My Deck Collapsed, I Hired The Wrong Contractor

If you're looking for a little bit of advice, you've came to the right place. If you're looking for some answers to some difficult questions about hiring the wrong contractor, you’re in the right place. Let's get started and don't ever let this happen to you again.

The deck that I'm talking about collapsed because the contractor didn't pour any footings and used the wrong lumber. In areas where he needed 2 x 8 deck joist, he used 2 x 6’s and in areas where the deck needed 12" x 12" x 12" footings, there weren't any.

Let's forget about why in the deck collapsed and focus on how you got involved with the wrong contractor. If you don't want something like this to happen to you again, you're going to need to educate yourself about contractors and deck construction.

If you're planning on building a deck and hiring a contractor to do it, what would it hurt for you to go down to your local library or bookstore and pick up a book on deck building. This could give you a basic understanding of deck construction. In other words for less than $20, you would now have the ability to ask your contractor why they're doing something a certain way.

If you don't plan on getting a book, you should get at least three deck building estimates. Make sure that each one of the contractors tells you exactly how they are going to construct the deck and which types of building materials they're going to use.

By purchasing one book on deck building and getting at least three deck building contractors to look at your project, you could eliminate more than half of any types of deck construction problems, you will have in the future.

If you really don't want to hire the wrong contractor you're going to need to educate yourself on how to hire the right one. You can do this by using books, talking to your friends and by asking questions the right questions to contractors.