I've been looking for an average price to charge for decks. Can anyone help me here? There is way more time involved with cleaning, stripping, sealing of decks than just washing a house naturally I want to charge more but how much more. I try to quote everything out by square footage for anyone who is willing to help me here. Thank you!
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deck pricing
- Thread starter Dunlap
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CaroliProWash
New Member
Where in NC are you? We're seeing no less than $1.50/sq ft just to clean, no staining, new wood with staining $1.75, strip starts at $1.95. What kind of background do you have with wood?
Celeste
Celeste
PetersonDecks
New Member
I usually get the measurements of floor, linear feet of rail, #of posts and # of steps.
square footage of floor Multiply by .5
linear feet of rail multiply by 3
number of posts multiply by 4
number of steps multiply by 3
pressure washing hours multiply by 37
gallons of deck stain multiply by 34
for example 250 square foot deck with 50 feet of linear feet of rail
250 x .5=125
50 x3 150
6 posts 24
8 steps 24
4 gallons 136
2 hrs washing 74 total $533
just an example
only a rough estimate, many factors vary pricing such as stripping, homeowners attitude, and how busy i am!!
square footage of floor Multiply by .5
linear feet of rail multiply by 3
number of posts multiply by 4
number of steps multiply by 3
pressure washing hours multiply by 37
gallons of deck stain multiply by 34
for example 250 square foot deck with 50 feet of linear feet of rail
250 x .5=125
50 x3 150
6 posts 24
8 steps 24
4 gallons 136
2 hrs washing 74 total $533
just an example
only a rough estimate, many factors vary pricing such as stripping, homeowners attitude, and how busy i am!!
DeckDoctor
New Member
I wash my decks at 45 dollars every 200 sq ft.I seal my decks for 55 dollars every 200 sq ft.I live in central missouri pricing probally different where your from.I make most my money on the sealant cause I can pick up a can of sealant for $55.That is for 5 gal Olympic.1 gal does 250 to 350 sq ft. I can seal a 200 sq ft deck in about 10 min.Now you do the math, yes I use a pump sprayer.I also run a 2 yr guarantee If they have any place where water is absorbing in there deck I will fix it at no extra charge,What is a little sealant!Till this day I have very loyal customers that I redo every 2 years with no complaints...Average by myself anywhere from $500 to a $1000 a day.
PressurePros
New Member
DeckDoctor said:
So you use junk sealer, breeze through a deck spreading that crap sealer wayyy to thin, your guarantee means you come back and slap on more oil so it forms a nice shiny film that doesn't match the rest of the deck, you charge ridiculous lowball rates, AND you have a loyal following?
Moisture content, mildewcide, high quality penetrating oil, film forming, market rates.. any of these phrases mean anything?
This is a joke right? You are just making fun of the lowballers and what they do.. Please wake me from this dream if you are even half serious.
Ken said enough here. I will just add that this is exactly why I don't restore wood anymore. I could only close 1 out of 20 bids because of price issues. Properly restoring wood is more than rinse and seal. We would strip, sand, route rails,brighten, used sikkens or cabot depending on wood age or type.
Unbelievable that somebody would clean and seal for $0.50/sqft. We were charging $2.50 and up. Now, I refer all wood projects to a competitor in exchange for all his Vinyl and flat work.
Thanks Ken for saying what needs to be said.
Unbelievable that somebody would clean and seal for $0.50/sqft. We were charging $2.50 and up. Now, I refer all wood projects to a competitor in exchange for all his Vinyl and flat work.
Thanks Ken for saying what needs to be said.
DeckDoctor
New Member
Like I said num nutt that is what the pricing around here in MISSOURI go for.I also dont try to make a house payment off of 1 check like u do.I make enough to raise my family and I.I am in missouri like I said so I am not your neighbor,and to the work I do it is not shotty work.I do every job as if I own the deck I am on.By the way never and I mean never had I ever had to go back and redo any job.I love doin this kinda work,thats why I been doin it so long.And to guys with the attitude keep chargin the way you do so you can make a house payment everytime you get paid. :burn: [puke] :burn:
5 Star Johnny
New Member
I find it unlikely you can do 5 - 10 decks in one day by yourself, which equals 1,000 - 2,000 sq. ft. @ .50 per sq. ft. to make $500 - $1,000 per day. Taking into account that the cost of living is a bit lower in Missouri, it stills seems a stretch. Although I sense your indignant reply to the "scorching" you received from the other contractors, your initial post brought it on yourself. There's absolutely NO WAY you could be doing a quality job! As far as making a house payment with our revenue (not to mention payroll, insurance, materials, fuel, etc.)....isn't that what being in business is all about? I am familiar with the housing market in Missouri and $500 - $1,000 per day would make more than enough house payment to purchase a Mansion, relative to most of the midwest portion of the country. Who are you trying to kid? Seems like only yourself at this point!
I'll end my argument with your State's motto.......Missouri - The "Show Me" State!!! Good Luck with all that!!!
I'll end my argument with your State's motto.......Missouri - The "Show Me" State!!! Good Luck with all that!!!
M
MPW
Guest
DeckDoctor said:
Dude, you represent everything that is wrong with the wood restoration industry. You should change your name to Deck Doctor Kevorkian.
PressurePros
New Member
Deck Vandal is more like it. Ignorance is bliss.
Greg Rentschler
New Member
DeckDoctor said:
Olympic doesn't even claim to get that per gallon. In 10 years of doing wood care for a living I've yet to see a manufacturers "claimed" spread rate be equivelant to the actual rate we achieve during application. If they claim 200 we might see 125.
This is the biggest problem in my area. I did a bid the other day for a deck that was 2,080 sqft. built in benches, railing, even a bar built in the center. He just wanted it cleaned when I gave my friend the quote of $1500.00 he laughed and said that 4 other guys quoted him between $400 to $600. That is less than .30 cents a sqft. What in the hell kind of company are they running? I just could not believe this so that evening I made a few calls with my dimensions and 4 people said btwn. $400-$500 I even had one tell me $175!
Will I ever be able to get the money deserved for a job like this with these competitors?
Will I ever be able to get the money deserved for a job like this with these competitors?
M
MPW
Guest
These are not competitors, they are morons. We all have them in our area. I can name at least 5 in my area. In my area they are all the $99.00 idiots. I hate them all and all they do is ruin people's decks and the industry.
If we were in space, they would be the Klingons.
If we were on the Bevis & Butthead show, they would be Stewart.
If we were in prison, they would be the *******.
If we were in space, they would be the Klingons.
If we were on the Bevis & Butthead show, they would be Stewart.
If we were in prison, they would be the *******.
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PressurePros
New Member
Dunlap said:
And a couple of high school kids would paint my house for $200. A pre-teen wil cut my lawn for ten bucks. After I do the prep Earl Scheib will paint my 1970 Chevelle SS for $500. Interestingly enough, the specialty high end shop wants $3500 for the same job.
I don't even argue with people. I look them right in the eye and say.. "You get what you pay for, Mr Homeonwer. Everything worth having is worth paying for. If you'd like to entrust your $20,000 deck to a company that has little experience, no insurance and can sue you if anyone gets hurt on the job, that is your prerogative. My estimate is for a high quality job done by a professional company. My prices are fair and the quality is unsurpassed. I cannot negotiate that."
CaroliProWash
New Member
Dunlap said:
Yes you will - folks that tell you that....our stock answer is to call the other guys back..............you get what you pay for.
Education, top quality chemicals and sealers will speak volumes. The "discriminating" customers will not blink at your prices, nor will they call you back and whine every week because something is not right. When you charge the prices that a quality job demands, IF there is an issue (and you maybe will have one a year - MAYBE) you won't eat it when you have to make them happy.l We don't even bother with price shoppers - if they want a $300 - $400 job, we walk away. It's not worth our time to pull out of the garage for that.
Celeste
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Deck Works
New Member
You guys need to back off DeckDoctor. No need for name calling and personal attacks.
As far as low ballers...my prices are set and I will rarely budge. It not worth my time to compete. Its just like most other trades that require little capital to start. Look at how the sealcoating business went in the past 10years. Guys will sealcoat a driveway for $30.
As far as low ballers...my prices are set and I will rarely budge. It not worth my time to compete. Its just like most other trades that require little capital to start. Look at how the sealcoating business went in the past 10years. Guys will sealcoat a driveway for $30.
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M
MPW
Guest
Deck doc deserves whatever he gets. I have absolutely NO respect for people like him. NONE! I am so sick & tired of people like him ruining the industry that I am a part of. I am surrounded by idiot $99.00 deck "companies" that are just like Deck Doc. Every year, they leave a trail of misery behind them, giving people the impression that the wood care industry is full of liars and hacks. This only makes it harder for the good companies like mine to get jobs. I don't know why anyone would come to his defence.
I wish people would have to take an aptitude test before being able to post advice on wood care. I know it's not my board, and as much as I appreciate all the hard work that goes into this board, that would be nice. Oh, crap! My soapbox just started creaking, gotta go!
I wish people would have to take an aptitude test before being able to post advice on wood care. I know it's not my board, and as much as I appreciate all the hard work that goes into this board, that would be nice. Oh, crap! My soapbox just started creaking, gotta go!
Deck Works
New Member
OK, I re read and didn't see the comment back from him. My bad...
Wasn't defending his practice just the violent posts against him
Wasn't defending his practice just the violent posts against him