DIY has made a big splash into homeownership in the past decade. The internet and media has played a big role in teaching homeowners how to do many things so they don't need to spend money hiring a contractor to do them for them. This has saved families a lot of hard-earned cash and given them a good way to start a good future after investing in their home.
Doing projects on your own is a great idea if you are handy and have the time and patience to learn a skill and put it to good use. We are here to tell you why it is important that building or replacing decking on your deck is NOT a good DIY project. Here are a few reasons why:
Structural things are best left to professionals! You don't want to mess with anything structural unless you are absolutely sure you know what you are doing. All decks require plans to be sent off for permits through your town building inspector. These plans are looked over for structural integrity and must include information on spans, building codes, and various other things inspectors look for. If you don't have experience in this, going through this process can be time consuming and ultimately end in the inspector failing your permit.
You never know what you're going to find when you remove your deck! Your deck may look okay from the outside, so you decide to just pull off those old pressure treated boards and replace it with some composite decking you purchased. That could work, but when you take the decking off the joists, you may find that the joists are split or rotting from the nail or screw holes. Once the holes are exposed, you open them to water damage and ultimately...more rot. If you choose to put the new boards on the frame, and something goes wrong with the composite decking a few years later, you will find out that the company who made the boards will not give you the warranty because you put them on an old frame. This means, you will need to replace the entire deck including the frame and the boards are no longer usable so now you need a new frame and all new boards all over again...not to mention railings!
The time it will take to build a deck can leave your frame exposed in an unsafe way. If you are doing a project yourself, likely you have another full-time job and this is not your expertise. If you are a previous construction worker who changed careers, I'm not talking about you! But if you are not experienced in the deck building process, this could cause an exposed frame and an unsafe deck for too long. The last thing anyone needs is to fall through the joists of your deck because something went wrong or took too long. When you hire us, we will build your deck in under a week (basic decks, not screen rooms). This is because we build every day, we don't need to keep running out for more materials, we have excellent and well-designed plans and we have a team of building professionals who know exactly what they are doing. We also have a consultant we work with who has been in the industry for over 25 years.
In conclusion, we hope you do some home projects yourself...it is an excellent way of creating something in your home that feels like your own! There are many things we would encourage anyone to attempt on their own! Here are some examples below! We hope you enjoy your at-home projects and we hope you consider our company when you need a deck!
Board and batten trim work
Baseboard moulding
Painting small rooms or walls that don't require scaffolding
Minor landscaping or gardening
Refinishing or building of small non-structural furniture
Putting together store bought furniture
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