Deck Building Custom in Grants Pass, OR

What "custom" means once the tape comes out

On paper a deck is a rectangle. On site it has to meet a door threshold at a set height and fit a yard that doesn't match the drawing. Most of the custom work is invisible: where the posts land, how the beams run, and which way the joists go so the surface boards finish clean at the edges.

We talk through how you'll use the space before we settle a layout. A grill corner, a table that seats six, and a path to the yard all pull the footprint in different directions. Moving a stair run six feet costs nothing on paper and a lot after the posts are set, so we settle it early. Heavy-rain events come through here from time to time and test drainage and grading, so we check where water goes off the deck and across the ground around it before we frame.

The ledger board

Where the deck attaches to the house, the ledger carries one edge of the deck and sits against your wall, the last place you want water getting in. We install it and flash it in the same step, before the framing goes up, so water running down the wall is directed out and over the board instead of behind it.

Bad flashing can look fine from the top for years. The damage happens out of sight, in the wall, and by the time it shows it's a bigger repair than the deck.

Joists, beams, and posts

Under the boards the frame is joists, beams, posts, and the hardware that ties them together. We set joists at code-compliant spacing and spans and fasten them with hangers or connectors, not nails driven at an angle. Spacing and span are what make a deck feel solid underfoot instead of bouncy.

The posts and beams carry the load down to the ground, so we size them for the span they actually hold. Hardware is a small part of the cost and a big part of how long the connections last, so that's not where we save money.

Railings and what they cost

Railings are the one piece we can put a number on without seeing your yard: a railing system runs $1,400 to $2,600. A short straight run on a low deck sits near the bottom of that range. A long wraparound with corners and a stair rail sits near the top.

Railings are easy to treat as an add-on, but they're part of the structure, so we price them alongside the frame. The deck itself depends on size, height, the surface material, and how much framing the site demands, and that figure comes after the design is settled.