Overheard a guy at Home Depot say he builds decks in a weekend... yeah right

I was grabbing lumber for a tiny shed project and some dude told his buddy he could finish a 400 square foot deck in two days by himself. I almost laughed out loud. Even with a crew and pre-cut materials, you're looking at at least 3 full days for that size job if you do it right. Foundations alone take a day to dig and set if the ground isn't perfect. Has anyone else run into these weekend warrior types who think DIY means cutting every corner possible?

3 comments

3 Comments

kellyallen14d ago

My neighbor Tom tried that exact same thing last summer with a 300 square foot deck. He started Saturday morning and by Sunday night he had the frame up but the decking was all wonky and he had to rip half of it out. The ground wasn't level so his posts were all different heights and he ended up calling a guy he knows to come fix it on Monday. I felt bad for him honestly because he was so sure he could do it and then just hit wall after wall. It's not like those guys are trying to lie, they just don't know what they don't know until they're in it.

fionat5514d ago

..so I saw this guy at the hardware store last week trying to return a circular saw blade that was completely dull. Said he cut through some old fence posts with it and "it just stopped working." Like, yeah, that's what happens when you hit dirt and rocks for three hours buddy.

val97414d ago

Thing is, you can actually sharpen those blades yourself with a file if you catch it early enough. Once you hit a bunch of dirt and rocks though, the carbide tips are toast and it's just cheaper to buy a new one. Return desk people probably see that kind of thing every single day. Blades are basically consumables like sandpaper, not something you use till it dies and then try to get your money back.