What a picture-frame deck is
On a picture-frame deck, one or two boards run around the whole perimeter, like a frame around a picture, and the field boards stop against them. It hides the cut ends of the decking, gives the edge a finished look from the yard, and makes the stair nosing match the deck.
We are Certified Deckorators installers, and we're known for picture-framed composite decks. We install every major manufacturer's composite decking, and wood too.
What a deck costs
Our labor price is $30 per square foot, and material is billed on top. That makes the labor side easy to work out before anyone visits:
- 12 × 16 ft deck (192 sq ft): about $5,760 in labor, plus material
- 12 × 24 ft deck (288 sq ft): about $8,640 in labor, plus material
- 16 × 20 ft deck (320 sq ft): about $9,600 in labor, plus material
Deck cost at six sizes, board prices and New Jersey's deck rules
Composite or wood
Wood costs less on day one. Composite costs more in material but doesn't need the staining and sealing wood does. Railing is the other big material choice: black aluminum posts with stainless cable keep the view open, and composite or vinyl rail with X-pattern details suits a traditional porch. We price both options side by side if you're undecided.
How a deck job runs, from the first call to the final inspection
Every new deck in New Jersey needs a construction permit, so the job follows the same order each time. We handle the drawings, the filing and the inspections.
- Call us and describe the deck: the size, how high it sits and whether you want composite or wood. The phone estimate is free.
- We measure the site. An in-person estimate is $50, and it comes off your contract when you sign.
- You get a written proposal, valid for 30 days. It lists the labor and every material line: decking, framing lumber, footings, railing and hardware.
- Zoning approval comes first, then the construction permit. We file the drawings and the application with our contractor registration number on it. The construction office has 20 business days to approve or deny it.
- We dig the footing holes. An inspector checks the bottom of each hole before any concrete goes in.
- We frame the deck in pressure-treated lumber with blocking. A second inspection covers the framing and its connections.
- Decking goes down, then the picture-frame border, the stairs and the railing.
- A final inspection closes the permit.
New Jersey's deck permit steps, with the state code sections
Footings and framing: what's under the boards
A deck is only as good as what's under it. We frame with pressure-treated lumber and blocking before any decking goes down, and we rebuild stairs and landings to match.
New Jersey sets the frost line at 3 feet in Essex County, so the footings of a deck attached to the house go 36 inches down. Stairs serving an attached deck need frost footings too, unless an engineer designs them otherwise. An attached deck also has to be positively anchored to the house, never held by nails that can pull out.
A railing is required where the deck surface is more than 30 inches above the ground. It must be at least 36 inches tall, with no gap a 4-inch ball can pass through.
Re-decking, repairs and porch rebuilds
Not every job is a new deck. We replace the framing under existing decks, rebuild stairs and landings, and rebuild front porches with composite floors, columns and railings.
Under New Jersey's code, replacing part of a deck with identical or closely similar material, in the same place, is ordinary maintenance and needs no permit. The same goes for a railing swapped for a like one. For anything beyond that, we check with your town's construction office before work starts and pull the permits the job needs.
A front porch we rebuilt with composite decking, stairs and X-pattern railings
Decks across Essex County, from our Belleville office
Our office is at 65 Newark Ave in Belleville, and we build decks and porches in all 22 Essex County municipalities. Bloomfield, Glen Ridge, East Orange, Nutley, Orange and Montclair are all within 3.2 miles of the office in a straight line. Farther out are Newark, West Orange, Verona, Irvington, South Orange, Cedar Grove, Essex Fells, Maplewood, Caldwell, North Caldwell, Roseland, West Caldwell, Livingston, Millburn (including Short Hills) and Fairfield.
The permit is filed in the town where the deck is built, and the fees are set town by town. Belleville, for example, charges $28 per $1,000 of estimated cost for alterations, with an $85 minimum. Bloomfield asks for its own zoning permit before the construction permit. We also build in Union and Passaic counties.
