A deck is a structure holding people above the ground, attached to your house at the one point where water most wants to get in. Ledger detailing and footing depth matter far more than the colour of the boards.
What Matters
The ledger board is where a deck attaches to your home, and a badly flashed ledger rots the rim joist behind it quietly for years. It is the single most common serious defect we find on existing decks, and it is invisible until it isn't.
We flash and fasten ledgers to current standards, set footings below frost depth, and build a frame sized for the span and the load. Then the decking, railing, and lighting go on top of something that will still be sound in twenty years.
Ledger flashed and fastened to code, tied into the house weather barrier.
Footings set below frost depth for your elevation.
Framing and railings engineered for span, height, and guard loading.
Permits and inspections handled, including second-story guard requirements.
What We Build
Capped composite boards that hold colour under Colorado UV and never need sanding or staining.
Cedar and treated timber for a warmer look and a lower up-front cost, with honest advice on upkeep.
Second-story and stepped decks on sloping lots, where structure and guard rails carry real engineering.
Ledger corrections, board and rail replacement, and refinishing where the structure underneath is still sound.
Questions
Composite costs more up front and effectively nothing afterwards, which at this UV level is a real saving in both money and weekends. Wood is warmer underfoot and cheaper to build, and it will want refinishing every two to three years.
Sometimes. If the framing and footings are sound, new decking and rails are a good investment. If the ledger has been leaking or the footings are shallow, repair is money spent on a structure that needs replacing anyway. We will show you what we find.
In most jurisdictions here, yes, once it is above a certain height or attached to the house. Elevated decks always do. We pull it and meet the inspector.
Snow load is a real structural input at elevation, and it also affects where you want the deck relative to roof shed lines. A deck sitting under an unbroken roof slope collects everything that comes off it.
Yes, and it is usually cheaper to build both at once than to add the cover later. Posts and footings can be planned for the roof from the start rather than retrofitted.
Related
New build or an old deck you're unsure about, we'll give you a straight assessment.
