Villa Rica, Carroll & Douglas County
Deck Builder in Villa Rica, GA
Elevated decks, pool decks, covered and screened porches, rebuilds and repairs, built to Villa Rica's permit rules.
Mon to Fri 8am to 6pm, Sat 8am to 1pm, closed Sunday
CompletedBefore you build
Two counties, one office.
Villa Rica straddles the Carroll and Douglas county line, and a lot of homeowners assume that means two sets of rules. Inside the city limits it does not. The City of Villa Rica building department handles permits for every parcel in the city, on either side of the county line. The counties only come in for septic approval and, on commercial jobs, the fire marshal. Outside the city limits on the Douglas County side, the Douglas County permit rules apply instead.
A Villa Rica mailing address does not guarantee city limits. If your house is outside them, the permit comes from the county you are in. We are based in Villa Rica, so working out which side you are on is the first thing we do.
Rules that matter for your project here
What Villa Rica requires.
Both counties, one city office
If you are on septic, that permit comes from the Carroll or Douglas County Environmental Health Department before you apply for the building permit. Commercial plans go to the fire marshal of the county they sit in.
Ten feet into the yard
Porches, decks or patios attached to the house may extend no more than ten feet into a minimum front or rear yard. A deck is defined as a platform, attached or freestanding, held up by pillars or posts.
Source: Villa Rica Zoning Sec. 4.04
Tall retaining walls need an engineer
A retaining wall over four feet tall, measured from the footing, must be designed by a structural engineer and submitted to the building department. That matters for hillside lots with an elevated deck above a cut bank.
Plan review and inspection calls
Initial plan review can take thirty business days, and the city wants one electronic PDF set of plans. Inspections must be called in before 4:00 pm the day before. We set the start date around that.
Who can pull the permit
A homeowner may sign an affidavit and get permits in their own name when acting as general contractor on their primary residence. In every other case, permits go only to Georgia licensed contractors.
Local amendments to the state code
The city adds its own amendments to the Georgia residential code. For a slab or footing under a covered patio or screened porch, it calls for #4 rebar in the footing and 6 by 6, ten-gauge welded wire in the slab.
Source: Villa Rica Code Sec. 6-4 and Georgia DCA
Fences around a deck or pool
In residential districts a fence can be 6 feet in the rear and side yards. In the front yard the code reads 4 feet, with its table at 3 feet solid and 4 feet open, so plan for 3 to 4. Chain link is allowed only in the rear yard and must be vinyl-coated.
Source: Villa Rica Zoning Sec. 7.09
HOA and lake communities
The city's checklist asks for a homeowners association approval letter where one applies. Fairfield Plantation requires committee approval before an attached deck is built or an existing one replaced. Mirror Lake has its own architectural review, which can take up to 30 days and says most requests clear in a week to two weeks.
Source: Villa Rica permit packet, Fairfield rules, Mirror Lake review form
Codes change and lots differ. Treat this as a map of what to ask, and confirm your own parcel with the office that covers it. More on Fairfield Plantation work.
What we build
Built for the lots here.
Elevated decks are a regular job: tall platforms with long stair runs and a patio underneath. An under-deck ceiling with gutters turns that space into a dry spot for chairs, and some jobs add a ceiling fan. Pool decks are the other staple, framed around the coping and sometimes paired with a privacy fence.
We frame in pressure-treated pine, or lay Trex over a pressure-treated frame when you want no staining. We have also built an accessible deck with Trex flooring and ramp-style decks. Screened decks get a roof, tongue-and-groove pine ceiling, soffit, fascia and gutters.
We also work on decks that already exist. We replace stairs and rails, extend a deck that has become too small, or tear out and rebuild when the frame is gone. See the full deck lineup, or our fencing and retaining walls.
Completed
Completed
CompletedHow it goes
From first call to final walk.
Send a quote request
Tell Ambrose what you want and where the house is. The size of the yard and the shape of the old deck save a trip.
Check the address
City limits or county, septic or sewer, and whether an HOA or a lake community has its own approval.
Estimate and permit
You get an estimate. We help with the plans the city asks for and handle the permit paperwork with whoever pulls it.
Build
Footings, a flashed ledger, framing, decking, rails and stairs, in that order.
Inspection and walkthrough
We call in the inspections the city requires, then walk the finished deck with you.
Questions
Villa Rica deck questions.
I live on the Douglas County side. Who permits my deck?
If your house is inside Villa Rica city limits, the city building department does, same as on the Carroll side. Only your septic approval comes from the Douglas County Environmental Health Department.
How far can my deck extend into the yard?
An attached deck may extend up to ten feet into the minimum front or rear yard. We measure your lot against the setback before drawing the deck.
Can I pull the permit myself?
Possibly. The city lets a homeowner sign an affidavit and act as general contractor on a primary residence. In every other case the permit goes to a Georgia licensed contractor. Either way, we handle the paperwork with whoever pulls it.
How long does the city take?
The city says initial plan review can take thirty business days. We build that into the schedule from the start.
Do you build in Fairfield Plantation or Mirror Lake?
We work in lake communities. Each has its own approval process on top of the city's, and we plan for it in the schedule. See our Fairfield Plantation page.
Can you repair a deck instead of replacing it?
When the frame is sound, yes. We swap boards, rails and stairs, or re-deck the surface. If the posts or joists are rotted, we rebuild the structure.
Tell Ambrose about your deck.
Send Ambrose a quote request. Describe the yard and the old deck you have now.