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PT decking... Oh my

4K views 20 replies 9 participants last post by  Deckhead 
#1 ·
So I went ahead and went against every fiber in my body today. I was asked to donate labor to build a deck for our church and said okay. It was pt.:sad:

I will say though, there has got to be some money to be made there because it goes stupid fast. Framed and decked a 12X24 in about 10-12 hrs. When they asked if they should put a finish on it I laughed and used Redwood's prescription... "Gas and a lighter is the best approach."

PT people really aren't very picky:whistling Tough to get out of your comfort zone.

To all the composite guys, you have my agreement, plastic is better than SOME wood.:laughing: I almost donated some material too, was told many times it was for functionality, not aesthetics, volunteer work is harder than working for free some times:blink:
 
#2 ·
Deckhead said:
So I went ahead and went against every fiber in my body today. I was asked to donate labor to build a deck for our church and said okay. It was pt.:sad: I will say though, there has got to be some money to be made there because it goes stupid fast. Framed and decked a 12X24 in about 10-12 hrs. When they asked if they should put a finish on it I laughed and used Redwood's prescription... "Gas and a lighter is the best approach." PT people really aren't very picky:whistling Tough to get out of your comfort zone. To all the composite guys, you have my agreement, plastic is better than SOME wood.:laughing: I almost donated some material too, was told many times it was for functionality, not aesthetics, volunteer work is harder than working for free some times:blink:
What church is it? I'll be sure to swing by and get some photos to post since you neglected to. :)

Volunteer work is definitely difficult when day in and day out you hold yourself to such high standards.
 
#3 ·
It was nice of you to donate your time. The worst part is that they always want to do you a favor and tell everyone that you built it. I've asked several people to be kind be ambiguous when talking about my donations

I've even asked a few customers(little old lady types) who told me they were telling "all their friends" about how great my work is to please not tell them how little I did it for.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Jesse, I'm not telling:no::whistling... It was a bite the tongue situation.:laughing: Nope, not going to be any photos, don't want to put the church down for not spending more and don't want to show anyone I was willing to do it, I specifically put in ALL of my quotes, PT would be "X" amount cheaper but is a material and or service our company does not provide.

Ethan, you couldn't be more right. I told them, if anyone asks, it was just someone who attends church regularly who donated the time. I just thought I would make light of the situation here. I've noticed giving stuff away is best left anonymously for multiple reasons.

On the other hand, it does feel good to give as much as you can, especially if you know you can do it better than the guy who was going to rip them off.
 
#18 ·
Good on you Deckhead. Just cause it was a treated pine deck does not take away from what you did for them.

Two summers ago I built a 10x16 treated pine deck with fortress iron rails on my daughters house. Why? Cause I had accumulated a big pile of leftover treated & iron rails and they needed a deck. A treated pine deck is better than no deck & now my grandkids have somewhere to ride their tricycles.
 
#19 ·
Why do you guys think so little of pressure treated wood?
Here in Toronto a composite deck costs at least double than PT for one thing, and with weather it is much harder to install past October. I built 65 PT decks last year. One of them was a reskin of a pressure treated deck I built THIRTY ONE years ago. The frame, also pressure treated, was in good shape.
 
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