Custom Decks — Muskoka & Georgian BayThe deck is the cottage. Build it right.
Starting from — our real book rate
What a deck costs here
$65/ sq ft + HST
Typical project $19,500 – $32,500300–500 sq ft of PT-framed cedar deck
05 specs06 photographs on file
Custom decks in Port Carling, Bracebridge & across cottage country
Sheet A-202 — The work
Decks done properly
In Muskoka, the deck is where the summer happens — so we build decks that are engineered for snow load, sun, and decades of use. Cedar, composite, or hardwood; single platform or multi-level with stairs, benches, and glass rail. We handle design, permits, and build as one job.
Specification — Decks
- A-202.01Multi-level, lakeside, and slope-built decks — our home ground
- A-202.02Cedar, PVC, and composite options priced side-by-side in your quote
- A-202.03Engineered for Ontario snow loads and four-season use
- A-202.04Integrated railings, stairs, privacy screens, and lighting
- A-202.05Permit drawings and inspections handled for you
The question — The walking surface
Real wood underfoot, or never sand it again?
Every frame is pressure-treated SPF sized to Ontario snow loads, with hidden fasteners wherever the board allows them.
Sheet A-202 — rates from the bookPer unit
Cedar decking
$65/ sq ftReal wood, on a pressure-treated frame. It asks for a wash, sand and re-stain cycle to stay good.
Composite decking
$85/ sq ftThe same frame, without the refinishing cycle.
Premium PVC
$105/ sq ftThe premium system in the book.
Stairs, foundations and screens, priced on top
- Deck stairs — per step, incl. stringers$275/ ea
- Helical pile foundation — supplied & installed$425/ ea
- Privacy screen — cedar louvre$185/ ft
- Deck demolition & disposal$12/ sq ft
Book rates, supplied and installed. Your written quote is measured from your site and shows HST as its own line.
Sheet A-202 — Process note
How we build a deck
Everything sits on the footings, so that is where the care goes. We lay out, file locates, and set helical piles or concrete footings below frost — laser-levelled, the same way we set the piers on a marina rebuild that has run past 330 logged hours. The frame is pressure-treated and sized to Ontario snow loads. Then decking, stairs, and railings, in that order. If a permit is needed, drawings and inspections are part of the job, not your homework.
Materials we trust
Pressure-treated SPF for framing — it lives where the weather is worst, and it is what the span tables are written for. 5/4 western red cedar, composite, or PVC for the walking surface, priced side by side in your quote. Hidden fasteners wherever the board allows them. Helical piles where soil or slope calls for them — they go in clean and they don't wait on concrete.
Sheet A-202 — Site conditions
Before we can put a number on it
Four things decide a decks quote. We walk them with you on site — bring what you have and we'll find the rest.
Footings first, laser-levelled. Then the frame, then decking, stairs and railings, in that order.
- A-202.01Permit
- Most townships here want one once a deck is attached to the building or stands more than about two feet off grade, and the rules differ town to town. We confirm with your building department and book the inspections.
- A-202.02Footprint
- Rough length by width is enough to start a conversation; we measure on site before anything is quoted.
- A-202.03Foundation
- Concrete footings or helical piles. On slopes, near water, and on tight lots, piles usually win; on a simple flat site concrete can be the economical call.
- A-202.04Snow
- Beam and joist sizing, footing size, and connections are framed to Ontario Building Code snow loads — not guesswork.
Record photographs — Decks
Decks we've built
Real projects photographed as jobs wrap up — towns named, clients never.
Built-in bench and lit feature wall — Barrie, Ontario Cascading corner steps onto natural flagstone — Barrie, Ontario Mitred steps and a dark skirt, stone at grade — Barrie, Ontario Two-tier landing at the patio door — Barrie, Ontario Covered porch stripped back to its framing, the timber posts left standing while the column bases are built up. — Georgian Bay, Ontario
Sequence of work — 04 steps
Four steps, one point of contact
- 01Survey
Quote
We visit, measure, and send a written quote with HST shown — price honoured as quoted.
- 02Prep
Design & materials
We settle the layout together and price your material options side by side.
- 03Build
Build
One crew, a scheduled start date, and a tidy site every day we're on it.
- 04Finish
Walkthrough
We walk the finished work with you — it isn't done until you say it is.
We build decks across Port Carling, Bracebridge, Bala, Muskoka Lakes, and Gravenhurst — and everywhere north of Barrie. See our full service area.
Cost schedule — real book rates
What a deck costs here
Most decks we build land between $65 and $105 a square foot. A pressure-treated frame with cedar decking is $65; the same frame with composite is $85; a premium PVC system is $105. Stairs run $275 a step including stringers. A helical pile, supplied and installed, is $425. Cedar louvre privacy screens are $185 a linear foot, and tearing off an old deck is $12 a square foot. These are our real book rates. Your written quote is measured from your site and shows HST as its own line.
Straight answers
Questions we get about decks
Do I need a building permit?
Usually, yes. Most townships here want a permit once a deck is attached to the building or stands more than about two feet off grade, and the rules differ town to town. We confirm with your building department, prepare the drawings, and book the inspections as part of the job.
Cedar or composite — which is actually cheaper?
Cedar wins on day one: $65 a square foot against $85. But cedar needs a wash, sand, and re-stain cycle to stay good, and that service runs $35 a square foot each time. One refinish costs more than the $20 gap. Keep the deck ten years and composite is usually the cheaper deck. If you want real wood underfoot, choose cedar with open eyes — we quote both side by side either way.
Concrete footings or helical piles?
Both work when they are done right. Concrete needs digging, forming, and cure time; piles go in by machine and are ready to build on the same day. On slopes, near water, and on tight lots, piles usually win. On a simple flat site, concrete can be the economical call. Piles are $425 each installed; we price whichever the site wants.
Can you build while we're back in the city?
Most of our decks go up that way. You get a scheduled start date, progress photos as the work moves, and a walkthrough when you are next up. The site is left tidy every day whether anyone is watching or not.
How do deposits and HST work?
The quote shows HST as its own line at 13%, and the price is honoured as quoted. If a deposit is part of the schedule, we invoice it with HST included, and the final invoice credits the full deposit — tax included — against the total. You never pay tax on the same dollar twice.
Will it carry the snow?
It has to. Decks here are framed to Ontario Building Code snow loads — beam and joist sizing, footing size, and connections, not guesswork. A deck that is fine in July and soft in February was never built for here.
Sheet A-500 — Request for quote
Get a number you can hold us to.
No obligation. A written quote with HST shown — price honoured as quoted.