Do I need a permit for deck repair in Everett?

Most deck repairs in Everett fall into one of two groups: routine maintenance, or work on the structure that holds the deck up. The permit question mostly depends on which group your job is in. Here is how to tell, what you can check yourself, and when to bring someone in.

The short answer

Often, no. Small repairs that replace like with like usually don't need a permit in Everett. That includes swapping out a few cracked deck boards, tightening loose railing posts or refastening stair treads. Work that changes the structure usually does need one. That means replacing joists, beams, posts or footings, making the deck bigger, raising its height, or rebuilding a railing to a new design. The City of Everett's permit office makes the final call, and rules change from time to time. A short phone call or a look at the city's permit pages before work starts is worth the effort. Here is a simple rule of thumb. If you are putting back what was already there, with the same materials in the same place, that is usually maintenance. If you are changing what holds the deck up or what keeps people from falling off it, that is usually construction, and construction is what permits are for. When a job sits close to that line, we would rather ask the city than guess.

What changes the answer on a real property

A few details decide which side of the line a job falls on. Height is the first. Under the residential code most Washington cities use, a deck more than about 30 inches above the ground at any point is treated more strictly than a low platform. On Everett's sloped lots, a deck that looks low at the back door can sit well above the ground at the far corner, so measure at the highest point, not where you step out. Attachment is the second. A deck fastened to the house with a ledger board carries its load into the house framing, so any repair to that connection is structural. Replacing a ledger, or adding the flashing and fasteners it should have had in the first place, is the kind of work an inspector wants to see before it gets covered up. Scope is the third. Replacing a handful of boards is maintenance. Replacing most of the framing is closer to building a new deck, even if the footprint stays the same. Location matters too. Homes in unincorporated areas near Everett come under Snohomish County rather than the city. Properties near steep slopes, wetlands or shorelines can need extra review.

What you can check yourself

Half an hour with a flashlight, a tape measure and a screwdriver tells you a lot. Measure from the ground to the top of the decking at the tallest corner. Look at where the deck meets the house. Is there a ledger board? Can you see metal flashing over it, or is the siding stained and soft above it? Push a screwdriver into the joists, the beams and the bottoms of the posts, especially where wood touches the ground or other wood. Sound wood resists. Wood that gives way or comes out in soft fibres has rot. Test the railing by leaning on it with steady pressure in several places. Look at the stair stringers where they rest on the ground or a pad. Our wet winters keep wood damp for months, so rot often starts out of sight: on the tops of joists under the boards, and behind the ledger. If all you find is a few worn surface boards and loose screws, you probably have a repair that needs no permit. If you find soft framing, a sagging section or a loose ledger, expect structural work and probably a permit.

When it needs a professional

Call a professional when the problem is in the structure, when you can't tell how far the damage goes, or when the deck is high enough that a failure would hurt someone. A loose ledger, a post that has sunk or rotted at the base, a springy span, or a railing that moves under your hand are safety problems first and permit questions second. A contractor who works on decks regularly will know which repairs the city expects drawings or an inspection for, and can tell you before work starts rather than partway through. If you do need a permit, the usual steps are a simple drawing of the deck and the repair, an application, and one or more inspections. The framing is often checked before the boards go back down, so allow for that in your schedule. Skipping a permit you needed can cause trouble later, especially when you sell and a buyer's inspector asks about the deck.

How this relates to repair, rot work and inspections

Most of the calls we get in Everett are about Deck Repair: soft boards, wobbly stairs, railings that have worked loose. Many of those jobs are routine maintenance with no permit involved. Sometimes we lift the decking and find damaged framing underneath. Then the job becomes Rot Repair, and that is usually when the permit question comes up, because replacing joists, beams or a ledger is structural work. If you aren't sure what you have, a Deck Inspection is a sensible first step. We look at the framing, the ledger connection, the footings and the railing, and tell you plainly what we found. We also tell you whether the repair you need is likely to need a permit, and if it does, what the city will want to see. It is better to know that before the job starts than halfway through it.

Before you call anyone

Have three things ready: the deck's rough size, its height at the tallest point, and a few photos of the problem areas, including where the deck meets the house. If the deck was built with a permit, the original paperwork helps, and the city may have a record of it. With that, a first conversation about your deck and whether it needs a permit is usually short and useful.