Houston Decks

Spongy decking, a rail that moves, nails popping, mold on the joists, or a stair that dips are reasons to get under the deck, not only to stain it. In Houston the failure is often moisture at the ledger and at the bottoms of the posts. Shade keeps wood wet. Sun splits it. Hurricane-season wind is what tests a rail that was already loose. A hard freeze is not the usual deck story here.

This page is the framed deck. Patios on grade have their own page. Gazebos have theirs. If your project is a low concrete pad, we will point you to the patio page instead of calling a slab a deck. The older patios-and-decks page still introduces both.

Pressure-treated framing is the usual structure. The walking surface may be treated wood, cedar, or a composite board. Composite handles sun and bare feet better and still wants the ventilation and the gapping the product expects. Wood costs less up front and wants stain if you care how it looks in two summers. We talk through that with the yard you have, a shaded Memorial lot or a bright Sugar Land one.

Joist hangers, post bases, and ledger flashing are the metal you do not see in the brochure. Rusted hangers and a ledger nailed through siding without flashing are how decks fail quietly. We replace that hardware when the structure stays, and we do not bury it under new boards. Color is chosen outside. A sample on a kitchen counter lies about heat and fade.

As a planning range, not a quote, replacing decking and rails on a sound small deck often plans around $4,000 to $12,000. A new deck with footings, framing, and stairs on a typical Houston backyard often plans around $10,000 to $30,000, more when it is large, high, or composite throughout. A ledger repair and a few joists can fall in between. Height, access through a side gate, and how much rotten wood is hiding are the usual reasons a number moves.

We do not price a deck by the zip code. We price the structure we can see and the footings we still have to dig in clay. If wind or a limb damaged the deck, we photograph it for your claim and estimate the rebuild. Many policies are particular about decks, screens, and fences. Check yours. We will not promise payment, and we will not call dry rot a storm.

The air stays humid enough that a deck without airflow grows a film, especially on the north side and under live oaks in The Woodlands, Memorial, and Bellaire. Footings in clay need to be thought about because the soil moves when it swings from drought to a tropical rain. Hurricane season, June 1 through November 30, is when a loose rail or a poorly tied ledger gets tested. Afternoon storms the rest of the year keep the underside damp.

We build and rebuild decks from our office at 511 Crestwater Ct, Houston, TX 77082, across Greater Houston including Katy, Sugar Land, Westchase, Alief, and the Energy Corridor. Family-owned since 1993. Call or text (713) 909-0034. A deck estimate is usually scheduled Monday through Saturday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. If a storm has made the deck the way inside the house, that is an emergency call any time, and the tarp or board-up may come first.

We help with photos of a deck a storm actually broke, a meeting with the adjuster on site if you want us there, and a repair estimate. We are not public adjusters and we do not give legal advice. Hurricane wind, hail, a tornado, and flooding are different events. A deck that rotted for years is maintenance. Check your policy before you assume wood outside is covered the way the roof is.

Emergency help is making the deck safe to walk or keeping people off it, and keeping rain out of the house if the ledger opened the wall. That mitigation is not a payout. The insurance claims page and the photo log are the record-keeping tools. Our invoice is the construction.