Deck Builders in Milton, WA

For deck builders in Milton, the job is often about fitting a lot of use into a modest yard. Milton covers less than 3 square miles of land and holds close to 9,000 people, so lots tend to be compact. A well-planned deck can become the outdoor room that a small yard otherwise lacks, and in a place where the rain is steady from fall through spring, a roof over part of it is what makes that room usable most of the year. We build covered decks, pergolas, open decks and stairs in Milton, and we repair and refinish existing ones.

One city, two counties, one building code

Milton sits partly in northern Pierce County and partly in southern King County. Which county your house is in affects things like your school district (Fife Public Schools serves the Pierce side, and the Federal Way School District serves parts of the King side), but deck permits come from the City of Milton either way. The city adopts the Washington residential code (WAC 51-51) with a local design table that lists:

• Ground snow load: 25 psf
• Wind speed: 85 mph
• Frost line depth: 12 inches

What a roof adds to the design

An open deck carries people and furniture. A covered deck also carries the roof, the snow that can sit on it and the wind that pushes on it. Milton's 25 psf ground snow load and 85 mph wind speed feed directly into how big the beams, posts and footings must be and how the roof ties into the house. That is why we design the roof and the deck together instead of adding a cover to a deck that was never sized for one. Footings go at least to the 12-inch frost line, and often larger under roof posts.

Cover options we build

• Solid roofs tied into the house, shingled or metal, with gutters and downspouts
• Clear polycarbonate covers that keep rain off while letting daylight reach the windows behind
• Open pergolas for shade and climbing plants, where staying dry is less of a concern
• Partial covers over just the grill and dining area, leaving the rest of the deck open to sun

On a compact lot, a clear cover is worth considering, because a solid roof can make the room inside darker during the gray months.

Slopes and the North Hill edge

Milton and Edgewood together make up the area locally called North Hill, above the Puyallup River valley. Some Milton lots slope, and the city's critical areas code treats slopes of 40 percent or steeper with 10 or more feet of vertical relief as landslide hazard areas. Building in a landslide hazard area requires a geotechnical engineering report covering foundations, drainage and slope mitigation, and in seismic hazard areas a geotechnical report must evaluate the subsurface soils and their liquefaction potential. Flat lots do not meet the slope test; if yours might, we flag it at the site visit.

Rain off the roof, not into the house

Covered decks shift water rather than eliminate it. The roof sheds rain into gutters, and that water needs to go somewhere other than against your foundation or onto a neighbor's yard. Where the deck meets the house, the ledger is flashed and bolted so water does not reach the rim joist. Under an open section, joist tape and proper board gaps let the framing dry between storms.

Free estimate, written quote

Call (253) 525-5245 and tell us how you want to use the space: dining, a hot tub, a dry spot for the grill, or shade in July. We visit, measure, and put the plan in a written quote that lists the deck, the cover, materials, railings and permit work.

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