Outdoor Living

Two to six weeks for most decks, patios and covered porches, depending on footings and whether a permit is required. Concrete work adds cure time before anything can be built on top, and that is a wait rather than a delay. Footings usually need an inspection before anything is framed on top, which is another fixed point in the schedule.

It depends mostly on height above grade, whether it is attached to the house, and whether it is roofed. A ground-level patio often does not; an elevated deck with a roof almost always does. We confirm it with the jurisdiction before quoting rather than after. Permit fees and review times vary between Charlotte and the Gaston County towns, so the same deck is not the same timeline everywhere.

Composite costs more up front and effectively nothing to maintain — no sanding, no resealing, and it will not splinter. Wood costs less and looks better for the first few years if you commit to refinishing it. Both are legitimate; the choice is maintenance, not quality.

Below the local frost line, and sized to the load they carry. Shallow footings are the reason decks heave and become unlevel after a hard winter, so this is not a place to save money — it is also the part an inspector will look at first. Helical piers cost more than poured footings but reach depth without excavation, which matters on tight or sloped lots.

Water in two places: behind the ledger where the deck meets the house, and standing at grade under the structure. Get flashing and drainage right and the rest is maintenance; get them wrong and no amount of surface finish will save it.