what price for a new deck? Can i do it in 2 steps?

[spridget]

Hi,
We are looking at putting a deck along the back of the house 14x 4m with roof. Quotes range from 40K to 55k. Cheapest being in metal. Two quotes in timber have come in just under 44k. We have a contractor who's work we know is excellent. He'll do it for 44k but lacks a builders licence. We do not want to go Ownwr builder. He had a builder lined up to sign off on the job but upped the ante from $500 to $5k for his services. Not on.
We are sorry not to use this contractor, nice man, good work and battling to support family etc. Is it possible to do the deck in two parts? The deck and rails at $20K and a roof at a later date for $20k? Or is ist feasible to build it half the size and add another section later? Are there time frames for more additions?

We have plans drawn up for a timber deck that has uprights continuing up from ground level to the roof. This is a two story house with the proposed deck top floor.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[eslampar]

Had a 3m*12m hardwood deck with hardwood screens and a roof, all painted and installed for 13k through www.softwoods.com.au

 

[Ocean Architect]

I work as a builder, so hopefully might be of use

The Building Act states that if you build something higher than 1m from natural ground level, you must have a building permit and hence use a builder. There is another clause that says that if the job is worth more than $x ($17000?), you also have to use a builder, but that clause is rarely enforced - usually councils only care about the structure being large, and not the dollar value.

Anyway, to answer your question, yes, you can do the job in two parts, with the first bit being the decking itself, and the second phase being adding the roof. I would personally suggest using steel if you do it this way, because for a start, steel is much stronger, lasts forever if it is treated properly, and importantly, when it comes time to add the roof, you can weld the roof supports to the structural base of the deck and not have to tear anything apart. All in all, a much easier, neater solution.

Whichever way you go, make sure to have every element certified as you go, so that continuing the job is easier later on.

To be honest, I don't know why you don't want to go down the owner builder path and use the handyman to do the work. After all, the only reason you want a licensed builder is to a) satisfy the Building Act and b) make sure that you have somebody to take to court/be responsible if something goes wrong with the job.

In the past (1980s) I can understand wanting to use a builder, because building codes weren't what they are today, but to be honest with you, things are so stringent these days, with everything having to be certified step by step that the chances of something going wrong are negligible.

The other thing is that very little can go wrong with decks structurally anyway - they aren't heavy structures and so you don't get sinking/settling, there are no tiles to pop off, no render to crack etc so really, what are you worried about? Every step of the way a certifier will come in to certify that things were done properly, from your termite treatment to your footings to the gauge of your steel to the integrity of the welds to the spacing of your roofing screws, so everything will be to code. You have as much chance of getting money out of a certifier as you do a builder should things go nasty anyway, and if you have as much faith in this handyman as you say, owner builder is certainly the way to go about it.

Either way, good luck and post some pics of the deck for us all to ogle

edit: didn't answer question about time frames. Building permits are valid for 2 years, so if you wanted to do the job all in one go as the same job, then you have 2 years to do it. This 2 year period can be extended with a simple application. On the other hand, there is no reason you can't split the job into decking this year, and then roof later on as a separate thing, although you may have to reapply to council all over again if a long time passes without extending the existing building permit.

Cheerios

 

[willair]

Hi,
We are looking at putting a deck along the back of the house 14x 4m with roof. Quotes range from 40K to 55k. Cheapest being in metal. Two quotes in timber have come in just under 44k. We have a contractor who's work we know is excellent. He'll do it for 44k but lacks a builders licence. We do not want to go Ownwr builder. He had a builder lined up to sign off on the job but upped the ante from $500 to $5k for his services. Not on.
We are sorry not to use this contractor, nice man, good work and battling to support family etc. Is it possible to do the deck in two parts? The deck and rails at $20K and a roof at a later date for $20k? Or is ist feasible to build it half the size and add another section later? Are there time frames for more additions?

We have plans drawn up for a timber deck that has uprights continuing up from ground level to the roof. This is a two story house with the proposed deck top floor.

Thanks in advance for any help.

That is a big span for a deck,and if it's all hardwood from the ground up the try a nd find a lic Builder,because the materials factor would be less then 20k,council permits ect,a very simple way is run a small add in the
courier mail in the tenders and quotes and see who come in because that price is sky high,and as most Builders i know are not working as they were
18 months ago,everything from Plumbing-Elecs-Builders,are very slow on the work side..

 

[gecho1]

Hi,
We are looking at putting a deck along the back of the house 14x 4m with roof. Quotes range from 40K to 55k. Cheapest being in metal. Two quotes in timber have come in just under 44k. We have a contractor who's work we know is excellent. He'll do it for 44k but lacks a builders licence. We do not want to go Ownwr builder. He had a builder lined up to sign off on the job but upped the ante from $500 to $5k for his services. Not on.
We are sorry not to use this contractor, nice man, good work and battling to support family etc. Is it possible to do the deck in two parts? The deck and rails at $20K and a roof at a later date for $20k? Or is ist feasible to build it half the size and add another section later? Are there time frames for more additions?

We have plans drawn up for a timber deck that has uprights continuing up from ground level to the roof. This is a two story house with the proposed deck top floor.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Hello Spridget,

You certainly can do the project in 2 parts.
What happens is when you get the job certified, you have 2 years to complete.
This allows you to build the deck first, and get it signed off, and complete the roofing at a later stage.
You will just need to ensure that the deck meets with code before the certifiers will sign it off!

In QLD, any deck over 10sq/m requires certification, and hence a licensed contractor!
Regardless of what stage you are building to!

A few tips

I would shy away from timber posts for your subfloor - We use steel, as it lasts longer, and requires no maintenance.

Secondly and MOST importantly!

Make sure your builder pays special attention to the joists.
Your joists are the weakest link in a deck!
Remember, once the decking is laid, you will never access the joists again, so it has to be carefully prepared during construction.

Good luck with the project, sounds awesome!

 

[spridget]

Thank you all for your input. I like the suggestion re asking for tenders. Does anyone have a ball park figure for how much I should be paying per m2? The deck is about 2.4m above ground level. We had quotes for both colourbond and insulated fly over roof options.

I don't want to go the owner builder path because it has costs in time and money. Mostly I hate the insurance commitments for 6 years. We don't plan on selling up in that time but life doesn't always go to plan.
Does anyone recommend a builder in the Brisbane area or has anyone had a deck put on here. I wonder what others have paid for decks.

 

[gecho1]

Thank you all for your input. I like the suggestion re asking for tenders. Does anyone have a ball park figure for how much I should be paying per m2? The deck is about 2.4m above ground level. We had quotes for both colourbond and insulated fly over roof options.

I don't want to go the owner builder path because it has costs in time and money. Mostly I hate the insurance commitments for 6 years. We don't plan on selling up in that time but life doesn't always go to plan.
Does anyone recommend a builder in the Brisbane area or has anyone had a deck put on here. I wonder what others have paid for decks.

Hey Spridget,

Generally decks at that height would be between $750 and $1100 inc the flyover. This includes the Certification and BA.

We recommend the insulated flyovers as the materials are more, but the labour evens it out as they are faster to install.
The bonus is that the insulated panels are also maintenance free!

Also ask about the "Extenda Brackets" the builder will use through your roof.
The off the shelf ones we have found flex way too much for our liking. Even though they are engineered for the purpose.
These are usually a 28mm threaded rod with a bracket top and bottom - easy to use and adjust, but move like crazy!

This has led us to design and engineer our own roof brackets- more expensive but they don't flex, as they are made from 100mm box section hot dipped galvanized Steel. This allows us to fix to the top plate AND the rafter/truss, ensuring it will never move!

 

[vb01]

Consider the Design

Hi,
We are looking at putting a deck along the back of the house 14x 4m with roof. Quotes range from 40K to 55k. Cheapest being in metal. Two quotes in timber have come in just under 44k. We have a contractor who's work we know is excellent. He'll do it for 44k but lacks a builders licence. We do not want to go Ownwr builder. He had a builder lined up to sign off on the job but upped the ante from $500 to $5k for his services. Not on.
We are sorry not to use this contractor, nice man, good work and battling to support family etc. Is it possible to do the deck in two parts? The deck and rails at $20K and a roof at a later date for $20k? Or is ist feasible to build it half the size and add another section later? Are there time frames for more additions?

We have plans drawn up for a timber deck that has uprights continuing up from ground level to the roof. This is a two story house with the proposed deck top floor.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Hi I'm a designer. One option is to reconsider whether you need a deck of that size. Building in 2 stages is fine but the decking will be exposed for a period of time which will create a maintenance issue and will limit its use until the roof is put on. If the deck is left exposed for a number of years, even with regular maintenance there is a risk that it will deteriorate. This may require you to consider the type of fixings and regular oiling will require time an money every 6 months. Circumstances can also change and it may mean that for reasons beyond your control, the roof never goes on, or you have to sell and your left with a deck thats partially complete - this will impact on valuation.

I'd recommend halving the deck so that you can afford to complete the work to that size, and enjoy it with minimal ongoing risk. 28sqm is still a large deck. You can always add to it later, but it may influence the roof design for stage 1. A skillion roof is easy to add to, but a gable can be a bit more difficult unless its treated as a double gable.

With regard to owner/builders I'd recommend that if you have the inclination, but you do need to disclose it on a contract of sale (in QLD - not sure about other staes) should you sell.

I'd suggest sitting down with your friend and the builder and discussing what size is possible with the budget fixed at $44,000 if thats your limit. You might be surprised. Whilst $5,000 for the use of the licence may seem a lot, he is taking the risk. Perhaps the licenced builder could price it on the basis of including your friend in the work. Someone else in the forum also suggested tendering to other builders. Thats a good option as you create a competitive environment - just ensure your tenderers have good references.

In summary, speak with the people you trust and try to coordinate an outcome your happy with. . If that doesn't work, consider reducing the deck size so that you can enjoy it as soon as its finished with the ongoing stress on maintenance and not being able to use it in summer and wet weather. Get an opinion on the existing design to see if it can be made more efficient.



Regards

Tony