Decks

•   5' sideyard
•   25' frontyard
•   Except for corner lots and irregular shaped  lots, the rear setback is 25% (1/4) of the lot depth.  Corner and irregular shaped lots shall have a setbacks of 18 feet.

Materials

• All lumber must be redwood, foundation cedar, treated wood or approved vinyl and/or composite materials
• If wood is treated, the flashing, windows and door surrounds that may be in contact with the wood must be carefully selected to be compatible with the preservative treatment in the wood.  The new preservatives entering the market are very corrosive and need special attention. 
• The following composite materials have been approved for use in deck construction: Carefree Composite Decking; Everex; Boardwalk; Xtendex; Lifelong; Weatherbest; Epoch; Rhino Deck (Master Mark Plastics); Trex; Fiberon; Premier Composite Railing System
• The following plastic boards have been approved for deck construction: Permapoly; Evolve
• All fasteners shall be corrosion resistant.  Approved fasteners are stainless steel and hot-dipped galvanized with an increased coating thickness (G185). Check box or container for proper specifications and approvals

Ledger

•  The ledger board against the house that supports the deck floor joists may not be installed over the top of siding materials.  The siding must be cut away and the ledger secured directly to the sheathing and rim material. The ledger must be flashed with a material not adversely affected by the wood treatment (e.g. plastic or galvanized)

Footings

• If deck is attached to the house, footings must extend to frost depth (42 inches from grade to bottom of footing)
• Size of footing pads/piers depends on the load that is bearing on the footing.  Concrete footing pads (cookies)  shall not be less than 8 inches thick and 12 inches in diameter.  A footing sizing table is available at City Hall
• Concrete piers extending to frost depth must have at least one vertical rebar

Stairway from Deck

• Riser not to exceed 7 3/4"
• Risers must be closed or designed so that a four-inch sphere cannot pass through
• The triangular openings formed by the riser, tread and bottom rail of a guard at the open side of a stairway are permitted to be of such size that a sphere 6 inches in diameter cannot pass through 
• Minimum tread of 10"
• Railing height between 34" - 38" above nosing of treads
• Handrails must extend full length of stairs and terminate in a newel post or with returned ends

• Guardrails must be at least 36 inches in height as measured from the floor
• Intermediate rails or spindles must be provided that will not allow a four inch sphere to pass through

Handrails

• Required on all stairways with 4 or more risers
• May not be less than 1 1/4 inch nor more than 2 5/8 inches in cross-sectional area. Flat two by fours or two by sixes are not approved as a handrail.
• Top of handrail must be not less than 34 inches nor more than 38 inches above the nosing of the treads
• Ends of handrails must be returned or terminate in a newel post

Plans and Specifications

Documents to be submitted for a permit to build a deck should include the following:

• Site plan drawn to scale indicating location of the deck on the property and in relation to other structures
• Footing/foundation plan indicating size, location and spacing of footings and columns
• Sectional drawing of deck indicating type of materials, size and spacing of joists, size and span of beams, stairway rise/run, and handrail height

A complete specification sheet for decks can be picked up at the City Hall offices located at 250 Summit Ave N.