“Blame it on Bob Vila,” Stanley laughed. “I grew up watching This Old House with my Dad, and that led me to believe I had the handyman skills to put a back deck on the house by myself.”
Many people attempt to build a deck as a DIY project, even if they’ve never done any kind of construction work before. Sometimes this goes well, but in Stanley’s case, not so much. “A deck needs to be level. Flat. This is pretty basic stuff, right? But the deck I built had a definite slope to it. The kids couldn’t leave a ball on it – it would roll right off.”
The other issue with Stanley’s deck was that it wasn’t built on the most secure foundation. “I didn’t really line everything up properly, and then we had some bad weather that brought down some heavy tree limbs on it. When everything was all said and done, the deck just wasn’t safe anymore, and I knew I didn’t have the skills to repair it.”
A search for “Deck Contractor Near Me” led Stanley to hiring a professional who knew what needed to be done to fix the damaged DIY deck. “They really surprised me by asking about our family and how we enjoyed using the deck. When they found out it was primarily the place for my wife and I to unwind after a long day, they had all kinds of great suggestions, including a fire pit and built-in seating. Now we go out there, enjoy a glass of wine, watch the fire – it’s the best part of the day.”
“The quality of construction really makes a difference in how much you’ll use and enjoy your deck,” Stanley said. “The deck I built we hardly ever used. Now that we’ve got a great deck, we’re out there all of the time. Don’t fall into the same trap that got me. Bob Vila makes construction look easy – but it’s not. Sometimes you’re better off letting the pros do it for you!”