Finding the best decking contractor is no different from finding say, the best contractor for building your house; you would be looking for experience, skills, latest know-how and of course, excellent references. Common problems while finding the best decking contractor As they say, looks can be deceiving - do you hire the guy that came straight from a construction to meet with you, or do you visit a company that has been around for years? Often times no one that you know has used the contractor or company you are partial towards. So do you go by ‘gut’ feeling? Pre-selection stage Before you even make that call, you need to be clear on your own needs. How much area do you want to cover? What kind of wood do you want to use? Have you seen a few decking designs and selected one that you liked the most? Based on your own research have you estimated the cost to ensure it fits in your budget? Also, ask yourself what kind of decking contractor you need. Are you the DIY kind of person who ideally, would like an expert assistant to help you build your deck? Perhaps you would like a decking contractor to come out on weekends and assist you? Or would you prefer a reputed Timber deck construction contractor or company to come and handle everything from showing you designs to building your deck and also taking care of local regulations governing building of decks? Answers to all the above questions will help you shorten the list of prospective decking contractors and of course, you would have prepared the list by going through the local Yellow Pages directory. Once you have your list of prospective decking contractors, call all your friends who have a deck. See if they have utilized the services of any of these contractors. Also, talk to them about their own experience while having their deck built. Do they have any tips or recommendations for you? Add any tips or recommendations received to your notes. Making the calls If your friends have recommended any Timber Deck Builders based on your requirement, start by calling that decking contractor first and then gradually proceed down the line. Speak with all the decking contractors on your list. Any contractor you short-list, will need a valid building license and should ideally have several years of experience in building decks. He or she should be able to take you to places / clients where they built decks. Use the opportunity to stop and talk with the clients. Did they have a good experience with that particular Canberra decking contractor? Would they recommend him or her to you? I know it is tedious but it pays to be careful; after all, a great Composite wood decking Canberra will cost a pretty penny talking of which, once you have selected a likely decking contractor to work with, engage the services of a lawyer to draw up the contract. Most decking contractors have a ready-to-use template. In which case, have your lawyer read it before you sign it. These contracts often tend to be one-sided. I trust these tips for finding the best Deck Designs Canberra proved helpful to you. Do write to us about your experience.