Decks
Deck Builders in Wairarapa
A good deck makes a home bigger for half the year. We build timber decks, steps and balustrades for new homes and existing ones across the Wairarapa and Tararua Region, from a low deck off the lounge to one that wraps around the house.
Decks we build
Our recent decks are kwila, a hardwood, sized and shaped around the house they belong to. The photographs on this page are our own work: a kwila deck with privacy walls and two gazebos made for evenings outside, a 90 square metre kwila deck with a feature wall, and a deck with seating built in along two sides and wide steps down on three.
A deck can be part of a new build or added to an existing home. When it comes with a new house, it is planned with the floor levels and doors from the start. When it is added later, we fit it to the house as it is, at the right height for the doors that open onto it, often as part of wider alterations and additions. A deck screened by a privacy fence can make a sheltered outdoor room.
Planning your deck
A few decisions shape every deck, and it helps to think about them before asking for a quote:
- Where the sun is: a deck gets used most where it catches the sun at the times of day you are home, and is sheltered from the prevailing wind.
- How high it sits: the height above the ground decides how many steps it needs, whether it needs a balustrade, and whether it needs a building consent (see below).
- Size and shape: room for a table and chairs, a barbecue and people walking past them, without crowding the lawn or the garden.
- Steps and access: wide steps can double as seating; a deck that joins two doors can link the kitchen and the living room outside.
- Timber and finish: the decking boards and the oil or stain on them decide how the deck looks and how much care it needs each year.
What a deck costs depends on its size, its height, the timber chosen, the balustrade and the ground it sits on, so every quote is based on your house and section.
How we build a deck
Set out and piles
The deck is marked out, the ground scraped and levelled, and the pile holes bored with our own digger and auger. The piles are concreted in before anything else is built.
Subframe
The bearers and joists go on the piles. On our recent kwila decks the top edges of the joists are painted black, so no raw timber shows through the gaps between the boards.
Decking and seating
The kwila boards are laid, and any built-in seating is framed and finished with them.
Steps
Last come the steps, from a single step at a door to wide waterfall steps running down three sides of the deck.
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Does a deck need a building consent?
A deck does not need a building consent if it is not possible to fall more than 1.5 metres from it, even if it collapses. That is the test in Schedule 1 of the Building Act 2004, and it is about the possible fall, not only the deck's height at one point. Building.govt.nz's own example is a 50 square metre deck, at most 900 millimetres above the ground and attached to two sides of a house, which needs no consent. A deck higher than that test allows does need one.
A separate rule decides the balustrade. Building Code clause F4 requires a barrier wherever people could fall 1 metre or more, so a deck can be exempt from consent and still need a balustrade. Exempt or not, the deck must comply with the Building Code, and building.govt.nz's guidance on decks also recommends checking with your council for district plan rules, such as site coverage and yard setbacks, which can call for a resource consent.
Decks we have built
Decks: common questions
Does my deck need a building consent?
Only if someone could fall more than 1.5 metres from it, even if it collapsed. Most low decks off a living room fall well inside that, but a deck on a slope or off an upper floor may not. The section above explains the test.
Does my deck need a balustrade?
Yes, wherever people could fall 1 metre or more from it. That is a Building Code requirement, and it applies even when the deck itself needs no consent.
Can a deck be built as part of a new home?
Yes. Planned with the house, a deck can be set at the right height for its doors from the start. The gallery on our new home building page includes a new home with a long timber deck along its front.
Could my deck need a resource consent?
It can. Building.govt.nz advises checking with your council that a deck does not run into district plan rules, such as maximum site coverage or yard and setback requirements, because a resource consent may be required and has to be in place before building starts.
How do I get a quote for a deck?
Call Martin on 027 367 1635, email martin.amos@xtra.co.nz or send the form below. Tell us roughly how big you want the deck, how high it will sit and where it goes on the house. We work Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm.
Our other services
New Builds
New homes, kitset homes and pole sheds, designed and built with you from the first consultation to the final touches.Read more
Alterations & Additions
Room extensions, second-storey additions and new layouts for the home you already live in.Read more
Renovations
House renovations, kitchens, bathrooms and villa restoration.Read more
Fences
Fences for homes and sections, planned around your boundary and your neighbours.Read more
Tip Truck & Digger Hire
Tip truck and small digger available for hire.Read more
Enquiries
Contact us
TALK TO US NOW ON
027 367 1635or leave a message using the form below
- Carterton, Wairarapa
- Mon-Fri: 8am - 5pm
- martin.amos@xtra.co.nz