Every job below is one we do ourselves across Douglasville.
We frame new decks on pressure-treated posts and footings poured below frost depth, bolt the ledger into the house rim joist, and flash it so water sheds away from the siding. Joist spacing gets set for whatever decking material you choose, since composite and wood carry weight differently across a span.
Soft boards, wobbly railings, a ledger that's starting to pull away from the house, we see all of it. Sometimes it's a few boards and some lag bolts, sometimes the framing underneath has rotted and needs to come out before we can put new decking down.
Pressure-treated pine needs to dry out for a few weeks before it'll take a stain. We pressure wash first, let it cure, then put down a penetrating stain or sealer that actually soaks into the grain instead of sitting on top and peeling the next summer.
Multi-level decks, built-in benches, a deck that wraps around a pool, we draw it out before we cut anything so you can see stair placement and railing runs ahead of time. We'll tell you if an idea works better on paper than it will on your actual lot.
Composite boards like Trex and TimberTech don't rot and don't require staining, but they still require the framing underneath built to spec, with proper gapping for expansion. We install with hidden fastener systems so you don't see a single screw head on the surface.
Georgia code calls for guardrails at 36 inches on most residential decks and baluster spacing that won't let a 4-inch sphere through, that's there so a toddler can't slip through the gap. We through-bolt posts into the framing rather than just screwing them to the rim joist, because that's the connection that fails first on a weak railing.
If the frame underneath is still solid but the decking boards have cupped, split or gone gray, we strip the old boards and lay new ones without rebuilding the whole structure. It's a faster, cheaper way to get a deck looking new again when the bones are still good.
A lot of homeowners want a covered, screened space off the back of the deck to sit out in without getting eaten alive in July. We frame the roof structure, run the screening, and tie it into the existing deck or build it as part of a new one.
Old decks get torn out board by board, with the lumber hauled off, before we start fresh. We check the ledger and the house framing underneath while it's exposed, since that's often where the real damage is hiding.
A pergola or a solid deck cover cuts down on direct sun without blocking the space off completely. We size the posts and footings for wind and snow load same as we would for the deck itself, since a lot of people forget a cover adds real weight.
Four steps, and no surprises in any of them.
You tell us what you want doing, we look at what is actually there, and we ask the awkward questions early.
In writing, itemised, free. If something might add cost later we flag it now rather than at the end.
Same crew throughout. We cover your floors, keep the dust down and tidy up before we leave each day.
You point out anything you are not happy with and we fix it before the invoice, not after.
Available across the west Atlanta suburbs, not just Douglasville itself.
What to expect once your deck project actually gets underway.
Describe the problem and we will tell you what it probably is. No obligation.