Deck Builder in Pikesville, MD

When a Pikesville deck needs a county permit

Baltimore County draws the line at height and size. A deck needs a building permit if any part of it sits more than 16 inches above the lowest grade, or if it covers more than 120 square feet. Most decks off a kitchen or family room cross one or both of those numbers.

Four situations remove the threshold entirely. If the property is in a county historic district, on the county Landmarks List, in the floodplain, or in the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area, every deck needs a permit. For Pikesville, the one that matters is Sudbrook Park.

Applications go through the county’s online portal. Under 600 square feet, the county wants a site plan. From 600 square feet up, add construction plans. We prepare the deck drawings that go with the permit application, and the approved plans stay on site for each inspection.

Building a deck in Sudbrook Park

Sudbrook Park is Olmsted’s 1890s summer colony, and the county made it a historic district in 1993. A new deck there is exterior work that needs two things: a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and a county building permit. Replacing deck boards, railings or steps on an existing deck counts too, because the county’s review list covers repairs and replacements of porches and steps.

The commission meets once a month, on the second Thursday, and skips August and December. Applications are due two weeks earlier. A spring deck in Sudbrook Park should be designed in winter.

Decks in Dumbarton

Dumbarton’s National Register listing doesn’t add a review step for a deck. The county applies its normal 16-inch and 120-square-foot test there, as it does in Colonial Village or Kimberleigh. Worth knowing: the county’s 20% historic tax credit won’t help pay for the deck, because new construction is on its list of ineligible work. Repairs to the historic house itself can qualify when approved in advance.

Decks on mid-century Pikesville houses

Outside Sudbrook Park, a Pikesville deck is usually going onto a house from the 1950s, ’60s or ’70s. Those houses come with their own quirks. Back doors sit at different heights depending on whether the house has a walkout basement. Some older decks were nailed to the house instead of bolted, and footings from that era don’t always meet the depth and size current code expects.

When we look at an existing deck, the ledger connection and the footings come first. If those are sound, we can replace boards and railings and refinish what stays. If they aren’t, we tear down and rebuild:

• new footings dug and poured, with posts set on them
• joists, beams and a properly flashed ledger bolted to the house
• composite or pressure-treated decking, railings and stairs

Composite, wood and refinishing

Composite boards with black aluminum railings hold their color and need only washing. Pressure-treated lumber costs less at the start and can be stained, which is what we did on one reddish-brown deck with matching wood railings. For a wood deck worth keeping, we sand it down, repair loose boards and rails, and refinish it.

See our main deck building page, or plan a Pikesville kitchen remodel that opens onto the new deck. Our Pikesville bathroom remodeling page covers the inside of the house.