Deck installation is a major project that can significantly increase the value of your home.
Your deck is not just an extension of your home. It is a lot more and contributes immensely to the overall comfort your home offers you and your visitors.
The deck is the perfect outdoor space to relax at any time at all. Day and night, your deck is the safest place to enjoy the charm of the outdoor environment and you can do whatever you like on it.
While giving you the perfect outdoor space at home, your deck also enhances the overall appeal of your home.
When it is properly constructed and maintained the right way, your deck will always compliment your building and help to make the entire property more awesome.
The useful space it offers and the enhanced visual appeal all translate to value if you ever decide to sell or have your home evaluated for financial reasons.
To enjoy all the benefits of wooden decks, you need to have a solid and well-built deck. This is achievable when you hire the right contractors to do the work for you.
Choosing the right contractor is more important than deciding to build or remodel your deck. While there are lots of companies that offer deck installation services, you wouldn’t want to hire just anyone.
The wrong contractor will do a shabby work and can still charge you exorbitantly for it.
By researching extensively, you should be able to come up with a list of reputable contractors. When that is done, you have to engage them on face-to-face interaction before hiring.
When you are face to face with your potential deck contractor, you are expected to get the sort of information from them that will determine whether you will go ahead to hire them or look for alternatives.
There are some important questions that can help you to understand the contractors and their values better and make an informed decision.
We will discuss five of such questions here to give you an idea of how to hire the best contractors for your deck installation project.
1. The Kind of Permit Needed
This is a question that can easily give you an insight into the experience level of the contractor you intend to hire.
There are often some kinds of permits you will need from your city or county in order to make such necessary additions as deck installation in your property.
Even if you know everything about the permits that are needed, it is still very important that you throw this question to your prospective contractors to understand if they truly have practical experience building decks in your area.
You have to be wary of contractors that will tell you that you don’t really need some permit to get your deck installed.
Any contractor that can’t discuss the permits extensively shouldn’t be hired too. You need your deck to be built legally and you need people that have real experience doing it in your area to help you with it.
A good contractor will explain to you the kind of permit needed and how to file for them and get approval for your project.
2. The Type of Fasteners Being Used
You need to know about the quality of work the contractor is willing to deliver and this is one simple question that can give you the perfect idea about the quality to expect.
While the actual materials your deck is going to be made of mater a lot, the fasteners that will be used matter too.
It is also important that you discuss this with your contractor even before you hire them.
By asking about the kind of fastener your contractor is going to use, you are telling them you know about deck installation and need quality work.
Pay attention to how the contractors discuss the fasteners they intend to use, you can differentiate those that will deliver quality work to those that will not.
You should be wary of those that intend to use staples for your project. Unless a contractor gives a detailed and understandable reason to use staples on some parts of the project, avoid such contractors.
It is always better when sturdy nails and screws are used for decking projects. A good contractor will also take time to explain why these fasteners are the best for the project.
3. Previous Work and References
It is possible that you have already carried out background checks on the deck installers you are meeting with, it is still important, however, that you ask this very question.
This question can do different important things for you. First of all, it will help to remind the contractor that you are actually looking for quality works.
By paying attention to the way the contractors answer this question, you should have an idea of how confident they are about their work.
A confident contractor will readily offer to give you references and you need to appear ready to contact those references.
In fact, it is recommended that you contact some of the references given to you by a contractor you intend to hire.
It is also important that you don’t just consider works that were recently concluded by the contractors but works they completed years ago.
This way, you should have an idea about how durable their projects are. While conversing with their past clients, ask about general satisfaction and the contractors’ attitude to delivery.
4. Materials to be Used and Durability
The floor of your deck is obviously the most important part. The strength of the floor is one of the most important factors to consider and contractors understand this perfectly.
When you throw this question at your contractors, they know they have to explain to you the type of material they will use and the characteristics of the materials too.
Be wary of contractors that do not divulge adequate information about the materials they are going to use and their characteristics.
If a contractor your belief is very qualified to do the job is not telling you all you wish to know about the material for the floor of your deck, go further to ask about the resilience of the material, its longevity and how it fades.
This will make the contractors understand that you need more information and the good ones will go into details about the materials they are going to use and the benefits they offer.
5. Guarantee
This is another question that will remind your contractors that you need quality works from them.
Asking the question can also help you to weed out insincere contractors, those that do not have full knowledge of the materials they use and those that are not confident in their works.
Most manufacturers of decking materials offer some form of warranty and your contractors will know about this. The deck contractors you have to hire should also be able to guarantee their works.
The kind of deck you will get will depend so much on the deck contractor you hire to do the job.
There may be so many contractors in your areas so you need to be careful in order to select the right individuals.
The questions discussed in this post should help you to find a good contractor but you have to pay close attention to how they are answered by the contractors during face-to-face meetings.