The Best Deck Contractor in Vermont
Custom decks across Northern Vermont, built without surprise change orders or quiet material swaps. Every board, fastener and labor hour is on the estimate before I start.
Get a Free Deck Estimate
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Tell Me About the Deck
Fill out the form or call directly for a free estimate. Most deck builders take days to call back. I respond to every inquiry within 24 hours.
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I Come Measure It
I walk the site, check the ledger and footings if there is an existing deck, and take real measurements. No charge for the visit.
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You Get the Itemized Estimate
Framing, decking, railing, hardware and labor broken out line by line before anything starts. No vague numbers, no surprises.
What Vermont Homeowners Say About the Work
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New Decks, Repairs and Everything Between
Decks are what I do most and what I do best. A general contractor moonlighting as a deck installer a few weekends a year shows up in the details. Every job gets the same framing standard and the same itemized estimate.
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Custom Deck Building
New decks framed from the footings up. Ground-level, raised and multi-level builds designed around how you actually use the yard, with the design, the permit, the footings and the build all handled.
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Deck Repair and Restoration
Rotted posts, a ledger pulling off the house, boards that flex underfoot. I price the repair against a full rebuild honestly instead of quoting the teardown by reflex.
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Deck Staining and Painting
Sanded, washed and dried properly before any finish goes down. Prep is what decides whether the coat lasts three seasons or lifts in the first freeze.
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Porch Building
Covered, screened and three-season porches on frost-depth footings, with the roof tied into the house and flashed as roofing work rather than carpentry.
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Deck Demolition and Removal
Full teardown including footings, the ledger off and the siding patched behind it, and everything hauled away with the site left clean.
How Your Deck Actually Gets Built
Every estimate I hand over covers the same six stages. You get told which one the job is in and what is happening next, so the week the framing goes up is not a mystery.
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Permits and Layout
I pull the permits if your job needs them, so that is not on you to chase. Then the deck gets laid out on the ground so you can see the real footprint before anything is dug. Changes are free at this stage and expensive after it.
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Footings Below the Frost Line
Holes dug to 48 inches, which clears frost depth for most of Vermont. A footing that stops short heaves every spring and takes the frame up with it.
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Ledger and Framing
The ledger gets bolted and flashed to solid rim joist, never to siding. Then beams, joists and blocking go in square. Nobody sees this part and it decides how long the deck lasts.
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Decking Goes Down
Boards run with consistent gapping and hidden fasteners wherever the material takes them, so you are not looking out at a field of screw heads.
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Railing, Stairs and Trim
Railing posts through-bolted rather than surface-screwed, stair stringers cut to an even rise, and fascia over the framing edges to finish it.
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Walkthrough and Cleanup
Offcuts and fasteners hauled out, a magnet run over the grass, then I walk the finished deck with you before I leave the site.
Deck Styles I Build
The shape of a deck usually gets decided by the yard rather than the catalogue: where the sun is, how the ground falls away, and which door you actually use.
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Attached Decks
Bolted to the house on a ledger, so you will also hear it called a ledger deck. Steps out from a back door and usually becomes the dining space, so I size it around a table, chairs and a grill.
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Multilevel Decks
Two or more platforms stepping down a slope, sometimes called a tiered or split-level deck. It is how you get usable space on a Vermont hillside, with the hot tub away from where people sit.
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Floating Decks
Also called an island, freestanding or platform deck: it touches nothing but the ground. No ledger means no flashing to fail, and the only real limit is where the trees are.
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Wraparound Decks
Decking that turns a corner and runs along two or more sides, which is why some people call it an L-shaped deck. Suits older Vermont farmhouses with a door on more than one elevation.
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Front Entry Decks
An entryway deck, or just the front deck, built big enough for chairs and planters rather than a bare landing. It is the first thing anyone sees, so the framing and the trim both have to be right.
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Pool Decks
A pool surround for above-ground or in-ground, cut to follow the shape of the water. Wet all summer, so material choice and drainage matter more here than anywhere else on a property.
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Balcony Decks
A second-storey deck off a bedroom or an upstairs door, sometimes called an elevated deck. Everything hangs off the house, so the ledger and its flashing are doing all the work.
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Deck Walkways and Stairs
Also called a boardwalk, deck path or landing: a raised run connecting a deck to a door, a driveway or the yard. It solves a grade change stairs alone cannot, and stops the muddy shortcut across the lawn.
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Deck Railings
Also called a handrail, guardrail or banister. Posts get through-bolted to the frame, never surface-screwed, which separates a railing that holds a leaning adult from one that only looks like it.
Get a Number Before the Season Fills
I walk the site, take real measurements and hand you an itemised estimate. No charge for the visit and no obligation after it.
What Makes Me Different From Other Deck Builders
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Every Board on the Estimate
Ask a deck builder for a line-item estimate and watch what happens. I list every material and labor step before the build starts, so no surprise invoice lands at the end.
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Contractor Decking Pricing
Most deck builders quietly keep the supplier discount. I hold contractor accounts at local lumber yards and pass every dollar I earn on decking and framing to you.
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Framing Built for Vermont
Deck construction in Vermont lives or dies on the frame. Proper flashing, correct joist hangers, hot-dipped fasteners, built for the next twenty winters rather than the walkthrough.
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Licensed and Insured
I am a licensed and insured deck contractor in Vermont. You are covered from the first footing through the final deck inspection, with no exceptions.
The Deck Builder Who Shows You the Invoice
I started Empirical Renovations after five years learning the trade hands-on. No degree, no shortcuts. What I built was a real understanding of how a deck should be framed, not just how to make one look finished. I think about the builder who opens up my work in twenty years, and I build like it.
Every deck estimate is fully itemized: every board, every bracket, every labor step, laid out before anything starts. Because I hold contractor accounts at local suppliers, the decking discounts I earn go straight back to you. On one materials order alone, a client walked away saving $8,000.
Decks are the bulk of my work and the reason most people call. This is a small deck company on purpose: you deal with me, not a salesperson. I also take on bathrooms, additions, siding, flooring and painting for the same clients, so if you want a deck builder who can handle the rest of the exterior too, ask when I come out to measure.
I Build Decks Across Northern Vermont
Finding a deck builder who will actually make the drive is half the problem up here. I travel across Northern Vermont to build decks in Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille and Washington Counties.
Chittenden County 18 towns
- Bolton, VT 05676
- Burlington, VT 05401
- Charlotte, VT 05445
- Colchester, VT 05446
- Essex, VT 05451
- Essex Junction, VT 05452
- Hinesburg, VT 05461
- Huntington, VT 05462
- Jericho, VT 05465
- Milton, VT 05468
- Richmond, VT 05477
- Shelburne, VT 05482
- South Burlington, VT 05403
- St. George, VT 05495
- Underhill, VT 05489
- Westford, VT 05494
- Williston, VT 05495
- Winooski, VT 05404
Franklin County 15 towns
- Bakersfield, VT 05441
- Berkshire, VT 05447
- Enosburg, VT 05450
- Fairfax, VT 05454
- Fairfield, VT 05455
- Fletcher, VT 05444
- Franklin, VT 05457
- Georgia, VT 05454
- Highgate, VT 05459
- Montgomery, VT 05471
- Richford, VT 05476
- Sheldon, VT 05483
- St. Albans City, VT 05478
- St. Albans Town, VT 05478
- Swanton, VT 05488
Grand Isle County 3 towns
- Grand Isle, VT 05458
- North Hero, VT 05474
- South Hero, VT 05486
Lamoille County 10 towns
- Belvidere, VT 05442
- Cambridge, VT 05464
- Eden, VT 05653
- Elmore, VT 05657
- Hyde Park, VT 05655
- Johnson, VT 05656
- Morrisville, VT 05661
- Stowe, VT 05672
- Waterville, VT 05492
- Wolcott, VT 05680
Washington County 5 towns
- Duxbury, VT 05676
- Middlesex, VT 05602
- Moretown, VT 05660
- Waterbury, VT 05676
- Waterbury Center, VT 05677
Get Your Deck Built Right the First Time
Get a fully itemized deck estimate from a local deck company you can actually reach by phone. Every material and labor cost is broken down before anything starts. Serving Burlington, Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille and Washington Counties.