My current deck has been removed due to flooding. I live on a hill! County road dept has not been doing their job and when it rains or the snow melts. My place gets flooded. Water runs down the main road then down my drive way. Which caused my deck to pull away from my house.

Anyway, I designed a new deck and took it into Home Depot to find out what it would cost. They put it into their computer and gave me a quote. It was $6400.00 plus some change. The deck will be 16X22 on the back side of the house and 6X24 on the side of the house. It will also be 12 feet off the ground in back. I went with E-Deck composite in a redwood color.

A friend of mine will be building it for me. He works for a contractor and does side jobs. I traded him a remington 270 model 710 with a Bushnell scope. He looked at the plans and told me how I could save alot of money. Home Depot had made the frameing using 2X10 and 2X12 treated wood. Since it is not going to be on the ground or on concreate, I don't need treated. I am not going to park my truck on it, so 2X12 joist are over kill. Everything is on 16" centers. I called HD about the lumber and told them that I didn't need treated wood and to go with 2X10's all around. Which is still overkill for a deck. They then also told me that treated was not needed.

Here is a cost comparision;
Doug fir --------- Treated
2X10X10--- 10.86 ---------- 17.97
2X10X16--- 17.38 ---------- 28.97
2X12X12 ---------------------- 26.97
2X12x16 ----------------------35.97

They didn't have any prices on some of the Doug fir. Now knowing this, why would they have qouted "treated" and not "doug fir" to start with? I will be checking the rest of the prices and materials before picking it up. They also qouted the expensive concreate mix instead of the $2.00 a bag mix. When I asked them, they had no reason. Said it was the computer.

After figuring it out, with the changes I will be saving almost $2000.00.

Tom

 

I think you should get some professional advice on this project before you end up over your head. I'm not familar with the decking material you are listing, but most of those composites are non-structural and rely on a beefy substructure for strength. Treated lumber is cheap insurance against premature failure due to rot, and is required by code in most states.

 

Your experience With Home Depot does not surprise me.


As a Contractor, let me pass on some related advice I give to my friends.

It is typical on small projects such as this, for the homeowner to circumvent the permit process. This is OK, as I too like to keep as much of my hard-earned cash as anybody else, HOWEVER, if you do build it, build it per Code, and here is why:

Depending on the housing density around you, your risk of getting caught can range from unlikely (building in the prairie of South Dakota), to quite possible (building in a rural housing development). Throw in a disgruntled neighbor of yours, and the odds increase exponentially.

If you shun the Code and get caught, you will not only pay the fine, but you will be force to RIP-OUT any work that you have done incorrectly (maybe all of it). You will forever at this point, be fighting City Hall for any cooperation the second time around. On the other hand, If you do build per Code, and do get caught, you will pay the fine and be required to apply for the Permit, all while attempting to claim ignorance the entire way.

Bottom line IMO, get a Permit if you are not already planning to do so. On a project such as this, It’s just not worth it.

 

So wait, is there a certain minimum size for a deck to need a permit or does it vary by state or city codes? I'm planning on building a deck too, but it'll only be 10x24.

 

Good question.

As you guessed, it varies depending on your Municipality. One phone call to City Hall will answer this.

As an example, in the suburb I live in, you can build a deck up to 120 s/f without a Permit as long as it's not attached to your home (?). Attach it in any way, Permit required.

 

As long as I leave a portion of the existing deck in place while building, I do not need a permit. It is classified as an "Add on". Even if it is one post. When done I can remove that post. No permit, no inspectors. And we have no codes to follow where I live. Since we live outside the "Dount Law" area and not part of Missoula, I am safe.

HD had made the railing at 32" high. I found out from my contractor friend that in Missoula, which is 7 miles away. That 42" is code with 4" spacing. I am making mine at 42" with 4" spacing. I am complying with most of their code. The frame work will be painted before the decking goes on. HD had to special order the railing. Again, I think that HD should have known this. I had also told them about the flooding problem that we have had. This I have fixed, but a good snow melt may still flood. They quoted the concreate blocks. I told them that I want 48" sona tubes. If it weren't for the pricing, I would not have gone with them. The sad part about it all is that the person that I am working with at HD, is a neighbor from down the street.

My current deck which is half missing was made with 2X6 framing and 2X6 tounge and grove decking. Using 4X4X10 post. It is a real mess. If I can get some before and after photo's, I will try to post them.

Just a side note. I have looked into building a garage later. There is no code about the distance to the property line where I live, but in Missoula, you have to be 4' away from the line. This does require a permit.

Tom

 

Observations:
The answers you get at a large outfit like HD depend entirely on the familiarity and enterprise of the SALESPERSON you contact. A small project equals a small commission - unless the price of materials is increased. I don't know if HD sales reps are paid commissions or not. I know it works that way at Radio Shack though - I knew someone who was a half(backsided) technician that was making a killing on the side selling at an RS store on the side.

A company man, regardless of commission, will try to sell as much as possible. It looks good on their record.

A PRO will have the answers you need, and the more local the better.

Computers are updated, sometimes quickly and sometimes not. If the database fails to keep up with changes in the local code - (to quote Maria Conchita Alonso, in 'The Running Man') "You are screw..."

Get advice from a prime source wherever possible - someone who does it everyday and stays up to date on the trade. The more reputable the better.


PS ON EDIT: If that sales rep was on top of his game at building decks -
He'd be BUILDING DECKS for a living, not working at home depot, wouldn't he?
Seems logical to me...