If you’re considering hiring a professional fence or deck contractor, there are a few questions you’ll want to ask before you get started. Here are the top five questions to ask your contractor:
1) Ask if a deposit is required – Reputable fence and deck builders will never ask a client for a deposit to start work. A decent contractor must have the financial ability to purchase materials upfront and the confidence to deliver the final project in order to get paid for the job when it’s done.
2) Ask About Insurance and Licensing – Hiring a “handyman” to build a fence or deck may cost a little less up front, but there are several risks involved if they don’t have the proper license or insurance. If someone gets hurt during construction, for example, you may be liable through your homeowner’s insurance. Fence builders usually do not need to obtain building permits, but deck builders often do, so this will often be a problem for unlicensed decking contractors. Professional fence and decking contractors will always carry adequate insurance and the proper local business licenses.
3) Ask about additional charges – Sometimes you will receive an “estimate” from a fence company or decking company instead of a “quote”. Often a contractor will add additional charges down the road that may or may not be confirmed with the owner first. If you’ve already committed to the project with a particular fencing or decking company, it may be more difficult to dispute any additional charges down the road. Fencing and decking projects typically have little to no cost changes along the way, so be sure to receive a written price “quote” that will represent the final invoice for the project as described.
4) Ask your deck or fence builder if they use screws or nails. Although most wood decking and fencing contractors today only use screws in their construction, some companies still use nails! Nailing is faster than screwing, but of course it’s common knowledge these days that nails will fail much sooner than screws in the same applications. Proper fence and deck builders will never consider the use of nails. You will want to make sure you hire a company that only uses exterior screws that are approved for use in the material being used (typically pressure-treated wood).
5) Ask about the warranty: A reputable builder should offer a warranty on the workmanship of the completed project. The material guarantee, if applicable, must also be passed on to the owner and will vary in terms and duration. The workmanship warranty should be at least two years to allow full exposure to the four seasons a few times; this will expose any labor issues that need to be addressed. Also consider that a warranty for work performed is only valuable if the company stays in business: a warranty from a very small company is usually worth much less than a warranty from a reputable larger company.
