Affordable Prices
It is often said that quality comes at a price and to some extent, this is true.
I can be (and sometimes am), undercut by “competitors” on price. I could often easily match these prices but only by using cheap materials and/or construction techniques which would compromise the quality and/or longevity of the finished product. Almost anyone can cobble something together with a few nails and bit of rough sawn timber. This is something that I am not prepared to do.
"The end result is more than we had hoped for - we are delighted with the deck and enjoyed meeting and working with Ian. A superb craftsman, who sets a high standard and delivers at a very fair price. Highly recommended!"
However, I am by no means the most expensive, as you will discover if you obtain a number of quotations, which of course, you would be wise to do.
There are two aspects, which affect the cost of a deck. Firstly, the cost of the materials and secondly the cost of the labour. I have already said that I will not use cheap materials or construction techniques, so let us look at the labour element.
Every business has overheads (fixed and variable) which have to be paid for, ultimately by the customers and these costs are built into their labour charges. Examples of this are the costs of premises (rent, rates, heating and so forth), support staff (accounts, personnel, sales etc), advertising, travel, vehicles, tools, and of course staff wages including holiday and sick pay (I wish!)
I am what is known as a Sole Trader. This means that the business is me. Full stop. My office is a spare room in my house so I have no business premises to pay for. I only work within a limited radius so travelling costs are minimised (and I use an old van that costs very little to buy). I have no receptionist, sales staff, accounts department or any other wages to pay. Every deck I build is an advertisement and much of my work comes from personal recommendations (and this web site) so my advertising costs are minimal. I do have a lot of power tools, which have to be paid for. However, they enable me to do the job in a fraction of the time that it would take to do it by hand.
Finally, I just want to make a living, not a fortune and I enjoy what I do. My labour rates are far less than you would pay for (say) a plumber, electrician or indeed most tradesmen.
So, I am able to offer quality and craftsmanship at an affordable price and I know that on a like for like basis, my quotations are very hard to beat.