Decks
in Charles Town.

A Charles Town deck is decided at the house. An older lot can be tight, shaded, and graded toward a stone or block foundation, and that is something we measure before we design. A later house may still have the original pressure-treated builder deck. We look at the framing, the ledger, and the boards and say whether a replacement is the job.

Installed cost is the Eastern Panhandle range the deck-cost guide already publishes: about $15 to $25 per square foot for pressure-treated pine and $30 to $55 per square foot for composite such as Trex or TimberTech. A Charles Town mailing address is not city limits. Inside the city, the Building Inspection office at City Hall, 101 E. Washington Street, lists decks and porches as work that needs a building permit. Apply in person or through MGO. The Department of Community Development answers at 304-724-3248.

Outside city limits, that mailing address is Jefferson County. The Office of Building Permits and Inspections is at 116 East Washington Street, Suite 100 (304-725-2998, permits@jeffersoncountywv.org). County applications go through MGO Connect. The published deck-permit guide treats an attached deck, a walking surface more than 30 inches above grade, or permanent footings as a permit in both Berkeley and Jefferson counties. We check the parcel before we file. City fees vary, so we confirm the fee for your address before filing.

Footings go below the frost line. The written estimate itemizes framing, decking, railing, and footings. WV Contractor License WV062432.