skipro33
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I edited my comment to be less critical, looks like we cross posted
3 levels, octagon, pilings, etc...angles and levels take more time and more material and that's expensive. And I just looked at the photos, definitely a lot more work is involved.
One thought...is the deck 3 levels because of the slope and aesthetics or because there are different levels of the house requiring access? Almost everyone I know with a multi-level deck spends most of their time on one level and if they had to do it again would go with one level. YMMV of course.
3 levels for the looks. The stone steps from the backyard is 5 steps, 35" drop. This goes to the main deck out to the trees with octagon deck extending around each of the two trees. Then 5 steps to the right coming down stone steps to a 14' octagon deck that will have a propane fire ring feature and seating. The other end of the main deck will have 5 steps up to another octagon deck that is flush with the new driveway going in. I can walk from the driveway onto the deck, down stairs, cross main deck and up stone stairs into the back yard. Or down 5 more steps to the stand-alone 14' octagon deck with fire ring.