Deck Builders in Kirkland

Stainless cable, for most Kirkland view decks, provided the framing is right. Horizontal cable runs read as almost nothing from a seated position while still being obviously substantial up close, which is the combination people are usually after. The thing that makes cable look flimsy is not the cable but the posts — they carry real tension, and a post that is undersized will deflect visibly and let the cables go slack. Getting that right is a framing decision made before the railing is chosen. Where a more traditional look is wanted, a slim metal picket at a wider spacing gives up less view than most people expect.

It is set by code rather than by preference, and it is determined by the height of the deck above the ground below rather than by the deck itself. That means the honest way to protect a view is not to argue about the barrier height but to work with the deck height — a deck a step lower can fall below the threshold that triggers a railing at all, and where it cannot, choosing an open infill matters more than any other decision. Requirements also differ between jurisdictions on the Eastside, so we confirm what applies to your address and design to it rather than to a general figure.

It affects how usable the deck is far more than how it is built, and that is worth designing for. An open deck with an exposed aspect over water can be genuinely uncomfortable on days when a sheltered one two streets back is fine, which quietly reduces how often it gets used. The answers are partial rather than total: a glass or solid screen on the prevailing side, a covered section at one end, or planting positioned to break the flow without blocking the outlook. Building the whole thing open and adding shelter later is possible but almost always looks like an addition, because it is.

On posts to footings taken down to competent ground, and on a slope the depth of those footings is a site-specific answer rather than a standard one. The load path runs from the boards, through the joists and beams, into the posts and out into the ground — so on a grade the question is what that ground is and how far down it becomes reliable. Fill, disturbed material from earlier grading, or a slope with movement history all change the answer. Where the slope is significant there may also be a designation on the lot that governs what can be built and how, which we confirm for your address before design rather than during it.