Composite Decking - is it worth it?

Sinzo · 01-07-2020 11:12pm #1

Need to replace existing raised decking at back of house. 35 by 14 feet with a ca. 3.5 ft upright surround.
What is a reasonable quote for:
1) Clearing and disposing existing wooden deck (rotting after ca 15 years in the Irish "sun")
2) Supply
3 Fit
Suggestions for a quality operator Leinster area - specifically Kilkenny
Have been quoted ca €15,000

SEPT 23 1989 · 01-07-2020 11:18pm

It would have been cheaper to treat the wood properly every year

Sinzo · 01-07-2020 11:30pm

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

It would have been cheaper to treat the wood properly every year

We actually did with the exception of 3 or 4 of those years... I would say that we got a pretty decent run considering Irish weather etc... would you go composite or try wood again?

SEPT 23 1989 · 01-07-2020 11:37pm

Sinzo wrote: »

We actually did with the exception of 3 or 4 of those years... I would say that we got a pretty decent run considering Irish weather etc... would you go composite or try wood again?

Wood always

treat every year it's a pain in the h0le and expensive but it will last and so much better on the eye than dead plastic

SEPT 23 1989 · 01-07-2020 11:42pm

The deck might just needs a few planks replaced

I wouldn't give up on it just yet

Sinzo · 01-07-2020 11:53pm

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

The deck might just needs a few planks replaced

I wouldn't give up on it just yet

It's pretty rotten in various parts. We could do as hoc work but it's a lot of work to keep it going at this stage..

boomdocker · 02-07-2020 9:10pm

Sinzo wrote: »

Need to replace existing raised decking at back of house. 35 by 14 feet with a ca. 3.5 ft upright surround.
What is a reasonable quote for:
1) Clearing and disposing existing wooden deck (rotting after ca 15 years in the Irish "sun")
2) Supply
3 Fit
Suggestions for a quality operator Leinster area - specifically Kilkenny
Have been quoted ca €15,000

Just replaced my entire deck and subframe, which is more than twice the size of yours - timber cost be €2k
I got 17 years out of the last one...
€15k sounds awful expensive

listermint · 02-07-2020 9:13pm

Have a deck in the parents I put in twenty years ago. Checked it recently perfect frame perfect.

Plenty of ventilation on it. Raised off ground properly in plints. And it gets treated probably every second year.

Will last year's more in its current form

Sinzo · 02-07-2020 10:02pm

listermint wrote: »

Have a deck in the parents I put in twenty years ago. Checked it recently perfect frame perfect.

Plenty of ventilation on it. Raised off ground properly in plints. And it gets treated probably every second year.

Will last year's more in its current form

Thats pretty impressive considering ours is raised too, extremely well ventilated and we treated it nearly every year apart from two or three years over a 15 year period. Three of our neighbours have the same problem with decking.
I'd say by the sounds of it that you must be on course for the Guinness Book of World Records for longevity of a deck in this beautiful rain soaked isle unless of course the decking is located in a nice dry climate like Spain.
What have you found to be the secret of your seemingly effortless success??
You should start a business selling the secrets .. you'd surely make a fortune.
I presume you are an accomplished DIY operator too..
Thanks for the reference though. .

Sinzo · 02-07-2020 10:09pm

boomdocker wrote: »

Just replaced my entire deck and subframe, which is more than twice the size of yours - timber cost be €2k
I got 17 years out of the last one...
€15k sounds awful expensive

Thats interesting . It's staring to look like iv been given a pretty overpriced estimate. I presume you put down wood .. that's about half the cost of composite. I presume you did it yourself .. I wouldn't be confident to do that.. I wonder what a decent cost to fit it would be?
I suppose the balustrade and hand rail is an extra cost for us too..
Thanks for you helpful advice (not everyone is so helpful)..

[Deleted User] · 07-07-2020 9:01am

Did the €15k follow a visit to look at what you have and discuss what’s involved in a replacement? Where did you get it from?

Timber quality can vary greatly depending on supplier, species and treatment/finish to be applied, a different brand of screw or the quantity used could shift the price by several hundred euro, spec for framing by thousands etc. Decks that look good when built might be no more than a tarted up pile of low grade oil finished boards and all sorts of problems to annoy you every year or two.

So you’re sort of asking a “how long is a piece of string” question. I’ve demo’d a deck and had it all in a skip in half a day, similar sized elsewhere could take 3 man days to get it taken out and skipped. Built to last could easily double or triple the price with the right wood and hardware/finish and especially so if the right labour is going into it.

The best (and only sensible) thing you can do is get 3 quotes from contractors who will come and look at what you have and discuss your requirements and options on site.

If you want a fair price from them keep in mind that just like here you’re not entitled to anything from someone you’re not paying to provide you with a service. That’s a sure way to get a jacked up price if someone thinks you’re going to second guess and query everything you think you know well, while you neither have the skills, equipment or ability to do for yourself. A bad attitude always costs a customer extra.

boomdocker · 07-07-2020 10:21am

Sinzo wrote: »

Thats interesting . It's staring to look like iv been given a pretty overpriced estimate. I presume you put down wood .. that's about half the cost of composite. I presume you did it yourself .. I wouldn't be confident to do that.. I wonder what a decent cost to fit it would be?
I suppose the balustrade and hand rail is an extra cost for us too..
Thanks for you helpful advice (not everyone is so helpful)..

Yes all wood, pressure treated 5" decking and 5x2's for the frame
I'm not a carpenter - wasn't too difficult as I was replacing like-for like (although you still need to know what you're doing)
My biggest challenge was keeping the whole thing square as its a large u-shape (almost 800 sq ft) wrapping around the gable of the house.
Very do-able though
I'd estimate to get someone to fit what I did myself - probably €3-€4k..?

Timber quality can vary greatly depending on supplier,
That's a very good point - I can see that the decking I just put down is definitely not as good quality as the one I replaced

Sinzo · 07-07-2020 8:40pm

JayZeus wrote: »

Did the €15k follow a visit to look at what you have and discuss what’s involved in a replacement? Where did you get it from?

Timber quality can vary greatly depending on supplier, species and treatment/finish to be applied, a different brand of screw or the quantity used could shift the price by several hundred euro, spec for framing by thousands etc. Decks that look good when built might be no more than a tarted up pile of low grade oil finished boards and all sorts of problems to annoy you every year or two.

So you’re sort of asking a “how long is a piece of string” question. I’ve demo’d a deck and had it all in a skip in half a day, similar sized elsewhere could take 3 man days to get it taken out and skipped. Built to last could easily double or triple the price with the right wood and hardware/finish and especially so if the right labour is going into it.

The best (and only sensible) thing you can do is get 3 quotes from contractors who will come and look at what you have and discuss your requirements and options on site.

If you want a fair price from them keep in mind that just like here you’re not entitled to anything from someone you’re not paying to provide you with a service. That’s a sure way to get a jacked up price if someone thinks you’re going to second guess and query everything you think you know well, while you neither have the skills, equipment or ability to do for yourself. A bad attitude always costs a customer extra.

No the original quote was over the phone - spotted a guy on line and his stuff looked good. Gave him rough dimensions and he gave us a price initially of 13K. Later he explained that the figure was VAT exclusive.

We are getting various prices on materials and want to but composite because our heart has been broken with the maintenance on the wooden decking. Its working out at around twice the cost of the wood.

We are getting a quote from a carpenter who will come in person to measure up etc. he is to bring samples.

We will see about quotes from other fitters after that but if he sounds reasonable we might just go with him.

Its a pretty big deck and its raised up pretty high.

Sinzo · 07-07-2020 9:00pm

I cant upload pictures because they exceed 4mb

Sinzo · 07-07-2020 9:19pm

If you want a fair price from them keep in mind that just like here you’re not entitled to anything from someone you’re not paying to provide you with a service. That’s a sure way to get a jacked up price if someone thinks you’re going to second guess and query everything you think you know well, while you neither have the skills, equipment or ability to do for yourself. A bad attitude always costs a customer extra.[/QUOTE]

Sinzo · 07-07-2020 9:21pm

And this pic

Sinzo · 07-07-2020 9:23pm

This is another pic

Darc19 · 07-07-2020 9:31pm

Sinzo wrote: »

I cant upload pictures because they exceed 4mb

Solution is to screenshot your image and crop the phone marks out

Here's one of your images

anewme · 07-07-2020 10:07pm

I got a quote for this last year and I remember it being scary expensive.

I vaguely remember 175 per sq m fitted and I didn't have balustrades etc. I got the patio cleaned instead.

Like you, I cant do a lot of work myself (woman) and it can be frustrating to feel you are paying over the odds or that you should be able to do it - sure my Johnny fitted his in his boxer shorts at lunch time and it's still going fine 80 years later.

Id be more concerned in checking the quality of product you want - personally I'd prefer supply and fit, if sonething goes wrong then you wont have fitter blaming product or vice versa.

Lovely area to have decking. Enjoy.

[Deleted User] · 07-07-2020 10:26pm

You clearly look after the place and from what I can see elsewhere around the deck, the work you've had done generally looks tidy and well done. I'd imagine you'll want everything finished off, nothing around the deck to have to refinish, clean up or repair.

I'd feel hard done by paying €15k to replace that deck but it's probably close enough to what that job could cost to have it done the right way using 20+ year materials and finishing, no chasing wasters or cleaning up a mess they leave behind and all that hassle.

Keep in mind that most of the fellas telling you they'd build a deck for 1/3 or less of that rough estimate aren't paying themselves for the labour and probably aren't building anything like that deck either. To most, it's a timber patio they build rather that a deck like yours. 3 quotes, from people who visited to measure and discuss your options and that you'd be happy to give the job to if money wasn't a factor, then get a few references and check them before any money changes hands.

To be honest, anyone who's building decks will really *want* to see what's there rather than just throwing a rip and replace ballpark at you.

You may well know this yourself but in case anyone else needs a few pointers on how to deal with someone to get an honest job done:

Make them a cuppa, let them have a good look at the deck and frame but let them do that in a bit of peace and make a point of thanking them for their time. Don't be surprised if they're done with that bit in a matter of minutes. If it's their business they'll know what to look for and at.

Discuss your requirements and your budget and be really honest about that. A min-max range is okay, eg; "I'd like to get something neat and tidy, like for like using decent materials for €10k all in, but I'd consider the X option if that can be done for Y in Z weeks - either will be okay for us, but there's no room for even €100 of surprises here. I need to know what it's going to cost because once I set the money aside for it, that'll be the lot. You're the pro so I'll follow your lead there and we'll be good from day one to the end". You get the gist. Then let them know if they don't get your business this time and give an honest reason why you went with someone else, other than price alone. Timeframe, material options, reference or lack of same. They'll be grateful for it if they're pros and if they don't appreciate your feedback you'll have made the right decision in not going with them anyway.

Calahonda52 · 08-07-2020 8:43pm

OP, just looking at the pictures, If we are taking about the same deck, I don't think you cal say it was extremely well ventilated. Not in my book anyway.
Neither is it clear whats wrong with it.

Having said that, its not just a standard ground level deck, it requires bit of work to get it right and safe and secure.

If it were my gaff I would be putting in a steel supporting structure

Sinzo · 08-07-2020 9:29pm

Darc19 wrote: »

Solution is to screenshot your image and crop the phone marks out

Here's one of your images

Brilliant. Thanks for that. Will do that from now on..

Sinzo · 08-07-2020 9:33pm

Like you, I cant do a lot of work myself (woman) and it can be frustrating to feel you are paying over the odds or that you should be able to do it - sure my Johnny fitted his in his boxer shorts at lunch time and it's still going fine 80 years later.

Ha ha..that is so funny because it is so true.. thanks for your kind and positive feedback..

Sinzo · 08-07-2020 9:35pm

Thanks for this advice JAYZEUS... I will bear it in mind... I'm due to get my first quote on Friday.. I might get back to u if u dont mind...

Sinzo · 08-07-2020 9:45pm

Calahonda52 wrote: »

OP,

It is well ventilated.. its 3.5 feet off the ground and is exposed to daily wind that blows up from the river..

Although it looks ok. A closer look shows that many of the boards are rotten. The uprights are in much better condition but again are rotten in places. We have been carrying out ad hoc repairs here and there. Full paint job last year cost ca. 500 euro.and it already needs to be done again.

It's a real pain at this stage. It is a pretty substantial structure to take down and replace.

Expecting it to cost ca. 12 k if we are lucky. But the hardship will hopefully be reduce with composite.. reckon it will pay for itself after 10 to 12 years .. fingers crossed..

Calahonda52 · 09-07-2020 2:37pm

OP, I am kicking the tyres in the building trade for c 50 years at this point, so when I see closely spaced boards on the top and sides, into a corner, and the joints with the walls are almost airtight, I say it's not well ventilated.

Anyway, am out of here.

Sinzo · 09-07-2020 7:57pm

Calahonda52 wrote: »

OP, I am kicking the tyres in the building trade for c 50 years at this point, so when I see closely spaced boards on the top and sides, into a corner, and the joints with the walls are almost airtight, I say it's not well ventilated.

Anyway, am out of here.

I appreciate your opinion here due to your experience, so thanks for that.

There are 40 mm between the floor planks and 80mm gaps on the side panels. I was of the opinion that they allow for adequate ventilation.

Is that not adequate?

Although the deck is fitting into the side of the house , the predominant wind blows directly across the decking which is fully exposed to the prevailing wind. The deck is fully exposed to the wind due to the height at which it stands

Composite Decking - is it worth it?

Comments