Want to extend a deck. Any idea about cost if anyone has done it recently?

Submitted by cjoshi112385 t3_11dzntd in pittsburgh

We own a townhome. Already has a 18x5 trex deck.

I want to add another 15ft to make it 18x20, add stairs and landing leading to ground.

Is 25k reasonable price for it? Some have even quoted me 30k. I wasn’t even ready for 20k since some people have built nice decks in our community for way less money but after getting quotes I am realizing the prices have gone up exponentially. 🙁

I really saved up for it until I realized it isn’t enough. Does anyone have any deck builders recommendations?

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Aggravating_Foot_528 t1_jac4b70 wrote

With what you're doing it sounds like it's a big job, probably some people are building new decks that size. The new section needs supports and the stairs and landing add to the cost.

Plus skilled labor and building supplies are expensive these days.

I'm not sure if I can tell you if it's reasonable or not since I don't have expertise in that and I haven't shopped around for something similar, but if you get quotes all around the same price it seems that's the going price. For something like a deck (or anything on your house) I wouldn't necessarily take the cheapest bid of you think someone else who is a bit more money will do the job in a timely fashion and do it well. In my book it's always worth paying a bit more for well done than trying to fix poorly done stuff.

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burritoace t1_jac5d3u wrote

It's probably at least $10k in materials and $15k in labor (a month or so for a small crew), plus a fair amount of foundation work (digging, equipment, concrete). $25-30k is a good estimate but impossible to know without seeing your site. If others but for much less they either built smaller or a long time ago.

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dunkirkFitz t1_jad27sk wrote

Honestly, an additional 18x15 foot deck PLUS stairs PLUS a landing, and if I'm reading your comment below correctly ~9-10 feet off the ground...$25k is downright reasonable. Sorry that it is outside your price range right now but the cost of materials and shortage of labor is the way the world turns today.

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cjoshi112385 OP t1_jad304m wrote

Thank you.

It’s not addition of 18 feet, It’s an addition of 13 feet to existing 5 feet out deck to make it total 18 feet out.

Maybe I will make some compromises like extend only 10ft additional ft to make it total 15ft out and no stairs. Maybe this could be done sub 15k.

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paddle_forth t1_jacxda8 wrote

Yeah that sounds reasonable. With big projects like this, you have to remember you are essentially paying the crew's salary for 2-3 weeks.

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ktxhopem3276 t1_jacic0i wrote

Those prices do seem a little excessive. 18x15 at $50 sqft would be $13,500. How high off the ground would it be? Is it on a steep slope?

https://www.trex.com/build-your-deck/planyourdeck/deck-cost-landing/

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uglybushes t1_jaclkys wrote

Take any online estimate and dbl or triple it

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cjoshi112385 OP t1_jacjl6k wrote

It’s above the walk out basement (1st floor). The space is flat and huge

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burritoace t1_jacvjdj wrote

$15-30/sf is material cost only

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cjoshi112385 OP t1_jad3m4g wrote

Why so large range? Can I go somewhere and figure out exact material cost? I bet what I current have is most basic trex installed by the builder. I feel there is no enough transparency in this business. Although what do I know?

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burritoace t1_jad8vn1 wrote

You are more than welcome to design the deck and price/procure the materials (and even build it). It's not rocket science but it does take time and effort, and experience helps. Figure out how much wood you need and call up a lumber yard, they'll happily give you a price on it.

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ktxhopem3276 t1_jacwy1b wrote

I used $50 sqft. What is your point???

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burritoace t1_jacxsrm wrote

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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Illustrious-Fold253 t1_jac693e wrote

Millvale Building Company specializes in decks. I don’t know about their pricing but worth looking into.

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ConsciousMisspelling t1_jadxve1 wrote

I dont think there is going to be much cost savings in "extending" the deck 15 feet. Its unlikely that much of the original deck will be able to be utilized at all.

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bambi_beth t1_jacjhk5 wrote

We paid $6,000 last summer for 10x6 installed at grade and four pergola posts. It's bananas but I couldn't do it myself.

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KentuckYSnow t1_jacbrns wrote

Contractor needs a new boat this year

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burritoace t1_jacve61 wrote

The contractor probably takes home like $2000 in profit at most on a job like this

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KentuckYSnow t1_jaewa1t wrote

Profit being extra money that he pays himself after he already paid himself.

270 sq feet of wood does not cost the $10k I see thrown around here, even with inflation/vocid surcharge. He's marking that up too. It's like $4-$5 sq foot for the boards. So maybe $1200 for the deck boards alone. Prices anymore are based on the going rate people are willing to pay not what the materials or job is worth.

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