The Deck Building Process in St. Louis, MO

Most people have never hired a deck builder before, and the not-knowing is the worst part of it. So here is the whole thing, start to finish, including the slow parts and the messy parts. Nothing here is a surprise on purpose.

Every timeframe on this page is an estimate based on typical projects. Permit review, inspection scheduling, weather, supplier lead times, and the size and complexity of your deck all move these numbers. Your written contract, not this page, governs the scope, price, and schedule of your project.

Step by step

1. The first phone call

20 to 30 minutes

This is a real conversation, not a two-minute intake. Tell us where you live, what you have in mind, and how you actually want to use the space. We’ll walk you through your material options, what pushes a deck’s cost up or down, and roughly where a project like yours tends to land — so you have a useful number in your head before anyone drives out. If what you want and what you’d like to spend aren’t lining up yet, we’ll say so on the phone and talk through the ways to close that gap.

2. On-site visit and measure

About an hour

We measure the house, check the grade, look at door heights, find where the utilities and the downspouts run, and talk about how you actually plan to use the space. This is also when we spot the things that change the price — a walkout that’s higher than it looks, a bad slope, an existing deck that has to come off first.

3. Design and written estimate

A few days to a week

You get a written estimate for the deck we talked about — size, layout, material, and price. We don’t itemize a material breakdown; the number covers the finished deck, built to code. If you bought a 3D design from us, this is where you see it on your own house and start moving things around.

4. Contract and deposit

Same day you decide

Scope, materials, price, and payment schedule in writing before anybody orders anything. Read it. Ask about anything that isn’t clear.

5. Permits (and your HOA)

1 to 4 weeks — and this is the slow one

We prepare and file the permit submittal, then wait on the municipality like everyone else. Some offices turn it around in a week; some take a month and come back with comments. Permitting is the single most common reason a deck starts later than the homeowner expected, and it is genuinely outside our control.

HOA and subdivision trustee approval is handled by the homeowner, not by us. In practice it almost never holds a project up — most people choose a color their association already allows, or something close to the deck they already have. If your situation makes that approval genuinely difficult to handle on your own, tell us and we’ll see what we can do.

6. Material order and delivery

Delivered 3 to 14 business days before we start

Standard pressure-treated and common composite lines are usually quick. Specialty colors, specific railing systems, and anything special-order can add weeks, and lead times are set by suppliers. Material is typically dropped in your driveway 3 to 14 business days before the build starts.

One thing to know about special-order colors. We don’t over-purchase. That material is expensive and there is nothing useful to do with leftovers, so we order what the deck needs. We also don’t install every board that arrives — anything scratched or damaged gets rejected. On a special-order job that occasionally means a few extra days at the tail end of the build while a small reorder comes in.

7. Footings and inspection

1 to 2 days, plus the inspection

We dig and set the footings below frost line. The inspector has to see the holes before any concrete goes in, and that visit lands on the county’s calendar, not ours. It usually doesn’t stop the job, though — there is almost always other work on the deck we can move to while we wait on the inspection.

8. Framing and framing inspection

3 to 5 days, plus the inspection

Posts, beams, joists, ledger, and flashing. The framing has to be inspected before any of it gets covered up. Same as the footings, we generally keep working on other parts of the deck while that inspection gets scheduled — we just can’t close up the part being inspected until it’s signed off.

9. Decking, railing, and stairs

3 to 7 days

The part that looks like progress. This is where the deck stops being a frame and starts being a deck.

10. Final inspection and walkthrough

1 day

Inspector signs off. Then we walk the finished deck with you and go over the work together, so you know what you have and how to care for it.

11. Warranty

Ongoing

In addition to any manufacturer warranties — which we register and pass through to you — we warrant our own workmanship from the date of substantial completion.

What it covers: structural integrity, safety-related defects, and workmanship — failing connections or fasteners, structural movement caused by how the work was installed, loose or unsafe railings or stairs, and gates that stop functioning because of installation. If it’s our workmanship, we repair or replace it at no cost to you.

What it does not cover: appearance. Outdoor materials start weathering the day they go in. Fading and color change, surface scratches, scuffs, dents, stains from normal use, mildew, hardware corrosion, and general weathered appearance are all normal and are not defects. Neither is damage from pets, wildlife, vehicles, storms, or a deck that never got maintained.

Two things people are glad to hear later. During the warranty period we’ll come out and inspect the work once a year at your request, at no charge. And the warranty transfers once to whoever buys your house, for the remainder of the term, as long as we’re notified in writing within thirty days of the sale.

What actually slows jobs down

• Permit review. Covered above. It is the biggest variable in the whole schedule.
• Weather. Concrete does not go in the ground in a hard freeze or a downpour. A wet spring moves everybody’s start date, ours included.
• Inspector availability. Two mandatory inspections mid-build, both on the county’s calendar. We work around them where we can, but the specific step being inspected can’t move forward until it clears.
• Changes mid-build. Deciding you want the stairs on the other side after the framing is up is expensive and it costs days. Cheap on a drawing, expensive in lumber. Make the changes at step 3.
• Special-order material. A railing system nobody stocks can hold up an otherwise finished deck, and a small reorder of special-order boards can add a few days at the end.

What it looks like at your house

It is a construction site for a couple of weeks. Being straight with you about that:

• There will be a truck and a trailer, and usually a dumpster, taking up part of your driveway.
• Digging footings produces dirt. It goes somewhere until it gets hauled off.
• It is loud during the day. Saws, drills, and an impact driver.
• Grass along the work path typically takes a beating and often needs to be reseeded afterward. Lawn restoration isn’t part of a standard deck contract — but you have options: we have a landscaper we trust and are glad to refer you, or we can build the repair into your contract and handle it for you. Bring it up before we write the contract. Added after the fact, it becomes an extra cost.
• We keep the site reasonably free of debris as we go, and at completion we remove all debris, surplus material, and equipment and leave it broom-clean. Running a magnet through the work area for stray nails and screws is part of that — it’s written into our contract.

What we need from you

• Access to the yard and a gate we can get through, or a heads-up if we can’t
• Dogs inside while the crew is working
• Somewhere to plug in
• A decision-maker who can answer a question the same day — small ones come up
• Your HOA or trustee approval secured on your end, if your subdivision requires it

Where we work

Maryland Heights, St. Charles, O’Fallon, St. Peters, Ballwin, Chesterfield, Wentzville, Dardenne Prairie, Wildwood, Creve Coeur, and the rest of the St. Louis metro.