Deck Building in Olney, MD

What a deck in Olney actually involves

The lot sizes in Olney support decks, screened porches and outdoor kitchens at a scale that is not possible closer in, and the setbacks are rarely the limiting factor. Septic location often is.

Large colonials and contemporaries from the late 1970s through the early 2000s on generous lots, plus older farmhouses and outbuildings scattered through the Sandy Spring area.

• The ledger connection. Where the deck attaches to the house, the siding comes off, the band joist is inspected for rot, the ledger is through-bolted or lagged to the specified pattern, and flashing is installed so water cannot get behind it. Nailing a ledger to siding is the classic failure and it is still done constantly.
• Framing. Beams, joists and hangers sized and spaced to the span, with proper lateral load connections and blocking. Hardware rated for contact with treated lumber, because standard fasteners corrode against it.
• Stairs, lighting and detail. Stair framing and landings, low-voltage or line-voltage lighting where wanted, and the trim and fascia detail that separates a deck that looks built from one that looks assembled.
• Drainage and what is underneath. Grading under the deck, and where you want dry space below an elevated deck, an under-deck drainage system detailed to actually shed water rather than pool it.

What we typically find on a Olney house of this era (1975 to 2002). Olney houses are big, sound and mechanically dated. What we find is original air handling equipment past its service life, ductwork sized for a smaller house than the one that got built, and finish materials from an era that has not aged well but was installed well.

What drives the cost on a Olney deck

Anyone can publish a range. Almost nobody can publish one that survives contact with an actual house, which is why we do not. The list below is the honest version: the specific things that decide whether your project lands at the bottom or the top of whatever range you have in your head.

• Decking material. Pressure-treated, cedar, composite and PVC span a wide range, and the railing system is often a larger share of the cost than people expect.
• Whether the ledger site is sound. Rot at the band joist behind old siding is common and it has to be repaired before anything attaches to it.
• Roof or cover. A covered porch or roofed deck is a structural addition with its own footing, framing and flashing requirements, not a deck with a lid.

The mistakes we get called in to fix

• Standard galvanized or unrated fasteners in contact with modern pressure-treated lumber, which corrodes them.
• Building without a permit and then dealing with it at resale, when the home inspector notes an unpermitted structure attached to the house.
• Skipping community association approval on a deck that is plainly visible, then being told to modify or remove it.

One licensed team, one contract, one point of contact

A deck touches zoning setbacks, footings and concrete, structural framing, flashing and waterproofing where it meets the house, electrical if there is lighting, and in many communities an architectural review submission. Building it as a licensed general contractor means the permit, the inspections and the connection to your house are handled by the party that also has to answer for your siding and your roof.

Our position is simple and it is checkable. We hold MHIC #111971 in Maryland. We carry general liability and workers' compensation coverage, and we will send you the certificates before you sign rather than after you ask twice. Our subcontracted trades carry their own coverage and their own trade licenses, and the trade permits are pulled under those licenses, as they are required to be. You sign one contract with one company, and that company is the one answering the phone when something needs answering.

Where we work in Olney

• 20832
• 20833
• Olney Mill
• Hallowell
• Brooke Grove
• Norbeck Grove
• Williamsburg Village
• Sandy Spring

How a Olney project runs

1. We walk the property and put the scope in writing. An unhurried visit, real measurements, and a look behind finishes wherever we responsibly can. You end up with a document describing the project rather than a number scribbled on a business card.
2. Feasibility against Olney rules, before design. We establish what the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services will require for deck at your address, and what your lot, your zoning and your existing house will allow. Where historic review and association architectural approval applies, that submission is prepared and filed first, because the building permit is not useful until it clears.
3. Scope agreed first, permits second. Nothing gets submitted until you have approved a line-item scope with the allowances written out in plain terms and a change-order process both sides have signed off on. Then we assemble and file the permit package and answer the reviewer's comments ourselves.
4. One team on site, one closeout file. MHIC #111971, We supervise our own trades, we schedule against the inspection calendar so nobody sits idle, and we hand you a closeout file at the end that you can give to a buyer years from now.

Deck Building across Olney and Montgomery County

We work throughout Olney Mill, Hallowell, Brooke Grove, Norbeck Grove, Williamsburg Village and Sandy Spring, covering 20832, 20833.

Homeowners here usually reach us for more than one thing at a time. Related work in Olney: home additions in Olney, exterior painting in Olney, window replacement in Olney, whole-home renovation in Olney.

We came to general contracting from the outside of the house in, which is the part most remodelers subcontract and hope for the best on. That means the same company handling your interior can also handle roof replacement, siding, aluminum siding, gutters, soffit and fascia and window replacement — under one contract, with one warranty conversation instead of three companies pointing at each other about where the water came from.

Olney deck building questions