Operations
within California or out-of-state.
Contact
info is at the bottom of the page. Please don't contact me until you have
read this page.
Here's how I work with people outside of
our local operating area: After someone contacts me, I request that they post photos of their
property (where the structure will be built) as attachments to an e-mail
sent to MR. DECK describing their proposed project . (See the note below on
how to best do this so you don't crash my mailbox.) I will review these
pictures and indicate whether I have an interest in their project. If I'm
interested, I will arrange a phone conservation at a pre-established time
so that they can describe their project and I can ask some questions about
it.
After this, I will respond with an
e-mail specifying the cost for design work and establishing the refund
amount if they elect to contract with MR. DECK to furnish the materials, as
in a deck, or prefabricate the structure, as for an arbor.
Next, they sign a design-work
contract and a letter of intent to have MR. DECK furnish the decking
materials or arbor fabrication and fax it to us. I will return-fax the
contract with my signature affixed. They follow this up with a full
payment for the pending design-work.
Design work begins after their
payment has been deposited and is usually completed in one week from
deposit of payment. One hardcopy blueprint is furnished via US Priority
Mail to the residence where the project will be built -- no exceptions.
Any revisions are done in the following week, with the revised plans sent
to the same address in the same manner.
Next, after the design is finalized,
I will do a materials take-off to estimate the materials, prefabrication
and local building cost. This will be done at the rate of $65/hr. A
deposit of at least $500 must be made for this to begin.
Then a decision is made as to what
Mr. Deck's participation will be in the planned project as designed. A
contract citing our responsibilities and deliverables and specifying costs
will then be mutually signed .
If we prefabricate your designed
structure or key portions of it, we will e-mail you photos of it
before crating it for shipment to your project's site.
Now, before contacting me about your
project, consider the fact that, for prefabricated arbors and designer deck features, the
possible preassembly and disassembly, crating and
shipment involves additional costs. You must be willing to incur this
additional expense to get a MR. DECK showpiece structure, fabricated in
and shipped from San Martin, California.
Our decking material is shipped
out of a number of northern States and the freight costs are estimates
only. The planking goes directly to you from the mill.
MR. DECK will only fabricate
structures we design ourselves. We don't participate projects that are
designed by anyone else, period.
Conversely, we will not design
anything that we will not prefabricate in our shop, such as an arbor, or
at least provide the materials for, such as a deck. In other words, you
cannot contract for design work and then do it yourself, or purchase all
your own materials from someone else, or get your own local builder to construct our design
without our participation.
The permission to build one of our
designs is not granted until MR. DECK's participation is spelled out in a
purchase contract. And you will be granted limited rights to construct one
copy of the furnished
design once a written agreement has been signed by both parties.
We will undertake no project where
you do any of the work yourself.
You must have a certifiable contractor or contractors do all of the work,
unless you are one yourself. I don't care how experienced a woodworker or deck-builder
you are -- if you're not licensed as such, you must have someone whom we can
check on through the California Contractors State License Board if you are
in California, otherwise a comparable governmental agency in your state, do all of the work for you
or hire Mr. Deck to do it.
Did you see the do-it-yourself
projects in my
Renditions of the
Ridiculous? My policy: Professionals only.
When you contract with me for design
work, you are paying for my time and experience, not for your
complete satisfaction. You will be granted the opportunity to suggest any changes to the
initial design until you are satisfied, at the rate of $65/ hr.
Of the completed projects shown in
this website, almost all were designed on the first pass, without any
modifications at all. .... And they turned out beautifully. That's because
for local projects in our area of operation I could see for myself what the situation was
firsthand and I could discuss at length and sketch the many ideas I
pictured in my mind.
For projects out of our area of
operation, you need to
communicate your situation as thoroughly as possible so I can get it
almost if not exactly right the first time. If you want me to visit
your site you may sign onto my
travel itinerary
for $250. If you are out of state, you have to pay for my transportation
and upkeep to and fro plus a $500 consulting fee.
Here's the bottom line: if you want
a designer showpiece structure and have it turn out as designed, can
afford to have it assembled and erected by professionals, then MR. DECK is your designer
/ fabricator. Otherwise
I'm not interested.
All costs are prepaid. There is no
bartering. Those are my terms and they are not negotiable. If you can deal
with it, then please feel free to contact me to discuss your project.
Otherwise, I'm as content as a sea otter to just work in the Monterey Bay
and South San Francisco Bay regions and have never heard about your
project.
Evaluation of a
Pre-designed or Pictured Arbor
A fee is charged for evaluating the feasibility, modification
or adaptation of any MR. DECK arbor pictured in
this website. The fee is $250, prepaid, to show me that you are serious
about pursuing your vision or to compensate me for time spent if you are
not. This fee would cover the cost quote only. If you contract with MR.
DECK for
fabricating the modified design, the prepaid fee will be applied against the
contract's price.
Please read the copyright notice for restrictions and
license fee that would apply to you for any MR. DECK
arbor pictured in this website by
clicking here .
When you send digital photos of your
project's site, try to keep the photo sizes around 800 x 600 pixels.
Please limit the number of photos to 6 or less. Thank you.
Contact Info
Note: Because of the large volume of
calls I have gotten requesting free advice, I have deleted the Mr. Deck phone number
from this website.
I've paid my dues learning how to do the things I do and they're not for
public disclosure. I'm not a public information
service.
If you want to contact me about
doing a project for you, first send me an email stating clearly and fully
the nature your project. Pictures would be helpful for my comprehension of your description.
