Every job below is one we do ourselves across El Dorado Hills.
We frame new decks with joists set 16 inches on center, doubled up under hot tubs or heavy planters. Footings go below grade to bear on solid soil, not the loose fill a lot of El Dorado Hills lots get graded with. We'll walk the site with you first and talk through height, stairs, and how the deck ties into the house before any lumber gets cut.
Most repair calls start with a soft spot underfoot or a board that's cupping. We pull the bad boards, check the joists underneath for rot before we just cap over it, and match decking as close as we can if it's an older deck.
Sun on a south-facing deck in El Dorado Hills will gray untreated wood in a season. We pressure wash, let the wood dry a few days, then apply a penetrating oil-based stain rather than a film-forming one that just peels later. Two coats, worked into the end grain where boards actually take on water.
Some lots here drop off fast from the back door, which means stairs, landings, or a deck on two levels instead of one flat rectangle. We draw it out with actual beam and post sizing before we quote it, not a sketch on a napkin.
Composite boards like Trex or TimberTech don't rot, but they still need proper joist spacing and hidden fasteners so they don't buckle in the heat. We run the boards with the gap the manufacturer specs, because composite expands more than wood does on a 100-degree day.
California code wants a 4-inch max gap between balusters and a 36-inch minimum rail height on most residential decks. We check post attachment first. Loose railings usually trace back to a post that was never through-bolted to the rim joist, not the railing itself.
If the frame underneath is still sound, we can strip off old decking and lay new boards without rebuilding the whole structure. It's a way to get a fresh deck surface without paying for footings and framing you don't need again.
Split-level backyards around here often call for a deck that steps down in two or three stages instead of one long staircase. Each level needs its own beam and footing layout, so we engineer it level by level rather than treating it as one big platform.
Old decks come down board by board so we can check what's salvageable underneath, ledger flashing especially. We haul off the debris the same day, no leaving a pile of lumber in the driveway for a week.
A pergola or a solid deck cover cuts the afternoon sun on a west-facing deck, which around El Dorado Hills in July matters more than people expect. We tie the posts into the existing deck framing or set new footings, depending on what the deck was built to handle.
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.
Deck installation, repair, and staining across the Sacramento foothills.
Questions that come up once a deck project is underway.
Describe the problem and we will tell you what it probably is. No obligation.
