Once you've decided to acquire yourself a deck or repair / extend an existing one, unless you are the do-it-yourself kind, the next stage would obviously be to acquire a deck contractor and there are many deck contractors to be found in Canberra. The big question usually is which one do you work with. The first time I required the services of a deck contractor in Canberra, I used the same technique used to locate a construction contractor i.e. I went by the references given to me by friends who had previously used the services of deck contractors in Canberra. Here are the steps I took to locate a canberra pergola builders that I would like to hire: 1. I began by making a list of all recommended deck contractors in Canberra. 2. To the above list I Googled and added wooden decking Canberra who had good online reviews. 3. I called up each of these, fixed separate appointments and asked them to visit my place. 4. I showed them the house, the land on which I wanted the deck to be built and gave them my plan along with my budget. 5. I asked each of them provide me with a precise cost estimate along with a draft of their contract and references based in Canberra. 6. While speaking with each of the deck contractors who met me, I found that some of them also specialised in building decks using local materials and also used sculptures by local artisans. There were others who build timber decking plans canberra without altering the topography of the land. Yet others specialized in blending the deck with the surrounding plant and fauna. 7. Once I received the estimates, draft contracts and references, I studied each of these. 8. Deck contractors in Canberra with unique specialization skills and reasonable estimates were short-listed. I then studied their contracts to make sure there were no clauses that were unfair to me. 9. The penultimate stage was to call up each name in the reference lists provided and get a first hand feedback on what other customers felt about the decking consultants canberra they had used. You might be surprised to know that not all of them gave good reviews. Of all the references I called, two didn't think well of the deck contractor they hired. After talking to them about the issues that led to their unfavourable feedback, I felt it was unfair customer expectation and lack of understanding of the intricacies related to deck construction that had caused the issues that developed. It was also possible that the deck contractor did not explain the issues very well; after all, deck contractors are, well Decking Contractors Canberra and not many have well developed sales skills. 10. The final stage was to call up the ones I had short-listed for a final discussion and clarification of some points I had in mind. A few days later, I had made my choice. I'm not saying the 10 steps I used were perfect but it got me results that I'm quite happy with. In my case before I drew up a list of deck contractors in Canberra, I spent many days figuring out what I need out of my deck, studying Decking Canberra plans especially for the Canberra region, looking at decks in my neighbourhood and then making a draft plan for my own Canberra Design Deck. The plan itself underwent several modifications before I finally took it to a local draftsman to get it formalized. I'd like to also point out that I was more than prepared to have the plan altered by the deck contractor (in consultation with me) after all, they had the practical experience and knew what was feasible and what was not. Also there were some things that would have escalated costs and I was happy when my deck contractor pointed these out to me - saved me a bundle. Well, there you have it. I hope your deck too turns out as well as mine did. Cheerio, and good luck with your deck. Check out also for : Canberra Deck Building and Canberra Deck Renovations