Building a Deck -- Labor Rates

[mdchachi]

What kind of hourly rates can I expect to pay for building a deck by experienced deck builders in the midwest? I'm just trying to get a ballpark estimate at the moment.

Thanks.

[Phisherman]

Around $20 an hour.

[peter]

Why not ask the experienced deck builder?

I would charge you $40 per hour. But I would build a deck that would last a long time.

Good luck.

Peter

[Steven Bliss]

[Don Wiss]

Depends on what wood you use. Use Ipe and you should be able to get 40-50 years maintenance free.

Don .

[Jeff Cochran]

Take the three estimates you got from local contractors and average them.

Jeff

[Edwin Pawlowski]

BINGO ! ! ! We have a winner.

$60 an hour is reasonable. Most tradesman have to charge $50 and up to cover real expenses. Ed

[Detector]

with insurance and workermans comp. it can't be done for less than $85 per hr.

this is where bidding on a job by the sq./ft. does NOT pay (for contractors anyway)!

[Nehmo Sergheyev]

Mdchachi

Jeff Cochran

Nehmo Mdchanchi is asking for hourly - rates not bids on the job. He could ask the contractors to bid a rate, but that may not be a good method of determining what the job will cost.

Anyway, I don't approve of the blanket call-three-contractors-and-get-three-bids advice. There may be substantial differences in quality between one contractor over another. In some cases, you may not even talk to the person who does the actual work. In some cases, you may have found an excellent craftsman, but someone who has trouble making bids or presentations. Some of the best people don't do bids. And so on.

(Not to mention that you would be wasting the time of two out of three contractors.)

Better advice is to get a recommendation. If you don't know anybody to give you a recommendation, find a nicely made deck, and ask the owner.

[JD]

Go to salary.com and look for carpenter.