New decks, built solid
Deck Builder in Crystal Lake, IL — New Deck Construction & Replacement
Custom composite and wood deck construction, replacement, and second-story builds — permitted, inspected, and warrantied. We handle the footings, the framing, and the paperwork, and we quote it fixed-bid so there are no surprise change orders. Start with a free on-site design consultation.
Licensed • Insured • Locally Owned in Crystal Lake, IL • Serving 222 Communities Across Northern IL and Southern WI
- Licensed & insured
- Permits & inspections handled
- Trex / TimberTech / AZEK / Fiberon
- Frost-depth footings to code
- Fixed-bid estimates
- Written workmanship warranty
What we do
New decks and full replacements — the build, done right.
A deck is a structure people stand on, sometimes eight feet off the ground — so it's not the place to hire the cheapest truck in the driveway. We design and build new decks, tear out and replace tired ones, and add on with multi-level and second-story builds. Composite or wood, single-level or elevated, we pull the permit, set the footings to frost depth, and meet every inspection before you ever load furniture onto it.
Two honest boundaries: if your deck is structurally sound and you just want it looking new again, that's a deck staining & refinishing job. If it's a loose railing or a couple of soft boards on an otherwise good deck, that's a deck repair. We'll tell you honestly which one you actually need — sometimes the smart money is a refinish, not a rebuild, and we'd rather say so.
Scope of work
What we build.
New deck construction
Designed and built from footings up, sized and laid out for how you actually use the yard.
Deck replacement & tear-out
We haul off the old deck and build you a new one, footings and framing included.
Composite decks
Trex, TimberTech, AZEK, and Fiberon, with hidden fasteners and matching railing systems.
Wood decks
Cedar and pressure-treated, built to last and priced for the budget-minded homeowner.
Multi-level & second-story decks
Elevated builds, tiered layouts, and stairs that connect the zones.
Stairs, railings, lighting & benches
The details that make a deck feel finished and safe — built in, not bolted on.
Want the whole backyard — patio, pergola, outdoor kitchen? See our outdoor living remodel scope.
Pick the right material
Composite vs. wood — an honest comparison.
The material is the biggest decision — and the biggest cost driver — in a deck build. We don't push composite by default, because it isn't always the smarter buy. Here's the honest breakdown for Northern Illinois. We confirm your numbers on the consult.
Pressure-treated
$15–$30 / sq ft installed
- Upfront: lowest
- Maintenance: highest — periodic cleaning & refinishing
- Lifespan: 15–20 years with upkeep
- Best when: on a budget, or selling in 3–5 years
Cedar
Mid-range
- Upfront: between PT and composite
- Maintenance: moderate to high — real-wood finish to keep up
- Lifespan: 15–25 years, softer so more prone to dents
- Best when: you want real wood warmth & grain
Composite
$30–$55 / sq ft installed
- Upfront: highest
- Maintenance: lowest — no refinishing, ever
- Lifespan: 25–50 yr warranty, holds color in full sun
- Best when: staying in the home 10+ years
Bottom line: Staying long-term → composite usually wins on total cost and hassle. Selling soon or tight on budget → pressure-treated is the smart, honest buy. We'll tell you which fits your situation on the consult — no upsell.
Six steps, one crew
How a deck build works.
Free on-site design consult & measure
We come out, look at the yard, talk through how you'll use the deck, and measure. You get real input on size, layout, material, and railing — not a pushy sales pitch.
Fixed-bid proposal
We put it in writing: a fixed-bid proposal with clear material, railing, and lighting allowances. No hourly meter, no surprise change orders halfway through.
We pull the permit
Northern Illinois decks almost always need one. We file it with your village or county so you don't have to — that's our job, not yours.
Frost-depth footings & inspection
We dig and pour footings to the 42-inch frost depth Illinois code requires, flash the ledger to the house, and pass the footing inspection before we frame.
Framing, decking, railings & stairs
Proper joist spacing, structural fasteners, then the decking, railings, stairs, and any built-in lighting or benches. Built to code and built to last.
Final inspection & walkthrough
We pass the final inspection, then walk the finished deck with you and hand over the warranty in writing.
Code & structure
Permits, footings, and code — handled.
Here's what a lot of cheaper bids quietly skip. In Northern Illinois, a deck attached to the house or more than 30 inches off the ground almost always requires a permit — and building without one is how you end up failing a resale inspection or voiding your homeowner's insurance if someone gets hurt. We file the permit, and we meet both the footing and final inspections. In writing.
- Permit required for decks over 30" or attached to the house
- 42-inch frost-depth footings, poured to code
- Ledger board flashed to the house — the #1 failure point
- Proper joist spacing and structural fasteners for the load
- We file the permit with your village or county
- We meet both the footing and final inspections — in writing
Our work
Recent deck builds.
We're a builder-owned shop, so we'd rather show you the real thing than a stock catalog. Below are the builds and the material, railing, and layout options you can choose from — the composite lines, the wood, the multi-level layouts. What you won't find here is a wall of other companies' photos passed off as ours.
Multi-level composite deck with connected tiers.
Elevated second-story build with stairs to grade.
Composite decking with hidden fasteners and matching railing.
Composite deck with an attached pergola over the seating area.
Our crew fastening composite boards on a clean job site.
Freshly built cedar deck — the honest budget option.
What to expect
Timeline & season.
Standard deck
3–5 weeks from permit to handoff.
Multi-level / second-story
6–8 weeks, depending on structure.
Build season
Spring–fall, schedules fill early — book now.
A chunk of the timeline is the permit and inspection schedule, which is outside our control — but filing it correctly the first time is the fastest path through it, and that's on us. The homeowners who book their consult in late winter and early spring get the summer dates.
Honest numbers
What a deck costs — and how estimates work.
Deck builds are fixed-bid, not hourly, and priced after we've seen your yard on the consult — so what you get is one firm number, not a range that creeps. Here's what drives it:
- Size — square footage is the biggest single factor
- Material — pressure-treated ($15–$30/sq ft) to composite ($30–$55/sq ft)
- Height — elevated and second-story builds cost more per sq ft
- Railings — composite, aluminum, and cable systems differ in cost
- Extras — built-in lighting, benches, stairs, and multi-level tiers
Free on-site design consult, then a written fixed-bid proposal with allowances spelled out. If financing options are available for your project, we'll walk you through them at the consult.
What you're actually buying
Why a licensed builder beats the cheapest bid.
Permits and inspections, handled
We pull the permit and meet the footing and final inspections in writing. A cheaper unpermitted build can fail a resale inspection and create appraisal and insurance headaches down the road.
Footings done to code
42-inch frost-depth footings and a flashed ledger board — the structural details that keep a deck level and attached for decades. This is the corner cheap bids cut where you can't see it.
Fixed-bid, no surprises
A written fixed-bid proposal with material, railing, and lighting allowances. No hourly meter and no surprise change orders once the crew's on-site.
Builder-owned, hands-on
We're a builder-owned shop — Josh runs every build personally. You're not handed off to whoever the subcontractor sent that day; the owner is on your job.
One crew, one contract
One accountable crew from footings to final walkthrough, and one contract — not a chain of subs pointing fingers when something's off.
Warrantied & insured
Licensed and insured, with a written workmanship warranty on top of the manufacturer warranties on composite decking. If something isn't right, you know exactly who's responsible.
Where we build
Deck builders across Northern IL & Southern WI.
Headquartered in Crystal Lake, IL, we build decks across nine regions — 222 communities — from the McHenry County core out to the Wisconsin line. Because we handle the permit ourselves, we know the local inspection process town by town.
Boone County, IL
Belvidere, Poplar Grove, Capron. Farm-edge subdivisions and older village housing stock on the western edge of our service area.
Winnebago County, IL
Rockford metro and west. Mid-century housing stock, winter weather damage, strong demand for gutter and exterior repair.
McHenry County, IL
HQ region. Crystal Lake, Algonquin, McHenry, Huntley, Woodstock. Mix of 80s split-levels, newer subdivisions, and historic downtowns — tightest drive times from our Crystal Lake office.
Kane County, IL
Elgin, Aurora, St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia. Fox River towns and growing subdivisions on the west edge of the metro.
Lake County, IL
Waukegan to the Wisconsin border, Libertyville, Mundelein, the North Shore. The widest mix of home ages and price points in our footprint.
DuPage County, IL
Naperville, Wheaton, Elmhurst, Downers Grove, Hinsdale. Remodel-heavy territory with mature housing and high renovation demand.
DeKalb County, IL
DeKalb, Sycamore, Sandwich, and the smaller communities west of Kane. Farmhouses, older subdivisions, and rental-property maintenance.
Northwest Cook County, IL
Palatine, Arlington Heights, Schaumburg, Des Plaines. The NW suburbs of Chicago proper, dense and remodel-active.
Southern Wisconsin
Beloit, Janesville, Lake Geneva, Delavan, Elkhorn. Lake homes, second homes, and year-round residents across Rock, Walworth, Kenosha, Racine, and Green counties.
Deck building FAQs
Do I need a permit to build a deck in Northern Illinois?
Composite or wood — which should I build?
How long does a deck build take?
How much does it cost to build a deck?
Should I replace my deck or repair it?
Can you build a second-story or elevated deck?
What kind of warranty comes with the build?
Deck or patio — which is better for my yard?
Ready to build? Start with a free design consult.
Tell us how you want to use the yard, and we'll design a deck that fits it — composite or wood, single-level or elevated — permitted, inspected, and quoted fixed-bid. No surprise change orders, no cut corners on the parts you can't see. Free on-site design consultation to get started.