Deck Builders in Mercer, ME
Deck builders in Mercer, ME meet one main piece of town paper, because Mercer posts no building code, no zoning ordinance and no general building permit, and its shoreland ordinance is the permit law it does post. On a lot by North Pond, the Sandy River or Bog Stream, that permit shapes the deck, and off the water we ask the code officer what applies.
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This page covers new decks and deck replacement in Mercer, Maine, a Somerset County town that posts no building code and no zoning ordinance, so its shoreland permit on North Pond, the Sandy River and Bog Stream is the main review a deck meets.
Deck Builders Waterville books the code officer's pre-construction visit on a shoreland lot and sets footings 4 feet down, on helical piles on most jobs.
The figure to keep: a simple pressure-treated deck in Mercer averages about $77 per square foot, and composite or PVC starts from $15,000. Both are averages across many quotes, not a quote for your house.
Why Is the Shoreland Permit Mercer's Main Deck Review?
The shoreland permit is Mercer's main deck review because none of the town's posted ordinances sets a building code, a zone map or a general building permit. That leaves the deck's quality up to its builder, and we answer for ours with footings below the frost, flashing at the house and a frame heavier than the minimum.
- Shoreland fees of $300 or $100, by how the deck is classed
- Abutters notified by mail before the board meets
- The code officer's site visit booked before the application
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What Other Towns Near Mercer Do We Build In?
See all 22 towns we serveWhat Kind of Deck Fits a Mercer House or Camp?
Mercer's housing leans year-round, with 18.8 percent held for seasonal use, so most of our Mercer decks hang off a lived-in house and a smaller share sit on camps near the water.
Composite Decks for Mercer's North Pond Camps
Composite decks earn their price on a camp by North Pond, the water Smithfield and Rome also front on, where nobody wants to spend July staining. We set most composite boards on hidden clips, and PVC boards get face screws with matching plugs, because PVC moves with summer heat and winter cold.
Mercer's ordinance counts a deck's floor area as part of the structure and caps structures plus bare ground at 20 percent of a shoreland lot. On a narrow camp lot that cap, not the budget, sets the deck's width.
Pressure-Treated Decks on Mercer's Hill Farms
Pressure-treated decks suit a Mercer farmhouse or ranch away from the water, where the deck takes daily traffic in every season. With no building code posted and none required of a town under 4,000 residents by 10 MRSA §9724, the builder's own standard is the only one standing under a Mercer deck.
Ours puts a guard of 36 inches or taller on any deck standing higher than 30 inches off the ground, with no gap a 4-inch ball could slip through, which is what DCA 6, the American Wood Council's prescriptive deck guide, calls for. Treated stairs get a stringer (the notched board that carries the treads) on solid footing, never on a paver set in the grass.
Rebuilding an Old Deck Close to Mercer's Water
Deck replacement on a Mercer camp inside the setback has one rule to plan around: after January 1, 1989, that part of the structure may not be enlarged by 30 percent or more in floor area or volume for as long as the structure stands. Since a deck counts as floor area, one generous deck can use the allowance up for good.
The ordinance adds that frost walls, slabs or posts set beneath an existing structure are not an expansion, so long as the building rises no more than three more feet. We take the old deck down to bare dirt, put fresh footings under the frost line and never lay new boards over a frame that has already gone soft.
What Deck Services Do We Offer in Mercer?
Mercer jobs we build fall into three of our services.
Mercer's shoreland permit application lists $300 for a new principal structure or an expansion of one and $100 for a storage shed or other accessory structure, and the ordinance lists attached decks among the extensions that count as expansion. We confirm with the code officer which line fits your deck, file it and let the town decide.
- Composite decks for pond camps
- Treated farmhouse decks with stairs and rail
- Shoreland tear-out and rebuild
How to Move a Mercer Deck From Sketch to Finished Boards
A visit before any number.
We study the yard, the wall the deck will join and any old deck, and on a shoreland lot we set up the code officer's pre-construction inspection, which the town requires before an application goes to the board.
The price on paper, the contract signed.
Mercer customers get a written price first, and when the total climbs above $3,000, 10 MRSA §1487 makes the contract a signed one, with a deposit that tops out at one third.
Ground up, then a final walk.
Footings and frame go in before boards, rail and stairs, we tear out the old deck and cart it off, and we walk the new one beside you before calling the job finished.
What Should Deck Builders in Mercer, ME Check First?
Deck builders in Mercer, ME should check the soil each post will sit on, since a post resting on a block or a shallow hole lifts with the frost and drops in mud season, and the deck racks with it. We take footings 4 feet down, past the frost line (the depth frost drives into the ground), most often on a helical pile, a steel shaft wound into the soil.
Then we check the house wall. A ledger (the beam-like board bolted along the house that holds the deck's inner edge) needs sound framing and flashing over it, and if the wall cannot offer both, the deck gets its own beam and stands free.
Last comes the shoreland paper. Mercer's shoreland ordinance reaches 250 feet inland from a great pond or river (75 for a stream), and sets new structures at least 100 feet off a great pond, measured from its normal high-water mark, and 75 off other waters.
Who Hears a Mercer Shoreland Permit, Where and When?
Who decides a Mercer shoreland deck permit?
A Mercer shoreland deck permit is decided at the code office or before the Planning Board, because Table 1 hands an accessory structure in Limited Residential to the officer and one in the Stream or Resource Protection districts to the board. A deck attached to the house is an expansion of it, so the board is where we expect it to go unless the officer says otherwise.
Where on a Mercer lot does the site plan need distances?
A Mercer site plan needs the exact spot of every structure, decks included, with real measurements to the waterline plus the side and back property lines. The town posts no lot-line setback number, so we confirm those distances with the code officer before staking.
When is a Mercer shoreland application due?
A Mercer shoreland application is due one week before the Planning Board meets on the third Tuesday at 6:30 pm, as one color original and six copies. Abutters must be notified by mail, with the green return receipts in the packet, so we mail those notices before the deadline week.
How Much Does a Mercer Deck Cost, Footings to Rail?
A Mercer deck, footings to rail, averages about $77 per square foot when it stays plain and pressure-treated, and $97 to $116 per square foot once size, levels or angles pile on, by the spread of many quotes. Mercer's floor for a full treated build is $10,000, and $15,000 is where composite or PVC decking with composite rail starts.
| Deck | What it usually means | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Pressure-treated, simple layout | one level, a few treated steps, treated decking and rail | about $77 per square foot, nothing new under $10,000 |
| Bigger or more complex layout | two levels, angled corners, a wraparound, more stairs | $97 to $116 per square foot |
| Composite or PVC | composite or PVC boards with composite rail | from $15,000 |
Mercer averages, installed, from many quotes: footings, frame, decking, rail and stairs. Treat them as a yardstick for your budget, not a quote, because height, stairs and what an old deck is hiding can each shift a real price.
Why is a little Mercer deck more per square foot?
A little Mercer deck is more per square foot because a footing costs about what it costs whatever the deck's size, and a small deck has fewer feet to spread that over. Moving from a 10x10 up to a 12x16 often comes to only about $1,000 extra, which makes the bigger size the better buy.
What raises or lowers a Mercer deck price?
A Mercer deck price rises first with a ramp and next with the number of stairs, and it drops when sound footings can be reused. Layout (shapes, levels, tie-ins) ranks fourth and height fifth: lift the floor past about 2 feet and staging costs roughly one crew day, which a short job absorbs badly.
What does a Mercer deck replacement add to a new deck?
A Mercer deck replacement puts demolition and hauling on top of a new deck's cost, plus new footings wherever the old posts fall short. We judge on site if an old footing can carry the new deck, and only then do we price the replacement.
Want a Written Deck Price for Your Mercer Place?
A free estimate request starts it: we come out, look at the ground, the wall and the water, and hand you one written price for the footings, the frame and the boards.