is also post sleeves to cover 4x4 rail support posts. The top and bottom rails are basically a aluminum 2x4. The Aluminum rail system comes in black and white colors.

It will be interested in seeing what the price is of this system. If it is more affordable or about the same as the basic vinyl railings on the market it will be a good option on wood decks, the railings are the biggest labor in staining a deck.  Judging by the pictures they show it with (composite decks) it will be about the same cost as a composite kit rail system.

So back to this weeks reveiw of different deck railing ideas, we are going to do a basic overview of the main deck and porch railings we see here in Michigan. Treated pine is still the main choice for decks and railing in the metro detroit area deck and porch market.

Wood deck and porch rails

We generally build all of our treated wood deck railings with a 2x4 top and bottom rail and the metal balusters, Sometimes we add a deck board as a top cap which gives the top of the rail a continous look.

 Or we will run the rail post above the top rail and add a post cap to the rail posts as you see here in the picture on the right which is a cedar deck. Notice the rail pocket hole attachment method we use on all the cedar decks we build here in Michigan.

Here is the same basic treated pine railing with a deck board top cap, but with  2x2 wood balusters. This is on a handicap ramp we built in Macomb County Michigan.  On angle of the railings on the ramp,  it is harder to use the metal balusters,  so we went with the standard wood 2x2s.  In one variation or another this is the most common wood railing

The Pictures below are from the web

Here is a interesting railing,  I believe from Deckorators with stained glass inserts and mix of vertical and horizontal balusters. Also tiffany post caps

Here is a wood rail posts and a top cap rail used with cable rails

                                           Here is some baluster patterns.

                                                          Chipendale 

Sunburst

                                                                               New England style

                           Glass balusters

Thank You for reading our blog, next week we will again be looking at different railing ideas

Railing and baluster ideas ( Deckorators)

Hello, For the next few posts we are going to talk about different railing and baluster products and ideas.

For alot of our railing projects we use Deckorators balusters. Usually the classic 26" balusters, here in the picture you can see the 3/4 round baluster used with a composite 2x4 railing.

The connection to the top and bottom rail is done with either a standard baluster connector, or a designer baluster connector. You can also drill out the top and bottom rails to receive the 3/4 round baluster.

Standard baluster connector

                                                                 Designer baluster connector

The Deckorators classic 3/4 round 26" balusters run about $1.60 per baluster, in comparison a treated 2x2x32 runs about $1.00 per baluster and a cedar 2x2x32 is about a $1.35

So for a typical 400 sq ft treated wood deck with railings the added costs would only be about $175

 and on a cedar deck it would only add about $50. On composite deck railing you actually save money

 over composite 2x2s

The labor time to install is a little more than just nailing on pre-cut 2x2s . We probably average a couple more hours per deck using the metal balsuters and connectors. We have a jig for the layout of the balsters and the jig holds the connectors in place to screw down to the rails. We start by finding the center point of each railing section - between rail post. We then layout the centers of the baluster at 4.5" or sometimes 4 1/4" on center depending on the distance between the posts, and we usually stay about 2" away from the ends of a rail section.

Here you can see the pre-drilling and attachment method used in composite and hardwoods

Finished cedar wood rails with the metal balusters

 

Treated Wood railings with metal balusters

 

Keep in mind that the big benifit of the metal balutsers is that they do not require painting or staining like a wood baluster. One of the worst parts of staining a deck is staining the balusters

Deckorators are  - powder coated aluminum with a lifetime warranty

Deckorators has many other differents styles of metal balusters.

My personal favorite is

                                                                 The  Estate (square)

Which is a little larger looking and I think it gives  richer look. I personally think the estate baluster are easier to install also. In the picture you see a 2x4 composite railing with Estate balusters in a bronze color with diamond pattern basket layout. 

                                          

                The Colonial 

                                                                                     The Architectural

      

Scenic  (glass)                                                                           

Deckorators has a some different accessories that are nice options.

Fleur de lis centerpiece with baskets on each side

Here some of their baluster accesories

Deckorators also has a nice line of post caps, post covers, and post skirts

Here is a link to Deckorators website

http://www.ufpi.com/product/deckorators/index.htm

We are going to keep reviewing different deck railing options in our next blog posts

Thank You for reading

Outdoor living spaces - pictures of different design

Here is a bunch of different pictures of outdoor living spaces
 For some design ideas

http://www.hgtv.com/designers-portfolio/outdoors/index.html



Michigan deck and patio builder

Outdoor living spaces can increase your home's appeal at a lower cost than an additional room

Here is a article we came across from US News about the value of adding outdoor living spaces

Adding a Deck: A Cost-Effective Way to Protect Your Home’s Value

http://www.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/real-estate/articles/2008/11/21/adding-a-deck-a-cost-effective-way-to-protect-your-homes-value.html