How to Choose a Deck Builder on Auckland's North Shore
Three quotes for the same deck can come back thousands apart, and the cheapest is not automatically the wrong one. The difference is usually in what is under the boards and who is actually going to turn up.
Here is what is worth checking, whoever you end up hiring.
Ask for real photos of completed work
Not renders, not supplier brochure shots. Real jobs, ideally with before and during photos as well as the finished deck. Anyone can photograph a good result; the in-progress shots tell you how the framing was built.
Ask who is doing the work
Find out whether the person quoting is the person building, or whether the job is being handed to a subcontractor you have not met. Neither is automatically wrong, but you should know before you sign.
Ask about the substructure
The frame is the part you cannot inspect once the deck is finished, so ask about it while you can. Pile spacing, bearer and joist sizes, timber treatment levels, and how the deck is fixed to the house are all fair questions. A builder who is happy to talk through it is a good sign.
Check the materials are right for the site
Boards that suit a shaded, damp side yard are not the same as boards for a pool surround in full sun. If a builder recommends the same product for every situation, ask why.
Read the quote properly
- —Are materials named, or is it one lump sum?
- —Is removal and disposal of the old deck included?
- —Are steps, balustrades and fascia in or out?
- —What happens if the framing underneath turns out to be worse than expected?
- —Is it written down, or was it a number over the phone?
Communication and site behaviour
Whether calls get returned before you have paid anything is a decent indicator of what happens once work starts. So is site tidiness — offcuts, screws and sawdust in the lawn for weeks tells you something.
Do they ask how you will use it?
A good deck conversation starts with questions: where the afternoon sun lands, whether a table needs to fit, how you get to the lawn, whether kids or a spa are in the picture. If nobody asks, you may get a platform rather than a deck that suits your place.
Will they tell you not to spend money?
The most useful thing a builder can say is that a repair will do, or that a sand and re-oil is all you need. Someone who only ever recommends the biggest job is worth a second thought.
How Paul's Decks works
For what it is worth, this is how we operate: Paul quotes the job, builds it and finishes it. Site visits and written quotes are free, materials are named on the quote, and if a repair is the sensible option we say so. Real project photography — before, during and after — is on the projects page, and you are welcome to ask about the framing on any of it.