Brandon Custom Deck Building Services

Where a custom deck starts: the ledger and the frame

Every job starts at the point where the deck attaches to the house — the ledger board. We install and flash that connection carefully, because it's the spot where water most wants to work its way behind the siding and into the structure. Get the flashing wrong and you won't see the damage for a year or two, but it'll be there.

From the ledger out, we set joists at spans and spacing that meet code for the load the deck needs to carry, fastening them with hangers and connectors sized for the job. This is also where layout gets decided — stairs, levels, how the decking runs — because those calls get locked in once the framing goes down. The surface and railing you choose later sit on top of decisions made here.

What's holding the deck up

The structure itself comes down to joists, beams, posts, and hardware sized to the deck's footprint, along with the ledger board flashing already mentioned. None of it shows up in a photo of the finished deck, but it's what keeps the thing square and solid years down the road.

The humidity load our area puts on a building envelope is part of why we're careful about these connections, particularly flashing — moisture trapped against a ledger board or post base doesn't dry out fast here, and left alone that turns into a bigger repair later. We build with that in mind from the start rather than fixing it after the fact.

What a railing system actually costs

Railings run $1,400 to $2,600 per system, with the spread coming down to material, length, and style — a straight run in a basic material sits at the low end, while longer runs, stairs, or upgraded materials push it toward the top. Railings aren't optional trim; on most raised decks they're required by code and need real fastening work to tie securely into the frame, which is why they're priced as their own line item instead of folded into the deck total.

We'll walk the layout with you before quoting so you know which end of that range your project lands in, and why.

Permits and the paperwork side of the job

Custom decks here go through Hillsborough County's permitting process, which starts with a $50 base fee on any permit application under the county's right-of-way fee schedule. Beyond that base fee, the county maintains separate fee schedules, calculators, and maps for building permits, site and subdivision work, right-of-way, zoning applications, and impact fees — which ones apply depends on the specifics of your project and lot.

We handle pulling the permit as part of the job rather than leaving it to you, but it's worth knowing upfront that the cost isn't a single flat number — it depends on what you're building. We'll tell you what applies to your project before we start.