MI Homesiding & Roofing
Deck Contractor in Farragut, TN
Springy underfoot? Pulling away at the house? Grey boards over framing you cannot see?
We start under the deck rather than on top of it. Footings, posts, beams and the ledger get checked first, you get it priced in writing, and the Town of Farragut permit goes in as its own line.
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A Deck Can Look Worn and Still Be Sound
A deck can look tired on top and still be perfectly sound underneath. It can also look fine and be hiding the problem. Soft spots underfoot, a little movement when you walk across it, railings that have gone loose, rot where the deck meets the house, or posts that have shifted are all signs that what needs attention is below the boards rather than on them.
So we start underneath. Footings, posts, beams, joists, the ledger and the stairs get looked at before anyone talks about decking. Then we tell you plainly what can be repaired, what should be replaced, and why — with photographs of what we found, the scope in writing, and a clear next step before any work starts.
What we look at first
- Footings — what the deck actually stands on
- Posts — movement, rot at the base, how they are anchored
- Beams and joists — soft ends, sagging, spacing
- The ledger — where the deck meets the house, and its flashing
- Stairs and railings — stringers, treads, how the posts are held
- Hardware — the right fasteners for treated lumber, and their condition
Free on-site estimates for standard deck projects in Farragut.
Get a Free EstimateRepair or Replace: How We Decide on a Farragut Deck
Most homeowners ask the question from the top down — the boards are grey, the stain is peeling, the whole thing looks tired. That is the wrong end to start from. Boards are the cheapest part of a deck to change. What decides repair or replacement is everything underneath.
Usually a repair
- Surface boards cupped, splintered or stained unevenly, over framing that is still sound.
- A handful of loose or springy boards with solid joists beneath them.
- Railing sections that have loosened at the post while the posts themselves are intact.
- Stair treads worn or out of level where the stringers are still straight and dry.
Usually a replacement
- Soft or crumbling wood where the ledger meets the house, or rust streaks running from the fasteners that hold it.
- Posts that move when the deck is loaded, or that sit on soil or a patio block rather than a footing.
- Beam or joist ends that are dark, soft, or shedding fiber when probed.
- Framing hardware that is corroding — often the wrong hardware for treated lumber.
We check those first, with photographs, before anyone talks about decking material. If the structure is sound, a repair is the honest answer and we will say so. More on the decision across our service area on the Knoxville deck builder page, and on deck repair specifically.
What Homeowners Say About the Work
Reviews below come straight from our Google Business Profile. They are not retyped, edited or selected by us, and the rating and count update themselves as new ones come in.
Verified credentials
Who you are actually hiring, and who stands behind the deck.
- TN #13334Licensed & Insured
Licensed Home Improvement Contractor
Tennessee license #13334 · General Liability and Workers’ Compensation insured
BBB Accredited Business — A+ Rating
Knoxville Chamber Investor
Investor member of the Knoxville Chamber · Farragut sits in Knox County
- 5 YearsWorkmanship Warranty
Our Own Warranty on the Work
Five years on a complete deck replacement and one year on a repair, covering how it was built — our labor and our details.
What Holds a Deck Up, and What the Code Asks of It
Farragut sits inside Knox County, and the county enforces the 2018 International Residential Code with local amendments. Decks live in Section R507, and four of its requirements are where we see field work go wrong most often:
- R507.3 — footings. The deck bears on concrete footings or another approved system, sized for the load and taken to the depth R403.1.4 requires. The exception is a freestanding deck whose joists bear directly on the ground for their full length. A patio paver is not a footing.
- R507.4.1 — post to footing. Lateral restraint comes from a manufactured connector, or from embedding the post a minimum of 12 inches in soil or in a concrete pier. A post simply standing on a pad is not restrained.
- R507.2.3 — fasteners and connectors. Specified to R317.3 and Table R507.2.3. This is a corrosion requirement as much as a strength one: treated lumber attacks the wrong hardware, and the failure shows up at the connection years before it shows up in the wood.
- R507.5.1 — beam bearing. On a multi-ply beam over an intermediate post, every ply has to bear fully on the post. One ply hanging past the bearing is a common and serious shortcut.
The ledger — where the deck attaches to the house — is the connection that fails worst when it fails. See ledger board repair and deck framing.
The Parts We Are Naming
Most of what decides whether a deck is sound sits below the boards, and it has names. When we send photographs of a problem, these are the words on them.
The ledger is where the deck meets the house and where most failures begin. The rim joist closes the frame. Post anchors keep the posts off standing water. Footings carry the load into the ground.
Stairs, Guards and Handrails
Stairs are where an inspector looks hardest, and where a deck most often fails a first inspection. The Knox County amendments to the 2018 IRC set the numbers:
- R311.7.5.1 — riser height no more than 7¾ inches, with no more than ⅛ of an inch difference between the tallest and shortest riser in the flight. That tolerance is the one people miss: a flight can have legal risers and still fail on the variation between them.
- R311.7.5.2 — tread depth of at least 10 inches.
- R311.7.4 — winders measured at 10 inches, taken 12 inches from the narrow end.
- R311.7.8.2, .3 and .5 — handrails graspable, held at least 1½ inches clear of the wall, and projecting no more than 4½ inches into the required width.
Railing infill is a choice — wood balusters, cable, wire mesh, composite. The dimensions above are not. More on deck stairs and deck railings.
What a Farragut Deck Permit Actually Costs
Farragut is an incorporated town inside Knox County with its own permit desk, so a Farragut address is not a Knox County permit by default. The town prices a building permit by the value of the work, not by the trade, and defines that value as the “total value of work, including labor and materials, for which the permit is being issued”:
- $1,000 and less — $35.00 minimum.
- $1,001 to $50,000 — $35.00 for the first $1,000, plus $6.50 for each additional thousand or fraction of a thousand.
So a deck quoted at $18,000 carries a permit fee of about $145.50 — $35 for the first thousand plus $6.50 × 17. You can check that against any estimate you are given, including ours.
Two numbers worth knowing before anyone starts. Beginning work without the permit means the “fee will be double the calculated building permit fee”. And a deck that fails inspection costs more each time it is looked at again: $50 for the first re-inspection, $100 for the second, and $200 for re-inspections of the same failure beyond that. Those are the town’s figures, not ours.
We pull the permit and list it as its own line in the estimate. If your address turns out to sit outside the town limits, Knox County handles it instead — we confirm which before the estimate is final.
Financing
Financing Available
A deck is one of the few exterior projects where the structure and the surface get paid for at the same time, and not every household wants that in a single payment. Financing runs through our lending partner, so the footings, the ledger and the framing get built properly rather than trimmed down to fit a cash figure.
Applications are reviewed by the lender. Approval, terms, and rates are set by them, not by us.
See Financing Options →Opens the secure application of our lending partner in a new tab.
How the Work Runs, and What Stands Behind It
What the written estimate itemizes
Footings and their depth, post and beam sizing, joist spans and spacing, the ledger connection and its flashing, decking material by product name, railing and stair details, hardware, and the permit. Where two deck quotes differ sharply, the gap is almost always in the footings, the ledger and the hardware — the parts nobody sees once the boards are down.
How long it takes
A full build or replacement typically runs about a week; a repair is usually one to two working days. Those are expectations rather than promises: size and access, weather, permit and inspection scheduling, hidden structural damage, change orders and material availability all move them.
Hidden damage
If rot, damaged framing or a compromised ledger turns up once we open things up, we stop and document it with photographs, explain the scope, and provide a written Change Order before continuing. Hidden damage gets documented and priced, not covered over.
Warranty
Deck work carries our 5-Year Workmanship Warranty, subject to the signed agreement and the scope of work defined in it. Decking and hardware carry their own manufacturer warranties, which are a separate thing with their own terms.
What Deck Work Actually Looks Like
Real MI projects across our East Tennessee service area. Photographs are of our own work; we do not label a photo with a town unless we can verify where it was taken.
Framing first
New joists laid out on a deck replacement. Spacing is set by the decking that goes on top of it, not by what was there before.
Level, then boards
A new landing on treated posts and rim joist. The level goes on the frame before a single board is fastened, because nothing above it can correct a frame that is out.
Finished and usable
Landing and ramp in treated lumber, with guards and a continuous graspable handrail running the full run of the slope.
Deck Questions from Farragut Homeowners
Do I need a permit for a deck in Farragut?
Plan on one. Farragut issues its own building permits and prices them by the value of the work: $35.00 minimum for $1,000 or less, then $35.00 for the first $1,000 plus $6.50 for each additional thousand. Starting work without the permit doubles the fee. If your address falls outside the town limits, Knox County handles it instead, and we confirm which applies before the estimate is final.
Should I repair my deck or replace it?
It depends on the structure, not the boards. Cupped, grey or splintered decking over sound framing is usually a repair. Soft wood at the ledger, posts that move under load, dark or soft joist and beam ends, or corroding framing hardware usually point to replacement. We photograph what we find before recommending either.
How long does a deck take?
A full build or replacement typically runs about a week, and a repair usually one to two working days. Size and access, weather, permit and inspection scheduling, hidden damage, change orders and material availability can all move that, so we treat it as an expectation rather than a promise.
What warranty comes with deck work?
Deck work carries our 5-Year Workmanship Warranty, subject to the signed agreement and the scope of work defined in it. The decking and the hardware carry their own manufacturer warranties, which are separate and have their own terms.
What happens if you find rot once the old deck comes off?
We stop and document it with photographs, explain what we found and why it matters, and provide a written Change Order before continuing. Hidden damage gets documented and priced, not covered over.
Why do you start at the footings rather than the decking?
Because the footings, posts, beams and the ledger are what carry the load, and they are what the code addresses in Section R507. Decking is a surface choice. If the structure underneath is wrong, new boards only hide it.
Serving Farragut & Nearby
We build, repair and replace decks across Farragut — including Fox Den, Village Green, Andover and Concord Hills — and the neighboring communities we already serve: Powell, Halls Crossroads, Lenoir City, Louisville and Loudon, with broader exterior remodeling service across Knoxville and East Tennessee.
Working on more than the deck? Our Farragut exterior contractor page covers the whole exterior, and there are dedicated pages for roofing in Farragut and siding in Farragut.
Ready to Get Started?
If your Farragut deck is springy underfoot, pulling away at the house, or simply past its useful life, we look at the structure first and tell you plainly whether it needs a repair or a rebuild. On-site estimates are free for standard deck projects.
LicensedTennessee #13334InsuredLiability & Workers’ Comp5-YearWorkmanship warrantyWrittenItemized estimate