What a Free Mercer Island Deck Estimate Actually Includes When We Visit

By Daniel, lead builder at Decks Restore. Licensed and insured in Washington, WA LIC #CC DECKSRL797P2.

The phrase “free estimate” got watered down somewhere along the way. A lot of companies treat it as a sales call: somebody shows up, glances at your yard, asks your budget, and emails a single number that may or may not survive contact with the actual job. We do it differently, and homeowners on Mercer Island are usually surprised by how much happens during that first hour. So here is exactly what you get when we come out, and why each piece matters before you spend a dollar.

We measure the real space, not a rough idea of it

The first thing we do is measure. Not a pace-off, actual measurements of the footprint, the height off the ground, the spans, and where the deck ties into the house. This matters more than it sounds. Two decks that look the same size from the patio door can price out hundreds of dollars apart because one needs taller posts, a longer beam, or more footings to stay safe.

On Mercer Island specifically, the lots do a lot of the talking. Plenty of properties here drop off toward the water or sit on a grade, and an elevated deck on a slope is a different animal than a ground-level deck on flat ground. We need eyes on that to quote it honestly. A number pulled from a photo is a guess, and guesses are how change orders happen later.

We look under the deck, not just at it

If you already have a deck and you are thinking about repair or replacement, the most useful part of the visit happens underneath. We check the footings, the posts, the ledger where the deck attaches to your house, and the hardware holding it all together.

This is where the visit earns its keep. Sometimes we find a deck that looks tired on top but is solid underneath, and you do not need a rebuild at all, just new boards and a resurface. Other times the boards look fine and the structure under them is failing, which is the more dangerous version because nothing warns you. Either way, you find out standing there with us, not after you have committed to the wrong scope of work. If a resurface turns out to be the right call, here is what our deck resurfacing covers.

We talk through materials with samples in hand

We bring samples. Composite boards from a few brands, railing options, the actual colors, so you can hold them against your siding instead of squinting at a website swatch. This is the part most people enjoy, and it is also where the budget conversation gets real, because composite and wood are different numbers and you should see both before you decide.

We are not there to upsell you into the most expensive board on the truck. If wood is the right fit for your plans and your budget, we will say so. If you want the full breakdown of how the pricing actually shakes out, we wrote a piece on what deck builders charge and what drives the cost that is worth a read before the visit so you walk in knowing the ranges.

We flag the permit reality before it bites you

Here is something a lot of estimates skip entirely: whether your project needs a permit. On Mercer Island it often does, and the rules are stricter than people expect because of the island’s slopes, critical-area buffers, and shoreline. The City spells out when a deck needs a building permit, and a deck over a certain height or in a sensitive area is not something you want to build first and explain later.

We have handled plenty of permitted projects here, including jobs where other contractors backed out because the City wanted engineering drawings. During the estimate, we tell you upfront whether permits are in play, what that adds to the timeline, and that we handle the paperwork rather than leaving it on your plate. A deck quoted without mentioning permits is a deck that is about to cost more than the quote said.

We give you a real timeline, not “a few weeks”

By the end of the visit you should know roughly how long your project takes, where it sits in our schedule, and what the sequence looks like from demo to finished boards. Most builds run about a week of actual construction once we start, though anything that needs permits or has tricky access takes longer. We would rather tell you a true timeline than a comfortable one. If you want to see how a build unfolds step by step, we mapped out the process of installing a deck start to finish.

What you walk away with

When we leave, you have an itemized estimate that separates labor from materials, names the products we would use, accounts for permits if your job needs them, and comes with a timeline you can actually plan around. No mystery single number. No pressure to sign on the spot. If you want a few days to think it over or compare it against another bid, that is normal and we expect it.

That is the whole point of doing the estimate properly. You should be able to make a decision with real information in front of you, whether the answer is a new deck, a repair, or just a resurface for now. If you would like us to come take a look, we cover Mercer Island and the wider Eastside, and you can reach our Mercer Island deck team here or call (253) 677-0290. If you already know you want a new build, our new deck page covers what we do.

Daniel has built and repaired decks across the Puget Sound region for over fifteen years. Decks Restore is locally owned, licensed, and insured (WA LIC #CC DECKSRL797P2), with a 5.0 rating across 43 Google reviews.