Who will build your new deck?

Four questions you should ask before choosing a deck builder;

Choosing a good deck builder is crucial in ensuring that you end up with your dream deck built to your expectations. There is a wide choice of decking contractors available and comparisons are not always easy to make, we see all too often, cases where decks have been built by contractors who are “doing it on the cheap” and clearly have no technical knowledge or understanding of what they are building or simply just do it all wrong.

That said it is very important that before you choose your contractor to ask yourself the following four questions;

1.     How long has the contractor been building decks?

Qualify your deck builder, interview him/her and ask about their background and what they did before they started building decks.

2.     How long has the company been in business?

Qualifying the company, ask about the background of the decking company you are interested in using; find out when it started and where it operates from.

3.     Does the company deal with large commercial projects or small private ones?

Qualify the deck builders market; you need to be sure that you have the right person building your deck. If the builder/company has only ever worked on small low-cost decks, they may not even be able to provide you with an accurate quotation for a large project with steps, balustrades etc., let alone building it or supplying the latest products or even correct products for your application.   

4.     Does the builder/company have references?

Qualify the deck builder’s/company’s references; don’t be afraid to ask for references – check the pictures on their website and find out if they are real. Also speak to the references provided, a good deck builder will be more than happy to provide you with references in the area for you to contact or view and a happy client is more than willing to provide references for the contractor. Even go to the extent of visiting one of his current projects and speak to that client.

The answers to the above questions will indicate whether the person is being honest and not fabricating a story to you. Once you have qualified your contractor in this manner, you will hopefully be able to make the right decision with regards to who's going to build your new deck.