The Hidden Costs of Hiring a Cheap Contractor
If you’ve ever tried a shortcut that took longer than the normal route, congratulations! You’ve inadvertently learned two of the hardest lessons in business.
What are those lessons? One: You get what you pay for. Two: you get more of what you don’t pay for. If you don’t pay for quality now, you’ll pay for it when you replace the cheap product later. In the same way a faulty “shortcut” costs twice as much time, financial shortcuts can cost you twice as much money.
In the same way driving ten miles out of your way to get cheap gas winds up costing you more in miles and wear-and-tear, shortcuts like cheap materials will cost you more in the long run. And those financial shortcuts are, sadly, a specialty of cheap contractors.
Full disclosure: we are a contractor, and one who charges more than the cheapest deck builders. But our costs are far less than what you’ll wind up paying with the cheapest contractors. By the end of this post, you’ll understand the hidden costs of hiring a cheap contractor, and how they can result in thousands in unexpected costs and months of lost time.
Disclaimer: when we say “cheap contractors,” we thankfully don’t mean most contractors. Most contractors care about doing good work. Here we’re talking about contractors who cut legal and ethical corners, or whose only virtue is an unbelievably low price.
Hidden cost #1: Contractors who don’t pull permits
Getting a permit: if a contractor doesn’t get a permit, your whole project can come down. That means however much you paid for your new deck or patio is now gone. Since decks average $6-7,000, and patios $4-4,500, that’s a heavy cost. You might have to demolish the old deck, which can cost up to $1,000, depending on the deck’s size. That’s all money you’ve lost before you rebuild the same deck or patio.
Shady contractors have been known to use fake permits to fool customers, like this 2014 case from Baltimore. To avoid getting fooled, you can check with your local permitting office to make sure the permit’s been pulled (here’s a list in Maryland, by county).
Hidden cost #2: Cheap contractors use worse materials
Cheap contractors avoid using high-quality, #1 grade lumber. #1 Grade lumber is stronger, has fewer knots, and is more attractive. It also lasts longer, and is less likely to rot.
A deck built with Grade #1 lumber. Even from this far away, you can see fewer knots.
The more knots a piece of wood has, the weaker it is. Knotty wood has less tensile strength, and is more likely to break.
Grades of lumber, side by side. The higher the number, the knottier the lumber.
Specifically, cheap contractors use lumber that isn't rated for ground contact (also called above ground lumber). Building codes only require that posts be rated for ground contact, so cheap contractors use a cheaper grade of lumber for boards, joists, and the rest of the deck. This cheaper grade is more likely to decay or rot, particularly in hot, humid conditions (think Maryland summers). The result is a deck more susceptible to mold and mildew, resulting in more money spent on maintenance, repair, or even replacement. Contrarily, ground-treated lumber can last for up to 40 years if maintained well.
When a cheap contractor uses subpar wood, the costs add up quickly. Replacing a deck’s boards can run to $2,400 for treated lumber.
One good example of the difference between cheap and valuable is the higher initial cost of composite decking. Composite decks cost more up front, but less in the long run. You won't have to reseal composite every two years. The bigger composite brands (Fiberon, TimberTech) offer warranties of 25 to 50 years, in some cases. Should trouble occur, you’ll be paying far less.
However, cheap contractors can also cut corners that reduce composite decking’s value. For instance, Fiberon composite decking will void your warranty if a contractor uses off-brand fasteners. A contractor who cuts corners by installing your new composite with metal screws could thus be ruining that 30-50 year warranty you invested in.
Hidden cost #3: Cheap contractors don’t offer warranties
How much does it cost not to have a warranty? As much as it costs to repair cheap materials and shoddy construction. Deck repairs average from $700-3,100. The high end of that range is about half of the average deck cost, so unless you want to pay for a deck and a half, a warranty’s a good idea.
Cheap contractors can void the warranties of materials, too. Expensive hardwoods like teak, mahogany, Ipe, and tigerwood often come with warranties, but faulty installation will void those 20 or 25 year guarantees on your expensive investment. Any future trouble with your deck will be your responsibility to replace.
Hidden cost #4: Cheap contractors have less experience
Experience matters. The most common cause of deck failures is one that a little experience could solve. Improperly attached (read: nailed, or unstaggered screws) ledgers are responsible for most deck failures, according to Virginia Tech Professor Emeritus Frank Woeste.
Inexperienced workmanship can void warranties, too. Pressure-treated lumber that’s cut on the jobsite, and isn’t resealed, can void its warranty. Future fungus or rot damage will then be the homeowner’s responsibility.
Inexperienced contractors are less likely to account for little details, like, say, physics. Does your contractor’s plan account for dynamic loads (more importantly, is your contractor familiar with that term)? Dynamic loads are any loads that move. Think people on a deck, moving around normally at a cocktail party. If your contractor lacks the experience to account for realities like dynamic loads, the following could result:
Hidden cost #5: Cheap contractors are unlicensed
A little industry secret: those dirt-cheap contractors are dirt-cheap because they’re unlicensed. They’re looking to make up for their illegal status by doing a job at unbelievably low rates. And those low rates can, and often do, cost customers more in the long run.
Unlicensed contractors tend to survive off their down payments. This means they’ll underbid just to secure a payment. It also means they’re usually juggling (poorly) a lot of customers to whom they’ve overpromised. As a result, you’ll have a contractor who rarely sticks to a schedule, and is doing rushed, shoddy work, whether it’s on time or not.
It’s also worth repeating that all contractors are legally required to be licensed in the state of Maryland. If you want to check on whether your contractor’s licensed, you can do so here.
Hidden Cost #6: Cheap contractors lowball, then bait-and-switch
While most contractors care about doing good work, there are some out there who use deceptive sales tactics. One to watch out for is the combo lowball/bait-and-switch.
This is a situation where a contractor offers a low-priced bid or contract (lowball), but doesn’t tell the customer they’ll use low quality materials. When the customer later objects that their deck is made with particle board, the contractor feigns ignorance, and increases the price for the quality materials the customer took for granted (bait-and-switch). (Btw, if you want to know how to find a contractor who won’t pull a trick like this, these six tips will help).
Hidden Cost #7: Cheap contractors don’t provide a relationship
Because cheap contractors barely make enough to scrape by, they don't have the time or resources for follow-up when there are problems. If a company's margins are so thin they have to keep looking for new sources of income, they only have the time and money to build something once. If there are issues, or you change your mind about an aspect of the project, the cheap contractor won't be able to meet your needs. Where your priority might be getting several loose boards fixed, the cheap contractor's priority is finding a new customer, and source of revenue, elsewhere.
You can't have a relationship with a company that folds, and 90% of deck builders go out of business in the first five years. Another 5% of builders close shop within ten years of opening. If you go with a cheap contractor, you'll probably wind up searching for a different company to fix any problems. That's time spent searching for a new company, and whatever it costs to fix or replace the cheap contractor's work.
Hidden costs, found opportunities
The more you know now, the less you’ll spend later. While it’s frustrating that some contractors engage in tactics like these, knowing they do is a great opportunity to avoid later costs. If you’re interested in how to find the right contractor, check out this post about what you should look for in a bid.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to implement your specific vision, reach out to us here, or give us a call at 240-266-5900.
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