Deck Giant FAQ

We build throughout the Denver metro and out along the Colorado Front Range — including Littleton, Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock, Centennial, Parker, Lone Tree, Lakewood, Englewood, Denver, Evergreen, Conifer, Morrison, Golden, and Boulder. If you're not sure whether your property falls in our service area, just reach out.

Yes. Every project starts with a free on-site visit, where we measure, talk through your goals, and follow up with a detailed written quote — not a rough ballpark.

Yes. Send us your approximate dimensions, a few photos of the space, and what you have in mind, and we can put together a free preliminary quote by email. It's a good way to find out whether a project fits your budget before anyone schedules anything. Our process page walks through what happens at each stage. The on-site visit is still where the final numbers come from, since terrain, access, and how the structure attaches to the house all affect the real cost.

Yes, Deck Giant is fully licensed and insured for construction work throughout our service area.

Not for the whole project, but it helps to be there when the crew arrives on day one to confirm layout, post placement, and any final details before work begins.

Yes. Design and 3D visualization are an in-house specialty for us, not an outsourced add-on. We can put together detailed drawings and realistic renderings so you can see the finished space — and work out tricky design details — before construction starts. Design and build stages are laid out on our process page.

Detailed drawings or 3D renderings may involve a design fee if started before the deposit is paid. In most cases that fee is credited back to you in full if you move forward with the build — you're only paying for the design work itself if you decide not to proceed. Either way, the drawings are yours to keep.

This is one of our specialties. We've built large decks on steep, rocky terrain in Evergreen, Morrison, and other mountain communities — including a second-floor-attached deck with custom footers embedded directly into a granite hillside. Standard footings don't always work on Front Range terrain, so we engineer around what's actually there. See examples in our project gallery, or our Evergreen and Conifer pages.

Yes — a carport can take on a pergola-style open frame, a solid pavilion-style roof, or something in between, depending on how much weather protection you want and the look you're going for. We'll talk through the options during your estimate.

Decks start at $40/sq ft in treated pine, $45/sq ft in cedar or composite, and $60/sq ft in exotic hardwood. Pergolas start at $30/sq ft in treated pine and $32/sq ft in cedar. Pavilions and carports start at $45/sq ft. Those are installed prices that shift with design, site conditions, and terrain. Building two structures together, like a deck and a pergola, takes 10% off the total. Full numbers are on our pricing page.

Composite (Trex and TimberTech), cedar and pressure-treated pine, and exotic hardwoods like Garapa and Ipe. All four hold up in Colorado, so the choice comes down to look, maintenance, and budget. Our decks page lays out the pros and cons of each side by side.

Cedar runs $32/sq ft against $30/sq ft for treated pine, so the price gap is narrower than most people expect. Cedar resists insects, moisture, and rot on its own, and the rough-sawn texture looks good stained or left to weather into a silvery grey. It is a softer wood though, and needs resealing every few years to stay looking new. Treated pine is the budget option and takes paint or stain well, but boards tend to warp and bend somewhat as they dry out. That is usually aesthetic rather than structural, and we counter it with larger lumber sizes and more top slats for extra connection points. More detail on our pergolas page.

Composite at $45/sq ft never needs staining or sealing and will not warp, rot, or fade, though it costs more upfront and gets hot underfoot in direct sun. Cedar at the same $45/sq ft gives you a natural look and built-in rot resistance, but scratches more easily from furniture and pets, and can be sanded and refinished when it does. Treated pine at $40/sq ft is the least expensive and lasts for decades, with some warping as boards dry. Exotic hardwoods like Garapa and Ipe at $60/sq ft are dense enough to shrug off hail, freeze-thaw cycles, and heavy foot traffic, and need occasional oiling to hold their color. We will walk through all four against your budget and how you actually plan to use the space. Full breakdowns live on our decks page.

It's a solid roof panel system that mounts on top of an existing pergola frame and makes the space usable in rain, hail, and snow. We install the Hercules system: 8mm four-wall standing seam panels in bronze, clear, or white. Unlike a solid metal roof, the panels still let light through, so you get a covered space that doesn't feel like a dark box. See our polycarbonate roof page for the full breakdown.

Retrofitting an existing pergola starts at $16/sq ft installed, priced by the covered square footage. If your pergola needs slope added or wood repair and stain before the panels go on, those are quoted separately per structure. For comparison, building a new pergola from scratch runs $30–$32/sq ft before any roof, so roofing a sound existing structure is the cheaper path to a covered patio. Our cost guide prices out two real installs line by line.

Yes, and it's a big part of what we do. We'll check the existing structure during the site visit to confirm the framing can carry the load and that the posts and beams are sound. If something needs reinforcing or repairing first, we'll tell you before you commit to the roof. See past installs on our polycarbonate roof page.

Yes. The panels need at least a 2% slope to drain properly, but a flat pergola can be shimmed up from the top or have its front posts lowered to create that pitch. Which method makes sense depends on the structure and how it attaches to the house, and we'll work that out on site. The roof page covers both slope methods in detail.

The Hercules system is rated for 40 PSF snow load and 125 mph wind, and carries a Class A fire rating and a 10-year leakproof warranty. Those numbers are why we install this system specifically rather than the cheaper corrugated panels you'll find at a big box store, which tend to yellow, crack, and leak after a few Front Range winters. Full specs are on our roof page.

Most retrofits are a one-day job once the panels arrive. Panels are ordered cut to length for your structure, so the lead time is mostly in the ordering rather than the installation. We also build new pergolas with the roof designed in from the start.

Yes, we manage local permitting and engineering sign-off so your project is built to code — one less thing for you to coordinate. Our process page shows where permitting falls in the timeline.

We can provide drawings and material specs to help with an HOA submission. Let us know up front if your property has HOA requirements, and we'll factor the extra lead time into your project timeline. Most of the time HOA approvals are much faster and easier than city permits.

Either works, but it's usually more cost-effective to plan for an upgrade up front, even if you don't install it right away — framing can be sized to support a future roof or privacy wall from the start. See our Upgrades page for the full list of options.

Wood, composite, cable, and metal-baluster railings, starting around $90/linear ft depending on style. Railing changes the look of a deck more than almost any other single choice. Cable and slim metal balusters keep sightlines open if you have a view worth protecting, while painted composite gives a cleaner, more finished edge. See the range on our upgrades page.

We do, starting around $7/sq ft. Beyond the look, stain protects wood from Colorado's high-altitude UV and from snow moisture, which extends its life and cuts down on maintenance later. A two-tone finish, like a black frame with a natural cedar top, gets you a modern steel-and-wood look for a fraction of what actual steel would cost. More finish options on our upgrades page.

A slatted cedar wall that blocks the sightline between your space and a neighbor's without fully closing things off or killing the airflow. It also works well as a wind or afternoon-sun break on an exposed deck. Starts around $18/sq ft, built to whatever slat spacing, height, and stain color matches the rest of your structure. Examples in our gallery.

Yes. We frame and wire-chase the structure so lighting and fans can be mounted cleanly rather than surface-run after the fact, and licensed electrical work is coordinated as part of the project. Stair and step lighting, downlights in a tongue and groove ceiling, and fan-rated mounting blocks are all worth deciding on before framing goes up, since retrofitting them later means opening things back up. Tongue and groove ceilings and other add-ons are on our upgrades page.

Yes, we have a network of local, high quality licensed contractors for electric, plumbing, masonry, and other trades that may be needed for an outdoor kitchen or fireplace project. What matters most is telling us early: a kitchen run or a fireplace changes footing placement, structural loads, and any gas or electrical rough-in, and all of that is far easier to design in from the start than to add later. Our pavilions are a common home for both.

Yes — snow load, hail, intense high-altitude UV, and big temperature swings all factor into material choices and structural specs, not just what looks good in a showroom. Our decks and pergolas pages cover how each material handles it.

It depends on the size and complexity of the build, the season, and material lead times. For example, a simple deck or pergola build may take only 2–3 days, whereas a large multi-level deck project could take 2–3 weeks. We’ll walk you through a realistic timeline as part of your written estimate. Our process page breaks down each stage.

No. We never guarantee a completion date on any project. We give you a realistic estimate of the timeline up front and do everything in our power to hit it, but weather, material delays, and conditions we find once we start digging can all move things. One of our mottos has always been “we’d rather screw up the schedule than screw up the job.”

It depends on the project and conditions. Some work can continue through Colorado winters; other projects are better scheduled around the season. We'll be upfront with you about timing when we quote your project. Get in touch to talk scheduling.