Hey guys,
I just had Home Depot out to look at putting an 7' x 18' deck up against part of my above ground pool (in New Hampshire).
They talk about how their decks aren't built in the traditional fashion, how they are all free standing decks with no load placed on the ledger board, how their posts are 3 2x6s fastened together in the factory, not 4x4s, how it they are designed like a bridge where all loads are distributed through the structure instead of the typical shearing load placed on the ledger board on my traditional decks, yada yada yada.
I'm an engineer... and yes, most of their ideas and methods do seem ultra beefy and very solid. It makes a lot of sense, and it has to, since they have a lifetime guarantee to support.
My question is... the thing is extremely pricey. We haven't gotten other quotes, but I guarantee they'll be less than this deck assuming a traditional build.
I just wanted to see if anyone out there has had one of these decks put in and what they can tell me about them. Is it worth the extra cost?... is it all a lot of hype?... are traditional builds really that much worse?
Thanks,
G