Structure
Deck collapses almost always start at the connection to the house, not in the middle of the deck. It's the first thing we look at and the first thing an inspector looks at.
If you have a deck of unknown age and you've never had it looked at, that's worth doing regardless of who does it.
The deck boards are cosmetic. Everything that matters is underneath them.
What we build
All framed in pressure-treated lumber, detailed with proper flashing and hardware, and built to permit.
Materials
| Pressure-treated pine | Cheapest surface, and fine if you'll actually maintain it. Needs cleaning and sealing every couple of years or it greys, checks and splinters. |
|---|---|
| Cedar | Better looking and more stable than PT, still needs finishing. Softer, so it marks more easily under furniture. |
| Composite | Wood flour and plastic. No sealing, good colour retention, warm underfoot in direct sun. The dominant choice now for good reason. |
| PVC decking | Fully synthetic. Lightest, coolest, most stain-resistant, most expensive. Best choice for pool surrounds and full-sun exposures. |
| Framing | Pressure-treated regardless of what's on top, with galvanised or stainless hardware rated for treated lumber. Cheap hardware corrodes and is the other common failure point. |
A composite surface on a badly framed deck is money in the wrong place. If the budget is tight we'd rather build the frame properly and put PT boards on it now.
Permits
Decks over a certain height require a permit and inspections in every northern New Jersey municipality we work in, and requirements vary town to town.
We handle the application, the drawings and the inspections as part of the job. That includes the footing inspection before the concrete goes in and the framing inspection before anything gets covered — which is exactly why we don't skip ahead.
Unpermitted decks become a problem at resale, when a buyer's attorney or inspector finds them. It's far cheaper to permit it now than to remediate it during a closing.
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