I think you should get another bid.

I just had mine completed and it was about 1/2 that for a 14x30 deck, pre cut and groved Ipe's, ribbons on the deck, and all the PT sub rail/concrete footings. We used Ipe' clips which my contractor is now going back and fastening with screws for our own "peace of mind", as well as Deckorators balusters for the rails.

You need to get multiple estimates. We got about 10 estimates for our deck which were within $2000 difference of any other .. except for one estimate which was more than DOUBLE what the previous highest estimate was for!

We wound up going with the middle range estimate and still got a sloppy job. I almost wish we went with the cheaper estimates now ...

Here in Northern VA that'd be in line. Get multiple bids and PLENTY of references. Go see the decks, meet the clients, and see what kind of deck (and company) a $40K+ deck buys you.

Dave

I agree with Marcinde, depending on several things the price could be completly in line with normal business.

However...References are the key as well as detail in the bid. Make sure everyone is biding the same thing. John

If the contractor knows how to do the work, that may be in line.

A good source of info is often your town's building inspector. Go meet him, ask him for names of contractors who install Ipe, people he thinks do good work.

I'd rather pay up now and have it done right.

A building inspector better not recommend any contractors.

My DH will there to build it when you're ready to spend that kind of money on a deck of that size. LOL

So any results? I live in central NJ as well, and contractor prices here are insane. Since "myself" works for free. I end up hiring myself and working him like a slave. I've found that if I do the work myself, I could have paid myself $100/hr and paid the same or less than if I hired a contractor, that includes cost of materials. And I work pretty slow. If you've got the time and the determination, hire yourself.

skreg is right, I just completed a 1200 sq foot deck project , including a 10 x 15 sunroom,did most of the work myself, did hire a competant carpenter to help with the framing, it still cost about 30k but would have cost double that with a contractor,and gave me the satisfaction of knowing I can do it. I took me all summer to complete.

I'm in Northern, VA too and I think the price is out of line. For 28K, I'm in the middle of a project and the scope of work is: Remove old wooden porch, demo and remove debris. Replace structure with new porch, 18' x 16' and adjoining deck, 18' x 15'. So in other words, my structure is 18' x 31' and half of it is a screened porch---the other half is an open deck with composite deck material. I do NOT have vinyl rails though, but still, it seems as though 45K is way over. The price I got was good---but most quotes were within a few thousand either way. So far, the job has gone okay, but not perfect. We just had three days of continuous rain, and the flashing between the new porch and house wasn't done, the roof was not on the porch yet---so water got into my house basement, soaking some ceiling tile and a small area of carpet. And my first floor hardwood right off the kitchen (where the porch is tied on) got moisture and is coupling. I have heaters, dehumidifiers and fans going to try to arrest the damage. The contractor is working with me. The porch and deck itself looks good though.

I get another couple of bids. If you do the work yourself you could end up paying only 1/3 of the cost $45K. I would think that $25K-$30K would be the right price for the job. Secondly, take your plan to a home improvement store and let the special services people price out the materials for the deck project. That way you know how much is labor and how much is material.

Every Carpenter has his own way of puting the frame together for decking projects. The box store comp generated material list is set up to sell material they have in stock. Several times I have been out on service calls from a stranded home owner trying to put together the pile of lumber these ol boys dumped in his frount yard.

With the ones I end up doing the first thing I do is return a large part of it. John

That's SUCH an awesome illustration of the subtle differences between different tiers of contractors. We're in Northern VA and couldn't dream of touching a job like angelom's for that little money; but with an eye on the weather, we would've had that house buttoned up tight before the rains came. I think a homeowner's enjoyment of the construction process is 60% about the finished product, and 40% about the process. You just have less buyer's remorse when you don't have to babysit a lower-cost installer.

Just my opinion, from years in the construction business :)

Marci I could not have said it any better my very own self. John

I am a deck contractor in Central NJ (no, that wasn't my bid). That price is not at all out of line for a top-tier contractor.

Jeff

www.thedeckpros.com

Marcinde/John: The contractor THOUGHT the flashing was correctly installed---but the rain proved otherwise. I guess accidents can happen. I will tell you, the quality of the materials and work on the structures seems very good---28K was a good price, about 3-4K less than other quotes I had. My question is this: How do you know when you're hiring someone if you're going to have to "babysit" them? I can't imagine it's simply a matter of more expensive means better. I've had friends hire high priced contractors and have problems---such as one who vented a bathroom vent fan into their attic and caused damp wood up there (instead of venting it outside). As a homeowner, my wish list is to hire not the cheapest, not the most expensive, but someone who seems to offer "good value." Also, I prefer the Foreman on the job having the ability to speak clear English. Also, best case scenario is that they work one or two jobs at a time, not 10. That way, the owner spends more time on your property. Finally, they need to be responsive to phone calls (assuming the homeowner isn't bugging the hell out of them). How does someone get all of this in one package?

I think the best way is to get referals from friends that have had similar work done. If you don't know anyone like that then you could subcribe to angieslist. Whatever you do don't use service magic or similar free services, remember you get what you pay for in most cases. If you're unhappy with the folks who you've had out to bid on your project then I would suggest looking for someone who runs a small company specializing in that type of work. A great place to look for these types are at the local lumberyard, not HD, Lowes & the such, but real lumberyards. They will know who's staying busy & pays their bills on time.

Al

Babysit the Wallet is a good thing,having to Babysit the Contractor is a bad thing. Most of the time expensive means better.

Good value is an intersting topic that is wrapped around the Wallet and the Contractor.. Take the venting thing,its code to vent the bath thru the roof but if the Wallet did not question the man and took the lowest bid well you see ...Its always a good idea for the Contractor to speak English if they are working in America in fact!!!! well never mind Spanish is taking over no matter what soon the national food will be green chillies.

When I sign a job I make it clear I will finish it and then go on to the next one, but thats just me. Also my Cell is in the contract with the understanding its for Business hours only.

That deal with the flashing is total bush class there is no thinking he got it right the F#$k$ng rain has nothing to do with it, the Fool just did not know what he was doing and dident care to learn.

How do you get Everything in One Package....For that to happen a good Contractor is going to have to pull down the same money a Laywer/Doctor makes. John

"We just had three days of continuous rain, and the flashing between the new porch and house wasn't done, the roof was not on the porch yet---so water got into my house basement, soaking some ceiling tile and a small area of carpet. And my first floor hardwood right off the kitchen (where the porch is tied on) got moisture and is coupling. I have heaters, dehumidifiers and fans going to try to arrest the damage. The contractor is working with me. The porch and deck itself looks good though."

That would be called incompetence.
There was plenty of notice of the coming rain and the house should have been closed up and made water tight.

But you did save a lot of money...

You hit the nail on the head brick.

"I thought the flashing was installed right? BS

I think it's certainly been a learning experience. Hindsight...sure, it would have been worth a couple or three thousand more to get a more professional overall job and better communication from a different contractor. This guy is sometimes unreachable---but very reliable when I owe him an installment LOL. He speaks/writes acceptable English though his crew does not and unfortuantely, he isn't on the job site nearly enough. But to my defense, his portfolio of past jobs showed results at nice, big homes with what I assume were discriminating/discerning homeowners or "wallets" as you refer to them! I thought if he's successfully completed projects at these places, he could do it for me to, without a lot of hassle. I checked with the state licensing board to confirm his status and he's been in business for 16 years and they only found one recent complaint that was 2005 or 2006---and it wasn't decided if the complaint was valid or not. He was/is a nice guy from what I could tell, and has used the exact materials we speced. Problems are that the job is now taking too long as I believe he has a whole bunch of other projects where his crew is diverted---and of course the famous water leak, that I hope is taken care of. The story is that the porch floor was higher than the flashing---we had so much rain, the water went over the edge of the floor and the flashing didn't keep it out so presumably, it ran down walls and across ceilings, about 12 feet into the rooms, though only wet the basement in a foundation area about 2 feet x 5 feet. But still, enough water/moisture got in to wreak havoc. He claims to have remedied that and with rain in the forecast and still no roof up, I hope he's right. I still think that the 28K price is a good value---and that 45K for similar square footage is too high, even for a premier contractor. But I guess that's the call the homeowner has to make. It's so hard to really know when you sign on how things will work out.

One real easy way to check for rain leaks>> run a water hose into the areaOn the other hand,the Man made a mistake, it sounds like he is trying to fix it. I my own self have made mistakes like that in the past,or my guys have, Thats one of the main reasons I went back to the One Crew/One Job at a time thing.
Portfolio/web site is one thing,and a good thing,but nothing takes the place of first hand wittness. That is going to one of the Contractors past Wallets and Talking to them. I sugesst this to all Folks looking in to spend that kind of $ with a Contractor.

I like spanish People,I like Spanish food,I like Mexico, I Love New Mexico but as the Spanish workers take over there needs to be a lot more Respect for American Folks going on in a very close time span. J.

I agree with John- go see the prior jobs and talk to the end user. A portfolio is a great sales and marketing tool, but it's critical to remember that's its purpose. Even if all the photos are truly of jobs the contractor did, they're the best angles of a job. Maybe the whole project looks that good; maybe it doesn't.

I think there's something to be said for learning about the work to be done as well. You don't need to be able to do the job, but at least find out the steps involved, the permits that need to be pulled, and the order of operations. At least that way you'll know if something's not right.

And by the way, you're in Northern VA, darnit- speak Spanish! :)

Dave

Dave: I'm brushing up on my Spanish, but not good enough to deal with "no habla engish" contractors for a long, long time! The guy seems to be trying to make things right, though there's squabbling now over paying for a commercial/industrial dehumidifier that my floor guy insisted on. The thing is $125.00 a day and it will be about an eight day rental. The porch contractor thinks it was/is unnecessary and replacing the floor and subfloor that was damaged would have been preferable to renting this expensive equipment and then refinishing and replacing a few warped floorboards. I'm going by what the floor guy recommended since he did our floors last year and we liked how they turned out---though I admit to thinking that replacement might have actually been cheaper than this dry out and refinishing. I think about 125 square feet, give or take, is affected. If you think about it, at $10.00 a squrae foot for finished hardwood flooring (Is that about right?), that's about the price of the dehumidifier. And we still have to pay to get the floors refinished. Granted, it doesn't address subfloor plywood. Still, this thing will cost about $2400.00 and I'm thinking new floor might have been less than that. So we might have a disagreement over the cost of the dehumidifier.

You may have more problems than you think, something call mold. Once you have a water leak mold can/does occur, even when dried out with fans/dehumidifiers. Those cost should be paid by the contractor, either out of his pocket or thru his insurance. Even good contractors can make mistakes, it's how they deal with the mistakes that count.

When I was younger & out to make all the bucks I could I ran multiple crews. 22 guys, my own lumber yard working 32 subdivisions in Austin, 3 in Temple just for one homebuilder & portable school building decks/handicap ramps for 5 school districts along with all the HO jobs I could get. 600 decks a year made this man grow old fast with all the headaches that went along with it. Now like John it's one crew, one job at a time. I sleep well now, the phone doesn't ring off the wall all the time & I'm a happy camper.

Al

In my opinion, you need to get at least two more estimates. Also, check out any references. By that I mean go and see the contractor's previous work and have a brief talk with the homeowner. Yes, you often get what you pay for, but sometimes you don't. Just because they are asking a lot, it doesn't necessarily mean that their work is good.
And it doesn't matter what language they speak.

I recently had a price estimate for $32k deck, located in Texas. I thought it was high, but I realized that the pricing including using mostly cedar (3x as much cost as pressure treated wood), and had extras like skirting around the above ground portion, decorative posts, steel posts beneath ground, etc. When I realized that I didn't necessarily want "top of the line" materials, there is some negotiating room or points to bring up to reduce cost. Repuation and Referrals are very important though, and make sure they get the necessary permits (it will help cover your own interests).

It makes a big differance what language they speak. J.

I was kidding about the speaking Spanish, John. Don't know if it made national news or not but Prince William County VA is on a massive illegal immigrant hunt, so... well, I find myself funny, so it's all good.

But yeah- I couldn't imagine not being able to communicate with someone working for me. Last time we moved, if I didn't speak Spanish there's no telling where our dressers would've ended up.

Well, the basement and floors have been restored and progress on the 28K deck/porch continues. It's looking good so far---lots of quality materials and no complaints on the workmanship/detail at this point. I'm still of the opinion that 45k is a bit much---that buys a lot of home improvement. I think our remodled kitchen, with top of the line stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and custom cabinets, recessed lighting, etc. came in at about 40K.