Decks ... we have 3 of them ...

We are very happy with the decks that we added to the project. There are a total of 3. One in the back (the play deck) which is just off the playroom and is about 500 sqft. The other is the utility deck (72 sqft), which will eventually have all the pool gear. The third, is the deck of the lanai at the back of the house (300 sqft) .

We have a bit of a love/hate relationship with them ... we love the decks ... hate what they cost us. This was definitely an example for me on managing a project. We had not planned on any decks in the fixed price, since we did not know what we wanted.

As the project took shape, we decided on what they should look like. I asked about the cost, the answer was "a couple of thousand" ... so I figured $2k, maybe $3k. The decks got built, they looked great ... took me about 4 weeks to get the "final" price ... when I did get it, we had a bit of a shock ... we are now the proud owners of $7k+ of decks ($8/sqft) ... wow, about 3 times what we expected. I'm not sure if they are expensive or cheap, just not what we expected.

So the lesson learned ... never do anything without a clear cost. Never assume ... always follow up , always get it in writing.

We will be staining the decks a darker color, but need Steve to flip some boards around ... some boards have the "labels" up, which the stain will not cover :(.

In the end, love the decks ... hate the cost and lesson.