Deck Replacement in North Yarmouth, Maine

North Yarmouth built 319 homes in the 1990s, its busiest decade, and many of the decks attached to them are now 25 to 35 years old. Pressure-treated decks of that era were often built with ledgers nailed to the house without flashing, posts set on shallow blocks, and railings that do not meet current height and spacing rules. Signs a deck has reached the end include soft boards, loose railings, rusted hangers and a ledger stained dark where water has entered the rim.

A replacement means removing the old structure entirely, repairing the house rim and sheathing where water got in, installing a properly flashed and bolted ledger, and setting new footings below frost. Cardinal Exteriors builds full replacements from the footings up and does not patch old decks. The rebuilt deck needs a building permit like any new one. If the house is in a shoreland or resource protection area, a larger footprint may be limited, so it is simpler to rebuild in place. The new deck can be composite, PVC, pressure-treated or cedar.

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.

When an old deck is soft, wobbly or pulling away from the house, a full replacement is treated as a new build: the old deck comes off, the footings and framing are built new, and the new surface, railings and stairs go on. That is the only way to deal with hidden rot at the ledger and frost-heaved footings, and it is how Cardinal Exteriors approaches it. It lets you change the size, shape and material at the same time.

• The existing deck is removed and disposed of, and the house wall behind the ledger is inspected.
• Rotted rim or sheathing behind the old ledger is repaired and the wall is flashed.
• New footings go below frost; new posts, beams and joists are framed.
• New decking, railings, stairs and landings are installed in the material you choose.
• Permits are pulled where required and the site is cleaned up.

• Soft or spongy boards and joists
• A ledger pulling away from the house or rust-streaked fasteners
• Posts that have heaved, leaned or rotted at the base
• Railings that wobble or are lower than today's code expects

• Removal and disposal of the old deck
• Repairs to the house wall behind the ledger
• New size, height and shape
• Decking and railing materials
• Footing type and site access

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 deck replacement overview.

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