What we build outside
Most of the decks we do in Baltimore land between $8K for a simple ground-level pressure-treated build and $45K for a multi-level composite deck with a covered porch off the back. Patios in stone or paver usually run $10K to $25K depending on square footage and grade.
Composite is what we push for most clients. Trex, TimberTech, AZEK. It costs more up front than pressure-treated, but in Maryland weather, the freeze-thaw, the wet summers, the snow load, you stop sanding and staining every other year. Pressure-treated and cedar are still on the menu if the budget calls for it.
What Maryland weather actually does to a deck
Snow load matters here. We engineer footings deeper than the frost line and we size joists for real load, not minimums. Drainage is the other one, flat patios in clay soil hold water, then the freeze-thaw cracks the slab. We pitch every patio for drainage and we use the right base depth so it stops moving in year three.
If you’re putting a screened porch off the back of a rowhome, we look at the existing roof line and the floor framing before we quote. Half the porches we see on inspections weren’t tied into the house structure right.
What we won’t do
We won’t build a deck on a foundation that can’t hold it without saying so first. We won’t skip the permit on a deck over 30 inches, the city wants engineering on those and we pull it. We won’t quote a stone patio without seeing the drainage and the grade.