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01 / 09Decks framed from footings below the 1.2 m frost line, in pressure-treated, cedar, composite or PVC, with permit drawings handled.
A deck is a structure, and structures are judged from underneath. Ours start with footings dug below the 1.2 m Ontario frost line. That number is not a preference. It is what stops the ground heaving in February and lifting one corner of the deck a full inch above the other, which is the origin of nearly every wobbly, out-of-level deck we get called to fix.
Framing is pressure-treated, and joists are taped so water sitting on the top edge cannot work into the fastener holes. The walking surface can be pressure-treated wood decking, cedar, composite or PVC, and the trade-offs are real:
Layout can be a single platform or multi-level stepping down to grade, and deck board runs are planned around available board lengths so a 16 ft deck board covers a span without a butt joint in the middle of the field.
Where the deck surface sits more than 600 mm above grade it needs a guard under Ontario Building Code section 9.8.8, and at that same threshold most GTA municipalities want a building permit. Whitby states the 600 mm trigger explicitly. Oakville enforces deck non-compliance through its Administrative Penalty by-law, which is a ticket rather than a warning, and heritage-designated properties there need an additional approval before a permit is issued. Pickering publishes a Deck Construction Guide that sets out the drawings it expects. We prepare drawings and handle the submission where a permit is required.
Locates through Ontario One Call come first, a legal requirement before digging with a five business day minimum for a single property. Footings and framing are the slow part, and framing plus footings runs at roughly 235 sq ft per crew day on a straightforward deck. Deck boards go down several times faster than the frame that carries them. Stairs and skirting follow, railing last. Building season is April to November, and winter builds are possible on screw piles where the schedule will not wait.
Footings below frost, your choice of surface material, single or multi-level layouts, permit drawings arranged where required, and integrated stairs, skirting and railing quoted as separate visible lines rather than folded into one number.
A ground-level platform under 600 mm avoids the guard and usually the permit, which is why a low deck is often the best value in deck building on a flat lot. Above that height you are buying a permitted structure, and the framing, the guard and the stair geometry all become code items.
| Footings | Below the 1.2 m Ontario frost line |
|---|---|
| Framing | Pressure-treated, joists taped so standing water cannot reach the fastener holes |
| Surface options | Pressure-treated, cedar, composite or PVC |
| Layout | Single platform or multi-level stepping down to grade |
| Guard and permit threshold | 600 mm above grade, per Ontario Building Code section 9.8.8 |
| Build rate | Framing plus footings runs at roughly 235 sq ft per crew day on a straightforward deck |
| Season | April to November, or winter on screw piles where the schedule will not wait |
We are an installation contractor, not a manufacturer or a materials retailer. We build decks and fences on your property across the Greater Toronto Area: layout, footings below the frost line, framing, boards, railings, stairs and gates, finished and inspected. Composite boards are a surface option we install, alongside pressure-treated lumber and western red cedar, and the boards themselves are made by manufacturers we do not represent and whose brands we do not resell. If you already have material on site we can build with it; if you do not, we specify and source what suits the deck and include it in the written fixed price. What you are buying from us is the build and the crew that stands behind it, not a product off a shelf.
