Decks built for the way Lake Murray lots actually sit
Almost no lot on this lake is flat. The ground falls away from the house toward the water, which means the deck is doing structural work long before anyone sets a chair on it. We size footings for the soil we hit, not the soil we hoped for, and we run beams and posts so the frame stays rigid on a slope instead of developing that spongy bounce you feel on older lake decks.
Multi-level decks that step down the bank instead of forcing one giant elevated platform
Stair runs and landings laid out for a safe walk down to a dock or yard
Footings poured to depth with hardware rated for exterior exposure
Composite or wood — what we'd tell you at the kitchen table
Composite costs more up front and gives most of it back in maintenance you never do. It also runs hotter underfoot in July, so on a full-sun deck we'll talk about lighter boards or a shade structure over the seating end. Pressure-treated pine is the budget-friendly option and still the right call on some projects, but it wants cleaning and re-sealing on a schedule. Hardwoods like ipe look outstanding and price accordingly.
Composite and PVC decking in low-heat colorways for full-sun exposures
Pressure-treated and hardwood options when the budget or look calls for it
Hidden fasteners and picture-frame borders so the surface stays clean
Railings, elevations and the view
A deck two feet off the ground and a deck twelve feet off the ground are different jobs. Height drives the railing code, the post schedule and the guard details. It also drives the conversation about what you want to see: at seated height, a standard picket rail cuts straight across the water line. Glass or cable railing keeps the lake in frame from a chair, which is where you'll spend most of your time.
Glass, cable, aluminum and wood railing systems, all code-compliant
Deck heights set so the view works seated, not just standing
Under-deck drainage and finished ceilings to make the space below usable
Drainage, water and long-term durability
The failures we get called to fix are almost always water related — a ledger flashed badly, a low spot that holds standing water, red-clay runoff undermining a footing. We flash the ledger properly, slope surfaces so water leaves, and where the grade dumps toward the house we handle it with drainage or a retaining wall before the deck goes on top of the problem.