Houston Patios & Decks

Soft decking, a rail that moves, a stair that dips, or a ledger pulling away from the house are reasons to rebuild, not to stain. A patio that holds water against the slab, or a cover that dumps rain at the back door, is a drainage problem you feel every storm. Shade structures that were added without a thought for wind are the ones that rack.

Sometimes the framing is sound and the boards are gone. Sometimes the boards hide rotten joists. We look underneath before we recommend a resurface. A new composite board on a rotten ledger is not a repair.

Wood looks like wood and it wants maintenance in this sun and rain. Composite and capped boards ask less of you and cost more up front. Both need framing that can carry them and a gap pattern that drains. Pavers and concrete are the ground-level answer when you do not need to stand above the grade. A cover, wood or metal, is posts, beams, and a roof that sheds away from the wall. It is planned with the patio, not bolted on after the fact.

Rails, stairs, and gates are part of the same design. A pretty deck with a stair that is an afterthought is how people get hurt. Flashing at the house and clearance so the siding is not buried are part of the build. We do not bury siding behind a new ledger.

As a planning range, not a quote, a ground-level paver or concrete patio often falls around $4,000 to $15,000 depending on size and how much the grade has to change. Rebuilding a deck on sound footings, with new framing where it is needed and new boards, often plans around $8,000 to $20,000. An elevated deck or a patio cover often plans around $12,000 to $35,000. Height, the cover, rails, and rotten structure are what push a project up. A stain on sound boards is not in these bands. We will say if that is all you need.

Demolition of an old deck, access through a fenced yard, and electrical for a fan or a light on a cover are extras when they are real. We do not bury them. If a storm damaged the deck, we can photograph it. Coverage is your insurer’s decision.

A deck or patio here has to shed a hard rain and survive a west sun. Boards gap so water does not sit. A patio slopes away from the house. A cover is tied so wind has a harder time racking it, and we still will not call it storm-proof. Expansive clay swells and shrinks. Footings and a patio that was poured tight against a moving slab need room to move without directing water inside.

In the City of Houston, an attached deck and a patio cover usually need a permit. An at-grade paver patio often does not, if it is not a structure. The Memorial villages, Bellaire, Sugar Land, and the county that covers a Katy or Woodlands address have their own rules. We confirm from the address. Hurricane season, June 1 through November 30, is a bad time to leave a ledger open. We sequence the work so the wall is not left unprotected into a storm.