Decks, porches and canopies, with the footings sized for the load.

Not for a simple deck within the code’s span tables. For a roofed porch, a canopy, a tall deck or unusual spans, the municipality may ask for a stamped design. We draw either way and add the P.Eng stamp when it is needed.

Sometimes. An old footing can stay only if it goes deep enough for the soil, is big enough for the new deck’s load and sits where a new post will land. A roof over the new deck adds load that footings sized for an open deck may not carry. We check the old footings before the new deck is drawn, and the set shows which stay and which are replaced.

The structure has to carry the roof as well as the floor. The posts, beams and footings take the roof and its snow load, so each one is sized for that extra weight. We design all of it in-house and show it member by member on the drawings.

From a written scope, after the free first consultation and a site visit. Size, height above the ground, whether it has a roof, the decking and railing you pick and the footings your soil needs all move the figure, and the municipality’s permit fee sits on its own line.

Yes. The city wants drawings of what exists and what has to change to meet the code, then an inspection. Often the footings or the guard are the problem. We prepare the drawings, do the corrective work and close the permit.

The permit review comes first, and its length depends mostly on how complete the application is and on how many examiner comments come back. After that, the deck’s size and whether it has a roof set the length of the build. We give you a schedule with the quote.

The deck set in our drawing samples shows what goes in: a framing plan with a schedule for the posts, beams and piers, an elevation of the deck against the house and the grade, and a section through the ledger and the pier connections. The examiner checks those sheets, and our crew builds from them.

Both. The same team draws the deck, files the permit and builds it, with our own crew on the footings, framing, decking and guards. If you already have a builder, we can prepare the permit drawings on their own.

Only if its walking surface is more than 600 mm above the surface within 1.2 m of it. Then Ontario’s 2024 Building Code requires a guard on every open side. For a house the guard must be at least 900 mm high, or 1,070 mm once the deck is more than 1.8 m up. We draw the guards to those heights on the permit set and build them that way.

In most cases, yes. The ledger board bolts into the house framing, but brick veneer and a cantilevered floor each need a different detail, and some decks are better on a beam of their own beside the wall. We look at the wall at the site visit and design the ledger for that house.

We build with either. The choice is mostly about upkeep: pressure-treated wood costs less to buy but needs regular staining and sealing, and composite costs more up front and does not. We can price both in the written scope so you can compare them on your deck.

That depends on what you are building and on your municipality’s rules, so we check both before anything is drawn. A roof over the patio, or a frame fastened to the house wall, puts load where an open freestanding pergola does not. If a permit is needed, we draw the set with the posts and footings sized for that load.