Carpentry

I have a note on my phone titled “DECK” and it reads like a person slowly learning that “a deck” is not one thing.

It’s a bunch of separate purchases wearing a trench coat:

• a small amount of demolition (or a large amount, depending on how rotten your old one is)
• some holes in the ground (footings)
• a lot of labor (framing + decking + railing + stairs)
• and then the accessories that turn “platform” into “finished deck” (rails, stairs, lighting, skirting, waterproofing, staining)

And deck quotes are famous for hiding the important parts inside one line like:

I have a notes app page called “CABINETS” that is just… anger management with numbers.

Because cabinet quotes love doing this:

• Quote A: $9,800 (feels reasonable)
• Quote B: $21,400 (feels like a prank)
• Quote C: $38,000 (feels like a mortgage)

And then you look closer and realize the quotes are not talking about the same thing.

One is “cabinet boxes delivered to your driveway.”

One is “installed cabinets, with fillers, panels, crown, toe kicks, and yes we put the kitchen back together.”