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burritoace t1_jacxsrm wrote

Reply to comment by ktxhopem3276 in Want to extend a deck. Any idea about cost if anyone has done it recently? by cjoshi112385

I'm referring to your link, which notes that their $15-30 number is for material which is only 1/3 of the cost. If you use $30/sf for material and $60/sf for labor then you're in the right ballpark. That's nearly twice your $50/sf value.

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ktxhopem3276 t1_jad0ilr wrote

https://trexprotect.com/blog/cost-of-deck-installation-how-much-does-it-actually-cost/

Labor 15-35 plus material 15-30 = 30-65. But we are in a weird market with contractors who are overbooked so they are charging whatever they want and making big profits. The real cost should be around $50 but he is getting fuck you quotes of $90 which what a coincidence is the exact number you quoted so you must be some sort of genius. $60 labor on an 18x15 deck is $16,000. Most people could build a deck themselves in a month just working weekends. These prices have gone bananas bc people are stupid enough to pay them.

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burritoace t1_jad8r67 wrote

>Labor 15-35 plus material 15-30 = 30-65

Your link said materials are only about a third of the cost (correct), so you have to add that 15-30 again. $90/sf is not a fuck you price. Not sure why you think you know what the "real cost" should be.

I wager this project would take about a month for a two person crew. That's about $10k in labor at the very least. The materials are at least that much, between lumber, decking, concrete, fasteners, etc. Nobody is walking away with a huge profit on a deck job at that price.

>Most people could build a deck themselves in a month just working weekends. These prices have gone bananas bc people are stupid enough to pay them.

No they could not. Most people don't have the first clue about how to approach a project like this on their own. These are the prices because this is what it costs to build such a thing.

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ktxhopem3276 t1_jade8ml wrote

I should have said some people. But a month for a two person crew? Maybe if they let the concrete dry for 3 weeks. $25k for a five star contractor and high end materials is probably market rate. My point though was market rate is inflated at the moment and might come down if interest rates continue to go up and the labor shortage fizzles. Cost of lumber is down 50% year over year. I don’t know what composite prices are doing though

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Aggravating_Foot_528 t1_jacy46f wrote

you can just throw all the building material out in the back and hope that entropy makes it into a deck.

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burritoace t1_jacyidw wrote

Theoretically there is at least one possible universe where this works!

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