How much would a deck for my backyard cost?

Question

I was thinking about having one installed/built in my backyard. How much would it cost to have a contractor build one? And are there aby good websites where i can find out more about Decks?

Answer 1

You can figure about $15. per square foot. Go to Lowe's or Home Depot. They can help you with design.

Answer 2

This will depend on how big you want the deck. The bigger and fancier the more it will be. A small deck 12' x 12' will cost around $1500 - $2000 depending on where you live. That is assuming no major work has to be done to get it level and stable in the ground.

This is a job you can do yourself in most cases if you want a basic square deck. All you need is a 4' square, circular saw (or hand saw), power drill, a 4' level, hammer, nails, screws, and pressure treated lumber.
If you can use those basic tools and do the math to figure out how much material you need you can cut your cost at least in half. Most lumber yards can help with the amount of materials you will need if you can tell them how big it will be.

Make sure you have all of the needed building permits before you build the deck or call a contractor.

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
How much would a deck for my backyard cost?
I was thinking about having one installed/built in my backyard. How much would it cost to have a contractor build one? And are there aby good websites where i can find out more about Decks?

Answer 4

Installing yourself is usually $15-20 per square foot. Having it built will be $25-50, depending on whether you want a custom design, how complicated, etc etc. And some places will help you do something in the middle - they might install the footings and frame, and you nail down the surface. Lowes and Home Depot are good places to start - especially if you are doing it yourself. Even if you don't use their services, they often have contractor postings. Or check the yellow pages for decks and fencing. Don't EVER pay for an estimate - the contractor should provide that for free.

Answer 5

The above answer of $15 per sq. ft. is for a very basic, no frills deck. You didn't get very specific in your question as to whether it will be attached to your house using a ledger board or free-standing, built on flat ground or on a slope, single-tiered or multi-tiered, type of handrails, 16" or 24" joist centers, 2 x 4 or 5/4 decking boards, and where in the US you live. All these factors will effect the price. For an attractive, sturdy, long-lasting deck you can expect to pay in the range of $20 - $30 per sq. ft.. Then factor in weather proofing with some type of sealer (my personal favorite is Thompson's water seal) but that isn't very expensive but worth the cost.

Answer 6

Lots of good replies to that question. A couple of things as the owner of a deck company in the southeast...

Home Depot people know a lot about a lot (Way more than I'll ever know), but they don't know what you need to know about decking. They don't know proper fastener specification, proper railing building, or proper ways to set posts. All of those things are important. Use professionals.

Thompson's Water Seal is one of the best marketed products in America. Unfortunately, it is one of the worst products for wood on the market. Wax based sealers cause water to form in pockets in the wood, and therefore speed decay. Yeah, it's cool that water beads up on the outside, but it's not good for wood inside. Use a penetrating oil for your wood (oil is much better than wax). Or better yet, call someone who cleans and stains decks professionally.

Pressure treated pine is a terrible product. You MUST use stainless steel fasteners for framing. Hot Dipped Galvanized fasteners claim to be "Approved for Use in ACQ" but there is no such agency that verifies that claim. The chemicals in the wood are bad for you, and it's aesthetic life is very short.

If you want a deck built well you should start with www.nadra.org . Nadra is the North American Deck and Railing Association, and their builders are of a completely different class than other builders. (The quality of my own company's work went up significantly after joining their organization and utilizing their resources).

Hope that helps.

Answer 7

If you have employed in the past landscape gardeners for projects that ended up costing you tens of 1000's of dollars then that other substitute is to make it simply from right here https://tr.im/Cisah Your way simply because , in the finish and without this expertise , tasks constantly cost much more and took longer than anticipated.
Ideas4Landscaping is a comprehensive multimedia resource database of more than 7000 higher-resolution photos and 300 systematic guides , themes and video tutorials for folks looking for landscape ideas and inspiration close to their very own residence.
If you are a landscape gardening enthusiast of any kind , you should by Ideas4Landscaping , a package with many fantastic resources to stimulate task suggestions.

Answer 8

A lot of improvements like this often are relative to the value of the house in some way, just because of the size, quality, etc, to match. So you might find the deck will be, for example, 5% of the house value.

Most deck builders will be able to come out and give you a free estimate.

Answer 9

We had an estimate for $5,000 for a multi-level 18'x18' deck in New England, but the costs here tend to be high. You can probably get a decent deck for $3,000 and up.

Answer 10

We put in a 12' x 12' treated fir deck and it ran about $500. just doing it ourselves. I don't know what a contractor would charge.