I am currently in the process of having a deck built, and feeling screwed by the contractor adding all kinds of expenses for "unanticipated" problems (He charged me extra for flashing which everyone I have asked has told me is standard construction technique, and two extra hours labor for "inspecting" the wood). I am now planning to get my pool and attached spa replastered, and have the tile redone, and have the cool deck (sp?) painted with "restorer." He will also replace the pool ladder, light.
What questions should I be asking (assuming his references are good) about the job. I know that he says he will sandblast but do all sandblasts go down to the concrete, or only part way down. I really am
ignorant about this (just I was ignorant about the deck) , but I guess I need to be educated to know what properly should be done for this job
in case the contractor tries to tell me something is "extra." Do most contractors charge a set fee for such a job, and are there any conditions which reasonably could cause "unanticipated" extra expenses
(The pool has NO cracks whatsoever). What shortcuts would contractors attempt that I should be on the lookout for. He gave me a bid of $11,200 for my 20K gallon pool, and it was similar (next to the low bid) to other bids for the same work. He did have a good reference from a trusted contractor.
My existing cool deck has some limited areas which are cracked, and have come off from the concrete slab. Also, some of the concrete slab was jack hammered up for construction of the deck. How should this be taken care of, since I assume that either new cool deck or more concrete must be poured to make the pool deck surface uniform.