Decks built for North Shore blocks
Sloping sites, sandstone shelves, established gardens, houses with character — Lower North Shore blocks rarely give you a flat rectangle to work with, and that's exactly the work I like. I design and build decks across Castlecrag, Willoughby, Northbridge, Mosman and the surrounding suburbs: low platforms that float over sandstone, elevated decks off living rooms with proper balustrades, and pool-side decks that cope with water and sun.
The part you'll never see matters most. Cheap decks fail underneath — undersized joists, posts sitting in soil, brackets that rust out near the harbour. Ours are built on engineered footings and H4-treated or steel substructure, with stainless or hot-dip galvanised fixings that suit coastal air, so the boards you chose still have something solid under them in twenty years.
What's included in every deck quote
- Site visit and straight advice — timber versus composite for your spot, sun, trees and budget, with the trade-offs stated plainly. If you want to read ahead, mydeck materials comparison puts every board I build with side by side.
- The approval answer up front — whether your design fits NSW exempt development (up to 25m² and under 1m high, attached to the house) or needs a CDC/DA, before you commit to anything.
- Fixed written quote, milestone payments — no big deposit, no surprises. You pay as stages complete.
- Substructure, balustrades and compliance — balustrades are required where the fall is 1m or more; I build them in from the design stage, not as an afterthought.
- A tidy site — swept and cleared at the end of every day, not just the last one.
What moves the price
No two North Shore decks cost the same, and the reasons are usually visible from the back step. When I quote, these are the factors doing the work:
- Size and area of the deck
- Timber species or composite brand you choose
- Slope of the block and how easily I can get materials in
- Height off the ground, and the balustrades that come with it
- The council approval path — exempt, CDC or DA
- Demolition and removal of an existing deck or structure
I put a fixed written quote on all of it after a site visit, so the number you agree to is the number you pay.
How I work
You call or send photos, I come out, and you get an honest quote — if a repair or a re-deck over existing framing would serve you better than a new build, I'll say so. Then I turn up when I say I will, keep you posted as the build progresses, and finish properly: oiled or left to weather as you prefer, offcuts gone, garden as I found it. Most of my deck work comes from someone standing on a deck I built next door — that only happens if the last job was done right.