What We Build
Decks. Fences. Siding. Twenty-five years of it, on the same coast you live on.
Every job walked, quoted, and built by the same two hands.
Decks
Decks are what we build most,
and they're what the coast is hardest on.
Salt air, driving rain, and framing that has to hold up through both.
We build ours to last twenty-plus years—not because it's marketing, but because—We've been fixing the ones other people built that didn't.
Materials we work in:
Outdoor wood—
The budget-friendly option, still built to standard
Cedar 2x6 from Builders First Source—
Quality that shows up when we drive out to Seaside for it, not settle for what's stocked locally
25-year Trex composite—
Solid mid-range, low maintenance
50-year Trex composite—
The one we recommend when the client plans to be in the house long enough to enjoy it
New build or reboard?
We do both.
If your framing is still sound, we can reuse it and swap the deck boards for a fraction of the full-build cost. If the framing's compromised,
we'll tell you honestly and quote the full rebuild.
A note about Trex: the manufacturer requires roughly double the framing underneath a Trex deck compared to wood. We lay out at 12-inch centers instead of 16, use joist tape at every crossing, and picture-frame the seams so they land at the edges only. Most contractors skip these steps. When Trex fails at seven years instead of twenty-five, that's usually why.
Second-story decks: anything over 30 inches off the ground at the tallest point needs a permit. We handle that end of it. Each city has its own quirks—we know most of them.
Fences
Fences are the second thing we build most, and probably the thing homeowners get burned on the fastest.
A cheap fence looks great for a season and starts leaning by year three. A well-built fence you barely think about for two decades.
Styles we build:
Vertical fence board—the classic
Horizontal cedar—cleaner lines, more contemporary
Good-neighbor style—finished on both sides so the view is the same from either yard
Hogwire panels with cedar trim—our specialty and the one most people call about after seeing it somewhere else on the coast
Posts matter more than boards.
We use galvanized steel posts set in 15 inches of concrete for most builds. Steel posts don't rot, they don't lean, and they don't need to be replaced when the boards eventually do. 4x4 pressure-treated posts are the budget option, and we still set those in concrete—but steel is what we recommend if you plan to keep the fence longer than a decade.
Hogwire panels come in two grades:
black-dipped (Trex or Wild Hog brand) that won't rust, and galvanized steel that eventually will. We install both. The dipped panels cost a little more upfront and save the swap-out down the road.
Heights: 4ft or 6ft standard. Over 200 linear feet gets a bulk price break because we can order materials at better rates.
The One-Third Rule
Post depth depends on the fence. A 4-foot fence gets 15 inches of concrete in the ground. A 5- or 6-foot fence gets 24 inches minimum—sometimes 30, depending on the site.
The rule we build to is one-third:
A third of the post’s total height goes in the ground,
set in concrete.
That’s what keeps a fence standing straight through a coast winter.
Siding
Siding is where most contractors' shortcuts show up—usually at year three, when the wrong flashing lets water in behind a seam. We do it right the first time because we're the ones who get called to fix it when someone else didn't.
We install Hardiplank fiber cement, and Amber is a James Hardie Preferred Contractor—meaning we've taken the manufacturer's installation classes and follow their spec exactly. Most siding contractors don't have that credential.
Every siding job includes full demo of the old siding, HydroGap drainable underlayment, Hardi trim around windows, flashing at every penetration, bear-skin flashing at every single seam, and asbestos testing on any pre-1980 home.
Standard Hardiplank is the workhorse. Smooth-face is the premium look—no woodgrain texture, cleaner architectural feel. Both are backed by the same manufacturer warranty. Complicated angles, pop-outs, and cutouts add to the base price. Straightforward walls are one number. Cape Cod dormers are a different one—we'll walk it and tell you honestly.
How We Build Different
The stuff you shouldn't have to ask about—but should absolutely know.
Framing that outlasts the deck boards.
Trex requires roughly double the framing underneath compared to standard wood.
Most contractors quote the deck like a wood build and short the framing.
We spec 12-inch centers, joist tape at every crossing, and picture-frame seams.
Your deck fails at year twenty-five, not year seven.
Posts set in concrete, not tamped dirt.
Every fence post goes in the ground a third of it's total height.
Deep enough for coastal wind, poured to stabilize against frost heave.
This isn't standard practice on the coast—it should be.
Bear-skin flashing at every siding seam.
The James Hardie install spec calls for it.
Most contractors skip it because you can't see it once the siding's on.
We do it because we know what happens in year five if we don't.
ADA ramps built to actual code.
One inch of rise per foot of run. Load-rated connections to the existing structure. Landings where the code says landings go. We've built ramps for aging-in-place clients, homebound couples, and post-surgery access. It's carpentry, not a shortcut.
Rain screen assemblies that let the wall breathe.
For homes that need real moisture management, we build full rain screen behind the siding—not just an air gap. Complete drainage plane, ventilation channels, and detail work at every penetration.
Most contractors don't offer it.
Rescue work you don't have to redo.
Half our repair jobs start with "the last guy disappeared."
We walk it, tell you honestly what can be saved, and rebuild the rest properly.
When we're done, you don't call anyone else.
