You paid $800 for the entire project???

How did you hear about him?
Is he licensed and insured?
Was there a contract?
Where ever you heard about him I would go back a give them a piece of my mind. If nothing in writing, court time would probably be a waste of time. Pictures would help but it would be your word against him, unless he never shows up in court. I hope you are not using the deck now. Do you live in a townhome or condo? Why is the deck so small?
Brief experience with small claims, but not related to this field. 17 year old girl hits my parked car in the middle of the night. I am out of town. She pushed it into the line of traffic. She panics and calls police. She has no insurance or license. They tow the car away. I come home thinking car stolen and call police. They tell me what happened. I take her to court. Sue her for $400 (it was a junk car back in the 70's). Anyhow, I won the judgment. Judge said he couldn't put her in jail. It wouldn't do any good. However, she couldn't get a drivers license or insurance for 20 years unless she paid up. 5 years later she begs to settle. I didn't need the money but it was the principle. Sorry to drag this on. You may not recoupe your loss but it might stop him from continuing to rip others off. But then again, you might not have been the first.

$ 20 per square foot, it must have been that guy from Kansas.

Where I am at, Small Claims Court does not have the authority to make anyone pay anything. Yes, they can pass judgement and award you a monetary settlement, but you must continue on in the court process if you actually want to collect anything.

Live and learn.

Mark

John Hyatt...is $800 considered too cheap for a 4 x 10 deck? It's just pressure treated lumber and the cheapest fasteners and hangers on the market.

I just met a local gal who had a huge deck built by one man and it's up to code except for the small metal post in between each big post.(can't think of the name right now) Anyway, he only took 2 months with only working on weekends and evenings. He only charged $20 an hour. So his payment was around $2000. They used cypress and cedar and all high quality supplies & paid for the supplies as he got them. He was very fair. Part is even covered and screened in. This is in the South.

Thanks to everyone who posted. I frankly don't know much about small claims court...sounds like its different in every jurisdiction. Will research and let ya'll know what I find out. Thanks again for the replies!

So Funny Redwood,it probley was that same guy!!

Carol working on ground leval and working 11' up total different things.Done corectley yes that is way cheep. There are a few folks out there that dont mind working by the hour like school teachers and fireman they have a lot of spare time and like doing something outside. Sometimes you get good work most of the time you dont. Hardley ever do you get workers comp/libality insur,permit,these guys taking anything but cash things like that.

Small cliams court in the US can decide a Judgement but you cant spend a Judgement so you go back to court for an asset hearing where the guy lays out all his money things and explains why he cant pay. Of course they never show up and the Judge issues a bench warrent. The cop out on patrol is not intested in spending the time on something like that when murder around town is so common, even on a Warrent Sweep that charge is just going to be forgoten. The only chance this guy has to get picked up is if he is arrested on a more serious charge,not a traffic ticket but drugs,dui,guns when this happens all the charges are lumped together and his Lawyer pleads out. Bang Bang that warrent will vanish after the guy spends a few moons in the county joint.

On the Other Side If you dont pay your Contractor same kinda deal. Unless your Contractor made clear to you in writting that He would Lein your house if you dident pay him He cant do that either with any sucess. His only recourse is the same as yours Full Blown trial with a Judge or a Jury , both of those are real spendy if you lose, take a lot of time and money up frount combined with the Fact that Anything can happen in Court.

J.

Well, $800 sounds like a real good price for a job like yours...if done well. That said, you did get ripped off. You paid for substandard work, but it's a good thing that it didn't end in tragedy. People that do work like that should be prosecuted. Good luck getting your $ back.

steve

What should you do? Learn from this experience.
Do not make a decision to hire a builder based on price alone. Lowballers build crap for cheap...you get exactly what you pay for.
Get references from past clients for any contractor you're looking to hire.
When building a deck 11' in the air, don't use "the cheapest fasteners and hangers on the market." Your life, your spouse's life, your children's lives are more important than saving a few bucks.

Anyone charging $20/hr is either a.] not carrying liability insurance, state license, workman's comp., etc
or b.] not going to be around in a year

Write off the old deck, pay a good, reputable contractor to remove it and rebuild a structurally sound deck that won't fail in two years (and won't cause water damage to your house) and don't let short term savings blind you again...

Mac

P.S. Good luck finding the original contractor if you decide to try to take him to small claims court.

John Hyatt, I guess I might have a shot against him in court, if they bundle my case against him with his charge of assaulting an officer he got in October (about the same time my deck was shoddily built by his helpers when main guy was in slammer for 4 nights). I just don't know if I have the stomach for taking on a guy who got charged with assault...especially since he knows where I live (obviously).

To the others who posted...I appreciate all the postings, they are so very helpful. You can't imagine how much better I feel reading helpful posts that don't make me feel stupid or guilty for going with a lowballer. I'm learning so much. Thanks again.

Carol keep in mind the things I said,you cant spend a judgement it could take a lot of time after you got a desicion from the judge to get any money at all. This guy has more problems than the money you want from him. Most of the time these Folks dont have any money anyway.

Let It Go. Live and Learn. J.