New Construction & Deck Building in Durham, NC

New construction and decks in Durham, done the way the town needs it

Lamar Homes builds decks and handles new construction across Durham and Durham County. Family owned, licensed and insured, and we pull the permit and meet the inspector.

Unlike a reroof, a deck almost always needs a permit: the state's own guidance says deck additions are not exempt, and in Durham that goes through the City of Durham. The North Carolina Residential Code sets footings at a minimum of 12 inches below finished grade, requires corrosion-resistant flashing at the ledger and specifically prohibits aluminum flashing on a deck, and caps stair stringers at 7 feet between supports. Those are the things that fail on decks that were never inspected.

Durham carries some of the oldest housing stock in the Triangle alongside new construction, so the same street can hold a 1920s roof on its fourth cycle and a builder roof on its first. On an older home that usually means replacing a deck built before those rules; on a newer one it usually means the builder's deck reaching the end of its boards while the frame is still sound.

Durham's older neighborhoods sit under mature hardwoods, which shade the roof and fill the gutters every fall. Shade and debris decide the material as much as the budget.

• Durham County, consultations scheduled the same week
• Built to the NC Residential Code
• Permit pulled, inspector met
• Wood, composite or PVC, honestly compared