Here at Archadeck of Akron, I would say the number one question every homeowner wants to know is how much is my deck or outdoor living space going to cost.
Your outdoor living project or really any home renovation has a buying process that is very different from anything else. Even though these projects are in similar price ranges as a car it is still a very different experience. Dreaming of your backyard space is typically fun for most customers. The least favorite part is usually how much is this thing going to cost and how am I going to pay for this. Even if you do your research on what similar projects cost you still will not have an exact price with that information since every project and job site is different.
Why is having a budget important?
Having a budget in mind is a great help for us at Archadeck. Our goal is to learn your specific needs and design a project that addresses those needs and is in line with your budget. We have learned that typically everything a customer wants to build and what they want to spend are 9 time out of 10 different. With this in mind, we like to do two designs. One that fits the budget and one that includes everything the customer wants. In my experience customers typically arrive in the middle between the two.
Establishing and sharing your budget
Once you have established a budget, it is understandable not wanting to share your budget. I think most customers believe if they tell a contractor they have a $20,000 budget the contractor is going to give them a $20,000 price even if the project should really only cost $15,000. Unfortunately, there are contractors out there like that. A typical response I hear from customers on the budget question worded a different way is if I give you my budget that is the price you are going to give me. The issue here is a little miscommunication. The customer is trying to say they don’t want to spend the whole budget. The best way a customer can share their budget is by saying $20,000 is my max budget but I would feel more comfortable spending $15,000.
The budget question is a way for us to guide you in the right direction on material and design. I understand most people do not design outdoor living projects on a regular basis and don’t know how much it will cost. Even if you remember the exact size and cost of your last project prices go up almost every year. We are here to help and share what similar projects cost. We can even offer financing to help you get that project from an idea to completed. When car shopping financing is very common and since our projects are typically in a similar range why not check it out?
Putting it into perspective
Let’s talk more about car shopping. When car shopping we all know a Ford car is going to be cheaper than a Lexus. Similarly, we know a wood deck is going to be cheaper up front than a composite deck such as Timbertech. This is about where the similarities of car shopping and outdoor living spaces end.
That Ford car is the same Ford car at dealership ABC as it is XYZ. It has the same model, same parts, and most likely came off the same assembly line built by the same workers. It is fair to say getting a cheaper price at ABC is a deal since it is the exact same thing. With the internet, this applies to a lot of other goods purchased by consumers too, but not decks or patios. Your outdoor living space is going to be built with some different parts/ materials even if contractor ABC is using the same AZEK decking as contractor XYZ. In a perfect world say every item on your project is the same joist size, spacing, amount of screws, the same bolts, and so on. The carpenters building it are different.
What makes a deck an Archadeck. It’s the material, the plans, the craftsman, and their craftsmanship. We spend more time on your project and source better material. Yes, up front your project is most likely going to cost a little more, but we know it is worth it. It will pay off for the customer in the long run. We all know the most expensive project is the one that needs to be done twice and "the bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of a low price is forgotten.Why not call us to get your project right the first time instead of asking us to fix someone else work they left you with. I always say there are bad contractors who cannot give the customer what they think they want. Good contractors who can deliverer what the customer thinks they want, and great contractors/ designers who deliver what the customer really wants. We get there by spending time asking a lot of questions and go deeper than the budget.
Give us a call to learn more. We would love to help you design your deck or patio and show you the value we put into every project. You can reach us at (330) 537-6412.
Patrick Sluss, owner Archadeck of Akron
