Q. I want to expand my home with an addition. Is it better to hire a building designer to draw up plans for what I want and then have contractors bid; or would it be better tohire an all-in-one design build contractor??

A. If you can afford it ..go with the architecht/designer and let them design it for you, as a painting contractor who works in the luxury home market , I see first hand some plans that come fron design/build co's and they can be pretty lackluster as they have a designer on staff who usually is not the most creative person, the builders who use outside designers always have nicer plans/homes.

Q. This would be either directly on the ground or raised slightly. Any recommendations regarding construction, design and materials (treated wood or man-made composite?) would be appreciated. Thanks!

A. Here's a very simple deck which seems like the one you're thinking about: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,262821,00.html ~m~

Q. So I'm putting together a cost estimate for a deck I'm having built on my home. anyway the deck will be a total of 1634.234 square feet, and the boards I'm using will be 6" wide. So to calculate linear feet am I correct in assuming that I've got to divide 1634.234 by .5? Ultimately I'm doing this so that I know how many boards I've got to buy. thanks a lot!, i'm just trying to do a solid estimate myself before I look for someone to build the design I've created.

A. I'll make it simpler for you. The width of a 2x6 is 5.625 in. (to include an 1/8" gap) Take the depth of your deck (front to back) and multiply it by 12 to get your overall inches then divide it by 5.625. That will tell you how many rows of boards you need. For example, if your deck is 12' long x 10' deep, 10 x 12 = 120. 120 divided by 5.625 = 21.33 rows ~> 22 - 2x6x12's. Which means your last row will have to be ripped down. Now, if your deck is 20' long then you would need 22 - 2x6x10's and 22 - 2x6x12's because when laying out your frame, you're not going to have a joist directly in the middle to join your rows, and if you did, you don't really want a continuous seam down the middle of your deck.

Q. Me and my brothers play Naruto. and I wanna change my deck around some cause I dont like the build against my brothers Uchiha deck. I know the amount of cards in a deck is a 40 card limit. But do I have to have, 25 ninjas or can I have less ninjas and bring out more jutsu or missions in my deck?

A. Cool

Q. Is the deck builder obligated to remove the sod under the deck? I read the contract; it did not mention anything about removing the sod.

A. You're paying him to build a deck, not landscape. After a while the grass will die from lack of sun anyway.

Q. I just had a 12x12 deck built in my back yard about 4 months ago and the builders said to wait around 4 to 6 months before sealing it.Well its about that time now any ideas of what exactly to get and how much i would need for a 12x12 deck. Thanks for the help.

A. I have used thompsons and it seems to last around a season and then the water puddles again on the deck.Its a good product but i think there is something better out.Additionally i applied this to my deck that was already 10+ years in age.It might make a difference if the wood is newer.

Q. I have a large (about 10x12) deck outside an upper story loft. I want to convert the deck below (8 x 24) into a sunroom and mudroom (will be extending the deck that isn't under the upper deck to allow for the sun room). I know I've seen rooms under decks before, but how do you go about creating the 'roof'/ceiling when there is an existing deck? I wouldn't mind taking the deck back to just a couple feet if that would be easier, but there are sliding glass doors up there and removing it completely would look silly. Of course I'll be consulting a contractor in the next several weeks but would greatly appreciate ideas now.

A. The trick is ensuring proper drainage from above. There are water-channeling products (like a gutter system) that can be applied to the bottom of the upper deck. From there, the rules are the same as any addition; good foundation and quality construction.

Q. Can anyone recommend a good, remodeling contractor that does excellent carpentry?

A. I used Marrokal here in San Diego. Like someone else said, I don't know if they do work in Orange County. but, contact at least three companies to get preliminary estimates of what you want to do in general. Here's a couple of things to look for when choosing a contractor: Be wary of independent contractors, where a couple of guys do all of the required work instead of subcontracting the job out. The bigger general contractors usually have so much work going on that they use the same subcontractors for every job and this is the only work the subs take. This means that your job will not be delayed by a subcontractor who has a bunch of irons in the fire and decides to put your job on the back burner. Also, the bigger general contractors have reputations and relationships with the city building inspectors. So, they know what to anticipate when submitting building plans that might be a sticking point. The bigger general contractors also buy lots of building materials and suppliers will make their jobs a priority, so the general contractor will continue to use the supplier. Choose a company that is a design-build company. This means they have in-house architects to put the plans together. If you use an independent architect, he might put some design aspect into the plans that he has no idea how expensive it is. If you end up changing the design to eliminate an overly-expensive design aspect, you have to pay the architect to redo the plans. The general contractor should provide you with a list of references. Contact these people and ask what their experience was like. Drive by their house and look at the work. Any horror stories they tell you might save you the grief of having the same thing go wrong with your remodel.