Expand Your Living Space with a Deck Builder

One of the things we loved about the home we bought eight years ago, was the backyard deck.  It allows us to expand our living space by creating an outdoor entertaining area.  When it needed replacing we thought about doing it ourselves but after researching a deck builder in San Antonio, Dallas and pretty much everywhere else in Texas, we knew it was best to go with a professional deck builder; and here’s why:

Time 

We have a HUGE deck.  It covers about 200 square feet off the back of our house.  We knew that it could take us months to reconstruct it ourselves, since we had limited time to work on it.  When we employed professional deck builders to build us a new deck they had the entire deck finished in about 10 days.  That included ripping out the old one and installing the boards and railings on the new one.  In addition to having a three to four person crew they were able to spend all day working on it, which we would not have been able to do.

Deck Builder Warranty/Insurance

One of the most significant advantages of hiring a professional deck builder is that their work usually comes with a warranty.  If you find a board that has split or nails coming up within a few months of install, you can just give them a call and they’ll come out to fix it.

We didn’t have to worry about standing in line at county offices for permits or calling for inspections either.  The deck builder handled all of that for us, insuring that the correct permits were obtained for what they were building.  They are aware of local building codes and any special circumstances that you may need to have approved if you have an HOA in your neighborhood.

Likewise a reputable deck builder will have worker’s compensation and insurance if one of their employees gets hurt on your property.  There is no liability to you in instances like that.  Doing it yourself can save you money, but if you injure yourself in the process it may cost you more than you’ve saved in the end.

Design Options

If we had chosen to do the work on our deck ourselves, we literally would have maintained the exact same design we had previously.  By employing a deck builder we were able to change the look of what we had previously.  We took out some steps and a railing that had been there previously and they made sure that even with those changes that the deck was structurally sound.

Cost

It may seem cheaper to do build a deck yourself but keep in mind that professional deck builders often buy material in bulk and close to wholesale costs which may actually be more affordable than you think.  Lumber prices have skyrocketed and purchasing the wood on your own might price you out of building it.  A deck builder that has a large contract with a lumber mill or distributor could lower that cost for you. 

You could also look at alternate material, like composite decking.  That is the route we chose, while the upfront cost is more than wood, there will be no maintenance cost on it in the future.  The composite boards and railing are guaranteed for 25 years (something you wouldn’t get with a wood deck).

So those are the reasons we chose to use a professional deck builder to build us a new deck, and we don’t regret our decision at all.  We love having the extra space, especially in Texas where we can use it pretty much the whole year.