Appreciation post: hired a licensed GC for my deck in Raleigh instead of my buddy who does "weekend work" and the difference was night and day | Contractors Hub - Discusd
Friend of mine went the buddy route two summers ago. Deck looked fine for about a year, then the stairs started pulling away from the house and the whole thing bounced when you walked on it. Turned out the guy never flashed it against the siding and used the wrong hangers on the joists. Cost him almost double to have it torn out and redone right the second time. Would've been cheaper to just pay a pro up front and skip the headache.