Help - honest and reliable Brisbane Builder?

memm · Sep 05, 2008 4:32 pm

We are adding a large roofed deck and can not seem to get a builder to get back to us. Phoned 3 builders in early February. Took 4 months to get them to come to the site to have look and we are still without a quote. Every time we phone (they never phone us, we are always chasing them up), it is "another 2 weeks" or "next week" and when that comes around - the same answer again. During this time we have called an additional 3 builders (so 6 in total), the most recent on July 11 and still only 1 quote so far. This was $160 000 :shock:

for an L shaped deck - one side 7 x 5 the other side 9 x 2.3 with roof and approx 3mtr off ground with stairs. This quote is double what a builder quoted us last year who is now no longer in Brisbane. So we know that it is a rip off. We could almost build a whole house for that!

Does anyone know an honest reliable builder in north brisbane (we are in sandgate area). We are in no particular hurry but would like some common courtesy and a reasonable quote.

Hope someone can help!! :?:

photogirl · Sep 05, 2008 6:03 pm

Hi memm

Not sure what type of builders you have already contacted, but it might be worth trying a carpenter or even a deck company. Someone who specialises in this particular work rather than a general builder. It might be that the builders just don't consider it a big enough job for them. $160000 for a deck for have me breathing into a paper bag. It does sound like they just don't want the work, but why bother even quoting in the first place.

I did find a couple of companies on the web who are located in Brisbane and seem to specialise in this area. Their website looks okay. www.mrdecks.com.au or www.patioplus.com.au. You may have already gone down this road so may be of no help whatsoever.

Good luck with it all.

memm · Sep 09, 2008 1:42 pm

Thanks for that photogirl. We had the plans drawn up a couple of years ago including an extension as well which was done first and the decks is stage 2 of this process. Most deck places do the lot as a package, plans, approval etc.. so as we have already paid for plans and approval we didn't want to step back I suppose. We did have a carpenter look at it but as it also includes a roof structure, removing existing fascia, he said that because of the roof work, it would not be in his scope of building registration. Hopefully we will have some luck before christmas, otherwise may have to look at the deck company option. Thanks for the sites.

dandm · Oct 15, 2008 11:38 pm

Hi Memm,

Its been a while now and Im not sure if this is still helpful but we had a hardwood deck built on the side of our house a while ago (8yrs?) with a company called 'just decks' here in Brizzie. Straight away I liked them. They arrived on time for the quote! The guy quoting was the builder in charge of the job and not a salesman. They only did one job at a time! They were family run! and I got a general vibe of integrity about them. I think their family name was Hunter???Not sure. Quote price was midrange. Got a good price on replacing the front stairs as an extra job too.
Basically they came in at 7am with the ditchwitch on Monday, and on Friday pm we had a perfect deck. At the site from 7-4pm everyday. Only annoyance was the radio (dont you hate that!).
We chose to paint it ourselves. As the better half is a perfectionist this was very tedious and took bloody weeks! I'd pay for that next time.

Hope Ive helped, heres a link I just found:
http://www.justdecks.com.au/

memm · Oct 16, 2008 8:56 am

Thanks for that - they sound great. We actually have a builder now who came in at a reasonable rate who will start soon

know what you mean with the painting - we have done it all ourselves on past renos and it takes forever!