How To Budget Your New Deck?
Now that you have decided to build a backyard deck for entertaining your friends and family for holidays and summer gatherings, it is time to figure out how you will pay for your new deck. Although the entire process of building a deck will cost a pretty penny, there are ways to budget your deck to maximize savings. The best way to budget for the materials and labor and permits and tools is to get organized. Write down everything you need and then start pricing it.
Before you decide which way of building a deck is cheaper you should do a side by side comparison of doing it yourself and hiring a professional to do it. There are merits to both as well as drawbacks, but only you can decide if the price is worth the cost.
Professional Builder
The main bonus of hiring a professional contractor to build your deck is that you can sit back while they do all of the hard work. But you will have to fork over extra cash for the cost of the contractor and his workers. Then you will have to decide if you will purchase the materials straight up or if you will rely on the builder to do it. This is exactly why you should compare the prices before deciding, because you never know how much extra the contractor will charge you unless you have something for comparison.
DIY
When you decide to build a deck yourself you can significantly reduce your labor costs. Between friends and family you may be able to get by paying in beer and pizza, which will cost less than a dozen experienced contractors.
The best part about making your new deck a DIY project is that you can start gathering materials and tools in advance while they are on sale so you can get a good deal. Scan the papers regularly and see if home improvement stores in the area are having sales on the items you need. Of course you will probably have to spend a bit of money first…on deck plans so you know exactly what tools and materials will help you complete your deck.
Home Value
One area in which many deck builders forget to factor in costs is how much a deck will increase the value of your home. If you are contemplating building a large deck you may find that it really adds to your home value. How will you know? A large deck will almost certainly require some type of building permit which will allow the tax assessor to let you know how much more you are required to pay in property taxes…since the value of your property has gone up!
It may not be much but this weekend-long project may help increase the sale of your home.
When you have all the costs outlined in a spreadsheet you can easily see where you can save money and where it is impossible to save it. This document will help you figure out the best way to budget for your new deck.