Deck Replacement in Saco, Maine

Census estimates put Saco's median home built around 1982, with about 22 percent of the housing stock older than 1940 and roughly a third older than 1960. That mix reflects two different building eras: modest worker housing and duplexes from the York Manufacturing and Saco-Lowell mill years clustered near downtown and Factory Island, and a much larger ring of capes, colonials and split-levels built from the 1960s onward as Saco filled in along Route 1 and Route 112. At Camp Ellis and Ferry Beach, small older cottages sit alongside newer, larger houses built up on pilings after decades of storm damage.

Building permits in Saco go through the Code Enforcement Department at City Hall on Main Street, which handles siding, roofing, window and deck permits alongside other building work. Because Saco has both river and ocean frontage, Maine's Mandatory Shoreland Zoning Act applies within 250 feet of the Saco River and the Atlantic coastline, which affects what can be built or rebuilt at Camp Ellis, Ferry Beach and along the riverbanks. Property near the water may also fall under FEMA flood-zone rules, which matters most for deck framing and any work that touches the foundation.

Camp Ellis takes the brunt of Saco's weather. A 19th-century Army Corps jetty at the river mouth has driven well-documented beach erosion there, and nor'easters push storm surge and wind-driven rain straight at the row of houses along Ocean Avenue. Winters bring damaging freeze-thaw cycles and a snow load that has to be planned for on any roof, while salt air off the Atlantic and the Saco River estuary accelerates corrosion on fasteners, flashing and gutters closer to the water. Inland, away from the coast, the exposure is a more ordinary Maine winter, but ice damming at the eaves is still a factor on any roof with poor attic ventilation.

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.

For a deeper walkthrough of materials, code details and photos, see our full Deck Replacement: When to Rebuild vs. Re-Deck guide.

Back to the Saco exterior services overview, or see every town on our service areas page.