Deck Builders in Augusta, ME
Deck builders in Augusta, ME start by finding out which of the city's districts a lot sits in, because a deck behind a 1960s ranch on an outer street, a camp lot in the Rural Ponds watersheds and a porch-front house in a historic district each follow different rules. Our visit covers the grade, the siding and rim where a ledger would land, and the posts of any old deck, and only then do we write a price.
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This page covers new decks and deck replacement in Augusta, Maine, the state capital, a Kennebec River city of 18,899 where the median house dates from 1965 and only 1.5 percent of the housing is seasonal.
Deck Builders Waterville sets footings 4 feet down, frames heavier than the minimum and, on an Augusta lot, checks the district before drawing, from the Rural Ponds watersheds around Togus Pond to the four local historic districts where a deck seen from the street goes to review.
The figure to keep: a simple pressure-treated deck in Augusta averages about $78 per square foot over many quotes, and composite or PVC starts from $15,000. Both are averages for planning, not a price for your house.
Why Does the Neighborhood Shape an Augusta Deck?
The neighborhood shapes an Augusta deck because the city's land use ordinance changes its setbacks, lot sizes and reviews from one district to the next. A deck that fits one street at 10 feet from the side line may need a wider buffer near Togus Pond, or commission review if it faces the street in a historic district.
- Side and rear setbacks of 10 feet for houses in the RA and RB districts
- A 20 percent cover cap in the Rural Ponds watersheds
- Historic review for new decks seen from the street
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What Towns North of Augusta Do We Also Cover?
See all 22 towns we serveWhat Decks Suit Augusta's Old Streets and Pond Lots?
Augusta is an older city, with 28.7 percent of its housing units dating from 1939 or earlier, and the three kinds of deck work we do here split along its streets, its ponds and its historic districts.
Composite Decks Around Augusta's Rural Ponds
Composite decks suit the houses and camps in the Rural Ponds District, the watersheds the ordinance draws around Togus Pond, Little Togus Pond, Lower Togus Pond, Three Cornered Pond and Wellman Pond, among others. Owners there tend to want a deck that never needs stain, and composite on a sound frame gives them that.
The district's own purpose clause names "highly erodible, shallow soils, steep slopes," and it caps structures and other nonvegetated surfaces at 20 percent of the lot. Under the boards, we space joists at 16 inches and close that to 12 for PVC, tape each joist, and let hidden clips hold the composite while PVC is face-screwed and plugged.
Pressure-Treated Decks on Augusta's East and West Sides
Pressure-treated decks are the straight answer for the older houses on the city's east and west sides, where Augusta's median house dates to 1965 and many back doors open well above the yard. A treated deck keeps the cost down on a house that may also need stairs, a landing and rail.
Height brings the guard rules into play. Once a deck floor is more than 30 inches over the ground below, it needs a guard 36 inches tall or taller, with no gap a 4-inch sphere could slip through, and on houses as old as the story-and-a-half mill-worker homes Edwards Manufacturing put up on Bond Street from 1878 to 1884, the back stair needs the same care as the deck.
Replacing a Deck in Augusta's Historic Districts
Deck replacement inside the Water Street, Bond Street, Winthrop Street or Crosby Street districts depends on what the street can see. The ordinance counts decks as structures for historic review and requires a certificate for new construction visible from the street, while work on a structure not visible from the street is exempt.
So a worn-out back deck on a Winthrop Street house usually comes off and goes back without the commission, and a side deck in plain view does not. Either way the replacement stands on footings set below the frost and a frame built fresh, and we do not lay new boards over old joists.
What Deck Services Do We Offer in Augusta?
Augusta jobs mostly fall under three kinds of work.
Augusta's code enforcement and permit pages do not say when a deck needs a permit, and the city's Bureau of Code Enforcement inspects new construction and renovations. So your deck goes to the Bureau of Code Enforcement for an answer before any digging, we file whatever it calls for, and the approval rests with the city.
- New footings, posts and a flashed ledger
- Long back stairs with a landing and rail
- Skirting that closes in a tall frame
How to Line Up an Augusta Deck With the City's Rules
Walk the lot and read the map.
After looking at the yard, the siding and the old deck if there is one, we check whether the lot falls in a historic district, the Rural Ponds watersheds, the 100-year flood zone or within 500 feet of the airport runway, where a copy of an intent-to-build notice sent to Augusta State Airport goes in with the permit.
Numbers on paper, signatures on a contract.
The price gives piles, framing, boards and rail a line apiece, and for work over $3,000, 10 MRSA §1487 means a written contract we both sign and a deposit of no more than a third. Augusta's residential application asks for a dimensioned site plan and a framing plan, and we draw both from the same numbers.
Footings, frame, then the rest.
Footings and framing are finished before a board goes down, then come the guards and the stairs, and we take the torn-out deck with us. At the end, we cross the finished deck with you and go over every part of it.
What Should Deck Builders in Augusta, ME Check First?
Deck builders in Augusta, ME should check the ground first: a footing, the concrete or steel pad each post bears on, heaves if it stops short of the frost line, as deep as the winter freeze goes. We take footings 4 feet down, most of them helical piles, steel shafts with a screw plate at the bottom, and a few of them poured piers, but none of them blocks laid on the lawn.
The wall the deck meets is next. On a house built around 1965 or earlier, we open up the spot where the ledger (a board through-bolted to the house to hold one side of the deck) would go, and if the rim behind it cannot take bolts and flashing, a second beam and post line carry that side instead.
The city's paper comes last. Augusta is far over the 4,000-resident line in 10 MRSA §9724, so state law has the city enforce the building code, and the city's application has a box for lots in the 100-year flood zone, which matters downtown, an area vulnerable to floods in spring.
Who Reviews an Augusta Deck, Where Does It Fit, When?
Who reviews a deck in an Augusta historic district?
A deck in an Augusta historic district is reviewed by the Historic Preservation Commission when it is new construction visible from the street, under Section 300-316.5 of the land use ordinance. Which houses fall inside the four districts is shown on the city's overlay map, and we check it with the planning office before we price.
Where can a deck go on an Augusta house lot?
A deck on an Augusta house lot can go to within 10 feet of the side and rear lines in the RA, RB1 and RB2 districts, since a deck fixed to the house is counted with the house there, and within five feet in the high density RC district. In the Rural Ponds District the front setback is 35 feet from arterial and collector streets and 20 feet from other streets.
When does Augusta's historic commission meet?
Augusta's Historic Preservation Commission meets monthly, with meetings "typically held on the third Tuesday of the month at 5:30 pm," so a street-facing deck in a historic district needs its certificate planned around that calendar. We fold that date into the schedule we talk through with you.
How Much Does an Augusta Deck Usually Cost?
An Augusta deck usually costs about $78 per square foot as a simple pressure-treated build, while a bigger or busier layout averages $97 to $116 per square foot, both drawn from many quotes. A full treated deck has a floor of $10,000, and the composite or PVC floor, composite rail included, is $15,000.
| Deck | What it usually means | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Pressure-treated, simple layout | one level off the back door, a few steps, treated boards and rail | about $78 per square foot, nothing new under $10,000 |
| Bigger or more complex layout | a tall frame, a landing, angles or a second level | $97 to $116 per square foot |
| Composite or PVC | composite or PVC boards with composite rail | from $15,000 |
Augusta averages for an installed deck, collected over many quotes and meant to check a budget, not to price one house: the footings, framing, decking, rail and stairs are all inside them, and a high back door, extra flights of stairs or rotten wood found in an old deck can shift them.
Does a small Augusta deck save money per square foot?
A small Augusta deck saves nothing per square foot and usually costs more, because the footings beneath it cost nearly as much as a bigger deck's, and that cost is spread across less deck. Trading a 10x10 plan for a 12x16 adds about $1,000 in many cases, so a size up is worth pricing.
What sets an Augusta deck's place in the range?
An Augusta deck's place in the range is set first by a ramp, then by the stairs and their count, by any old footings that are fit to reuse, by the layout's shapes and tie-ins, and last by height. On a tall Augusta back deck, anything past about 2 feet calls for staging and nearly a day of crew time, which a small job feels more.
What does tearing out an old Augusta deck add?
Tearing out an old Augusta deck adds the demolition, the haul-away and new footings, and on an older house it can add work at the ledger once the boards are up. We decide at our visit if an old post or footing is sound enough to keep, and the written price records that choice.
Which Augusta District Is Your Deck In?
Send us a free estimate request, and we will find out which district your Augusta lot sits in, look at the yard and the wall, and write the whole deck into one price.