Deck Builder Gardiner, ME: Sloped Lots, Solid Footings
- Newman Homes is the deck builder Gardiner, ME homeowners call when the back yard drops away and the deck has to be engineered rather than assembled.
- Brandon Roberge spent 25+ years building in Florida and Massachusetts before opening here in 2017.
- 94% of our projects finish on the original timeline and budget. We track it monthly.
- 25+ years in construction, building as Newman Homes since 2017
- Over 200 projects completed in Central Maine
- Affordable work, two-year written warranty
Deck building in Gardiner, Maine, above the Common, along the Kennebec waterfront, and out on the wider lots toward West Gardiner.
Gardiner is two different jobs inside one town. Downtown and above the Common the lots are tight and old, access is limited, and a deck often has to be built without a truck getting close to it. Out toward West Gardiner there is room to work and the grade is kinder.
Pressure-treated starts at $80 a square foot, and access is the thing most likely to push a Gardiner deck toward the $100 to $120 band. Every post goes below frost depth regardless of which side of town it is on.
What Goes Into a Gardiner Deck
More post and beam than a flat lot needs, and much more attention where the deck meets the house.
Composite decks get the rim trimmed so the perimeter shows a finished edge instead of cut ends.
Footings to four feet. Every post below frost, no exceptions and no floating blocks. Helical piles on most jobs.
Framing. Pressure-treated and oversized. Joists at 16 inches on center, 12 inches under PVC decking.
Joist tape on every joist, because the top edge is where rot starts and it is invisible until it is structural.
Ledger flashing. On a tall deck the ledger carries more load, which makes the flashing detail more important, not less.
Decking. TimberTech and AZEK are our first recommendations, pressure-treated when the budget sets the terms.
Railing and stairs. Westbury aluminum as standard. A tall deck usually means a longer stair run and an intermediate landing.
What homeowners say
Read more reviews- ★★★★★
Does quality work and communication is perfect.
Logan T. - ★★★★★
Brandon was always very fair with any adjustments to our fixed price contract, and we were quite happy with the outcome.
David K. - ★★★★★
Left no mess behind. Brandon the owner also was easy to work with.
Ben G.
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Related Services in Gardiner
Where We Build Decks Around Gardiner
We build above the Common, along the Kennebec waterfront, and out on the wider lots toward West Gardiner.
Downtown and the historic district can add review that affects what a street-facing deck may look like, so that conversation happens early.
Augusta is a short run north, and we work east toward Windsor and Whitefield most weeks.
When to Build a Deck in Gardiner
The season opens at thaw and closes in late fall, and it books from the front.
The City of Gardiner code office issues deck permits, and riverfront parcels also fall under Maine's Mandatory Shoreland Zoning Act.
Call in late winter if you want to be using the deck by June.
Why Our Decks Outlast the Cheap Ones
Because of what we will not do, especially on a hillside.
No floating blocks under posts, and no ledger fastened to a wall without proper flashing behind it.
And nine times out of ten, no new decking over an old frame. On a tall deck that rule is not about looks.
Framing is the cheapest material in the job. Reusing a tired frame to save a few hundred dollars, twelve feet off the ground, is a bad trade in every direction.
Who We Build Decks For in Gardiner
Owners of houses on ground that does not stay level.
Gardiner runs downhill toward the river, so plenty of homes here have a slider at grade in front and a ten-foot drop behind. That changes a deck from a platform into a structure.
We also replace a lot of decks on the older streets above the Common, where the originals were built before anybody thought hard about flashing.
How Much a Deck Costs in Gardiner
Pressure-treated starts at $80 per square foot in Gardiner. Larger or more complicated layouts run $100 to $120. We will not take a full pressure-treated build under $10,000, or a composite deck with composite railing under $15,000. Read these as a baseline for planning, not a quote. Hundreds of estimates produced these averages, and every deck has details that push it either way. Small decks cost more per square foot than large ones, which catches people off guard. The footings cost the same either way. An 8x12 with stairs and six footings runs near $9,800, while a 12x16 costs about a thousand more and nearly doubles the deck. Height is the Gardiner factor. Once you are more than a couple of feet up, staging adds roughly a crew day and about 10% to the job, and a tall deck also needs a longer stair run. Read our guide to what a deck costs to build for the whole picture.
How to Hire a Deck Builder Gardiner, ME
Open with what the trade keeps quiet: there is no state licensing standard covering deck builders in Maine.
Electricians and plumbers are credentialed. Nobody swinging a hammer on your deck is.
So make every bid answer these five in writing.
Footing depth, named in the contract. Ours is four feet. A bid that skips the number is telling you something.
The ledger detail, flashed correctly or built freestanding.
A fixed-price contract under Maine's home construction contract statute and its one-third cap on your first payment.
Insurance certificates for the builder and every sub who sets foot on the property.
For premium framing we can quote ProWood TrueFrame, kiln-dried and factory-planed.
Nearby Areas We Serve
See our full service areaWhere is our shop?
Directions from Gardiner, ME to our shop in Augusta
125 Community DrAugusta, ME 04330-8156
How We Build It
- Measure the drop.Grade, post heights, stair run, landing location, and drainage below.
- Fixed price, itemized.Frame, decking, railing, and stairs each priced on their own line.
- Build and document.Photos twice a week, and a 2-year workmanship warranty.
Talk to Us About Your Gardiner Deck
Call (207) 480-7700. Brandon usually answers it himself, at any hour.
Or email the address and a rough size to info@newmanhomesme.com, or get your free estimate.