Duncanville, TX · Dallas County
Decks in Duncanville, Texas
Duncanville is largely brick ranch houses from the 1960s and 1970s on established lots. The deck work is practical: repair what is sound, replace what is not, and make better use of structures the house already has.
01 — The area
Decks in Duncanville
Duncanville sits between Grand Prairie and DeSoto and is a settled city rather than a growing one. The housing is predominantly single-storey brick from the sixties and seventies, the lots are conventional, and the trees are full grown.
That produces a consistent set of jobs. Decks that are decades old and need assessing honestly. Small concrete patios that are too small. Carports and attached structures that could be doing more than they are. And a lot of above-ground pools, which bring their own rules.
It is not glamorous work and it is some of the best value in this trade, because on a settled lot most of what you need is usually already there in some form.
02 — Duncanville
Making Use of the Structures the House Already Has
On a house of this era there is often an attached carport, a deep eave, a utility lean-to or a side cover, and the cheapest covered outdoor space available is frequently underneath something that is standing already.
A sound carport with bare concrete or gravel under it needs only a surface and a bit of definition to become a usable room. Decking over the slab, a slatted screen on the open side for privacy and wind, lighting and a fan, and the space changes character entirely for a fraction of what a new cover costs. We look for this option before quoting anything from scratch, because recommending the cheaper thing is the only way the advice is worth anything.
The same applies to a deep rear eave. A roof overhang that already projects several feet gives you the beginning of a cover, and extending from it is cheaper and looks more integrated than building a separate structure beside it.
Two cautions. First, an older carport roof may not have been built to carry anything extra, so hanging a fan or a heavy fitting from it needs checking rather than assuming. Second, converting a carport means you are no longer parking there, which sounds obvious and is worth saying out loud before the furniture arrives.
Where the existing structure genuinely is not worth working with, we will say that too — but on these houses it usually is.
03 — Duncanville
Above-Ground Pools and the Deck Around Them
Above-ground pools are common here and they are a specific kind of deck job with non-negotiable rules.
The first and most important: the deck carries itself. It never leans on the pool wall, and it is not fixed to it. An above-ground pool wall is engineered to hold water in, not to take the lateral load of a structure and the people on it. Decks built resting on the top rail are a genuine hazard and we will not build one.
Second, the pool has to remain serviceable. Liners get replaced, walls get repaired, and a deck built tight to the structure makes that either impossible or destructive. We stop the deck short with a deliberate gap — which also stops splash water sitting in a joint where neither surface can dry.
Third, the barrier. A deck beside a pool can change the enclosure situation entirely, because a raised surface next to a fence provides a way over it, and the deck itself may become part of the barrier with requirements for rail height and gate arrangement. This is the part that gets missed, and it is the part that can make a finished deck non-compliant. We confirm what applies to your property with the city before fixing the layout.
Fourth, the practical detail: hardware in the splash zone wants to be stainless or heavily coated rather than standard galvanised, because corroding fasteners stain the timber as they go and eventually stop holding.
04 — Duncanville
Tiered Yards, Old Patios and Breaking Things Out
A number of lots here have been terraced at some point — a low wall, a change of level, a patio poured in two stages — and that history is usually what determines the practical options.
Old concrete is the recurring question: deck over it, or take it out. Decking over is cheaper and faster and needs the slab to be sound and to drain away from the house, plus enough height at the door threshold. Breaking it out is a substantial job on its own, especially where there is no vehicle access to the back yard, because the spoil has to leave by hand. We price both honestly and in our experience decking over wins more often than not.
Older low retaining walls need looking at before anything is built near them. Many were dry-laid or lightly built and are now leaning, and a deck footing placed behind a leaning wall adds load in the worst direction. Where a wall is failing, dealing with it first is cheaper than dealing with it afterwards through a finished deck.
Changes of level are an opportunity rather than a nuisance. A tiered yard suits a stepped deck, and a deck that bridges two levels can give you a sitting area and a dining area without any screening and without flattening the garden. It also means less fill and less retaining than levelling the ground would.
The last thing to check is where the water currently goes. Terraced yards concentrate runoff, and a deck placed in the path of it needs height and an open frame so water can pass rather than being dammed.
Services
What we build in Duncanville
Every service below is available across Duncanville.
Deck Building
A deck is a structure that has to hold a group of people several feet in the air for twenty years, wearing a d…
Deck Repair
Most decks that look finished are not. If the frame and the connection to the house are sound, replacing the s…
Patio Covers
A solid cover is what turns an outdoor space from somewhere you use twice a year into part of the house. It al…
Pergolas
A pergola is the cheapest real shade there is, and the difference between one that works and one that is decor…
Pool Decks
A pool deck is wet, barefoot and in full sun, and the three requirements that follow from that — grip, a surfa…
Deck Staining
Ninety per cent of a good finish is what happens before the first coat goes on. Staining a deck that has not b…
Questions
Duncanville — asked and answered
Can you deck over the patio and carport I already have?
Usually, and it is the best value work we do. A sound carport with a surface, a slatted screen on the open side, lighting and a fan becomes a usable room for a fraction of a new cover. We check whether the existing roof can carry anything extra before hanging a fitting from it.
Can you build a deck around my above-ground pool?
Yes, with three rules. The deck carries itself and never leans on the pool wall. It stops short with a gap so the liner and wall stay serviceable. And the barrier requirements have to be confirmed with the city first, because a raised surface next to a fence can change the enclosure situation entirely.
Should I remove the old concrete or build over it?
Over it, more often than not — it is cheaper and the slab becomes a free base, provided it is sound, drains away from the house and the door height works. Breaking it out is a real job, particularly with no vehicle access, because the spoil leaves by hand. We price both.
There is a low retaining wall where I want the deck. Is that a problem?
It needs looking at first. Older low walls here were often lightly built and some are leaning, and a deck footing behind a leaning wall adds load in the worst direction. If a wall needs attention, doing it before the deck is far cheaper than doing it afterwards.
Deck builders in Duncanville
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