Deck Building in North Yarmouth, Maine

Big lots are the rule in North Yarmouth, and decks here tend to look over backyards, pasture or woods rather than at a neighbor. Houses on sloping ground often need a deck with tall posts or a walk-out level, and some owners want steps down to a lawn or a pool. The town's permit guide lists a deck as needing a building permit, which goes through the Code Enforcement Office or its online portal.

Footings have to go below the frost line so the deck does not heave; next door, Yarmouth's building code sets that line at 48 inches, and the North Yarmouth office confirms the depth at permit. Lots near the Royal River, Chandler Brook and its East Branch fall under the Land Use Ordinance's shoreland rules, which set new structures back 250 feet from those waters, with 150 feet from Knight's Pond and the Deer Brook wetland, so check the zoning map before designing. Cardinal Exteriors builds new decks in composite, PVC, pressure-treated lumber and cedar, with stairs, landings and railings.

The Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey estimates about 1,600 homes in North Yarmouth, with a median year built of 1983, a decade newer than Yarmouth next door. About 94 percent are single-family detached and about 87 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied, and only about a dozen units are held for seasonal use. Roughly 13 percent of homes predate 1940 and about 21 percent predate 1960, while about 24 percent date from 1960 to 1979 and about 23 percent from 2000 or later. The 2018 comprehensive plan counts 319 homes built in the 1990s alone, the town's peak decade, and notes that more than 135 houses shown on an 1871 town map are still standing, many of them restored farmhouses and capes along the old roads.

The North Yarmouth Code Enforcement Office at the Town Office, 10 Village Square Road, issues building permits and runs an online permitting portal. The town's permit guide lists a building permit as required for a deck, an addition, demolition and any structural change, and asks owners to call the office about work not on the list. Demolishing a building constructed before 1900 requires written notice to the North Yarmouth Historical Society at least 30 days ahead. Near the Royal River, Chandler Brook, Knight's Pond and the Deer Brook wetland, the Land Use Ordinance's Residential Shoreland and Resource Protection districts add structure setbacks.

This is an inland town, out of reach of the salt spray that works on houses along the Casco Bay shore in Yarmouth. Weather here comes instead from elevation and open ground. The 2018 comprehensive plan puts elevations between 60 feet, where Pratt's Brook leaves town, and 400 to 440 feet at the top of Walnut Hill and the upper slopes of Bruce Hill. About 17 percent of the town is open field, so hilltop houses facing hayfields take full wind in winter storms, while the 63 percent that is forest keeps other lots shaded and damp. Portland, the nearest long-term weather record, averages about 69 inches of snow a year, and freeze-thaw cycles run from November into April.

A new deck starts below ground. Footings have to reach below the frost line so the deck does not heave, the ledger that ties the deck to the house has to be flashed so it never rots the rim, and the framing has to carry snow as well as people. On top of that structure goes the part you see: composite and PVC boards, pressure-treated lumber or cedar, with railings, stairs and landings. Cardinal Exteriors builds new decks and full replacements only; it does not take on deck repairs or staining.

• An owner visits, looks at the yard and the house, and talks through size, layout, stairs and material.
• Permits are pulled where the town requires them.
• Footings are dug or set below frost; posts, beams and joists are framed to span and load.
• The ledger is flashed and fastened with structural fasteners, or the deck is built freestanding.
• Decking, railings, stairs and landings go on, with hidden or face fasteners to suit the boards.

• You want outdoor living space where there is none
• An existing deck is too small or poorly laid out for how you use it
• A new door, addition or view calls for a deck to reach it

• Deck size, height and shape
• Decking material: composite, PVC, pressure-treated or cedar
• Railing style and stair runs
• Footing type and site conditions: ledge, slope, access
• Permits and any shoreland or setback requirements

Every job is priced from a free on-site visit. Typical ranges for the trade are on our deck building page, and the details of this service are on the new deck building overview.

Back to the North Yarmouth exterior services overview, or see every town on our Cumberland County service areas page.