WORCESTER | HOLDEN | SHREWSBURY | LEOMINSTER
Decks and paver patios built to Massachusetts code, on footings that go below frost. ARM Construction builds both, which means we can tell you which one your property actually needs.
Most deck companies build decks. Most hardscape companies build patios. When you call one of them, you tend to get a recommendation for the thing they sell.
ARM Construction does both, and the reason is our background. Andrew Mercurio is a fourth-generation mason who grew the company into full general contracting, so the stonework and paver work is self-performed rather than subcontracted, and so is the concrete for deck footings. On a sloped lot, that means we can look at the grade and give you an honest answer about whether a deck, a patio, or both is the right call, instead of measuring the yard for whichever product happens to be in the truck.
It also matters on the part nobody sees. A deck is a structure carrying live load, attached to your house, standing on concrete that has to reach below frost. That is general contracting with masonry underneath it.
Footings have to go below the frost line, which in Massachusetts runs roughly 42 to 48 inches depending on the town. That is among the deepest frost depth requirements in the country, more than double what most states require, and it is the single biggest reason decks cost more to build here. A footing that stops short heaves and settles every winter, racking the frame and slowly working the deck away from the house.
The ledger connection is where decks fail. The ledger board attaches the deck to your house, and code requires it to be bolted or lagged according to specific fastener spacing tables, and flashed so water cannot get behind it onto the band joist. Ledger failure is the most common cause of catastrophic deck collapse. A ledger that was nailed instead of bolted, or installed without flashing so the band joist behind it has been rotting quietly for fifteen years, is the reason decks come down with people on them. Lateral load connections that resist the deck pulling away from the house serve the same purpose.
Guards, stairs, and railings have specific requirements. Guards are required wherever the walking surface is more than 30 inches above grade, at a minimum height of 36 inches for residential, with balusters spaced so a 4-inch sphere cannot pass. Stair riser heights cannot vary by more than three eighths of an inch across a flight, which sounds fussy until you have caught your foot on the one step that is different.
And the inspections are real. Massachusetts building departments inspect footings after the holes are dug and before concrete is poured, to verify depth and undisturbed soil. Then framing, then a final. Each has to pass before the permit closes.
You need a building permit for a deck attached to your house, regardless of size or height. For any deck more than 30 inches above grade, attached or not. For any deck larger than 200 square feet. For a deck serving a required exit door, which the deck off your back slider usually is. And in most Massachusetts towns, for replacing an existing deck rather than just swapping the surface boards, or for modifying an existing ledger, footings, or framing.
The exemption is narrow: a freestanding platform under 200 square feet, under 30 inches above grade, not attached to the house, and not serving an exit. Even then, many towns require zoning review to confirm setbacks and lot coverage, so it is worth a call rather than an assumption.
One detail worth knowing. If you hire a contractor to build your deck in Massachusetts, a Construction Supervisor License number has to appear on the permit application. That is a state requirement, not a formality. Andrew holds Massachusetts Construction Supervisor License #CS-093044, issued in 2011, and ARM Construction & Management Inc holds Home Improvement Contractor Registration #153199. Both are active and verifiable through the Commonwealth.
If your property is within 100 feet of wetlands, Conservation Commission review applies and can add several weeks to the timeline. On the larger wooded lots common in Princeton, Sterling, and Holden, that comes up more often than homeowners expect. We handle the permitting and the inspection schedule either way.
Pressure treated is the value option and it still makes sense for a lot of projects, particularly larger decks where the cost difference across the whole surface is substantial. The tradeoff is maintenance. In this climate a PT deck needs cleaning and staining or sealing on a regular cycle, and skipping it is how a ten-year deck becomes a six-year deck.
Composite costs more up front and effectively eliminates the maintenance. No staining, no sanding, no board replacement from rot. In Massachusetts, where a deck spends four months under snow and ice and the freeze-thaw cycle works on everything, that durability argument is stronger than it is in a mild climate. The honest caution is that composite gets hot in direct summer sun, more so in darker colors, and that lower-end composite products from twenty years ago earned the category a reputation that current products do not deserve.
Cedar and hardwood sit between the two on cost and look better than either. They need maintenance like PT does, and they cost roughly $30 to $55 per square foot installed.
Whatever the surface, the framing underneath is pressure treated lumber and the structure is what determines how long the deck lasts. A composite surface on an undersized frame with shallow footings is an expensive way to be disappointed.
The honest answer is usually determined by how far your back door sits above the yard.
A deck makes sense when there is real distance between the door and grade. Bridging that with a patio would mean substantial fill, retaining walls, or steps that eat the yard. A deck spans it directly.
A patio makes sense when the door is close to grade. Properly built, a paver or stone patio outlasts a wood deck by a wide margin, never needs staining, and does not have a structural connection to your house that can fail. It also does not require the frost-depth footings and permitting a deck does, though it absolutely requires a proper compacted base, which is the part that separates a patio that stays flat from one with a lip you catch your toe on by the third spring.
Both is the right answer more often than people expect on a sloped lot: a deck off the house at door level, stairs down, and a patio at grade below. That combination is where doing both trades in-house pays off, because one company sequences the footings, the frame, the base prep, and the pavers rather than two companies coordinating around each other.
Our masonry and stonework page covers the patio, walkway, and stone side in more detail.
A typical 300 to 400 square foot deck generally starts around $9,000 to $15,000 in pressure treated lumber. A larger composite deck with upgraded railings, stairs, and built-in features runs $25,000 to $30,000 or more. Cedar and hardwood commonly run $30 to $55 per square foot installed.
Massachusetts runs meaningfully above the national average for deck construction, and the two reasons are structural rather than optional. Frost depth footings at 42 to 48 inches are more than double what most states require, which means more excavation, more concrete, and more labor before a single board goes down. Regional labor rates account for most of the rest.
Permit fees typically add $100 to $500 depending on the town, usually calculated as a base fee plus a percentage of estimated construction cost.
Patios are priced differently, by area and by what the base requires. A patio on flat, well-draining ground is a fraction of the cost of one on a slope or on wet ground where the base has to be excavated and rebuilt. Access matters too: a backyard a machine can reach costs materially less than one where everything moves by wheelbarrow.
We build decks and patios in Worcester, Holden, Princeton, Sterling, West Boylston, and Boylston, along with Shrewsbury, Leominster, Westborough, Northborough, Southborough, and Grafton.
Deck work here is seasonal on the front end. Footings are hard to pour between December and March, and at elevation in Princeton the window is shorter still. Spring books up fast. If you want a deck for summer, the time to call is late winter, not May.
What Our Customers Say
I can't say enough good things! I needed a small finish job done at the last minute, and Andrew made it happen quickly and without any stress. The craftsmanship was perfect and everything looks amazing. I'm extremely happy and would recommend him to anyone!
Andrew and his team are detail-oriented. They are skilled and helped me understand the process of renovating my kitchen. Fantastic communication & high quality service! I am so lucky to have them and recommend them to anyone! When they built my deck, it was so fast & efficient! Call Andrew, you won't regret it
Andrew replaced a garden window in my kitchen, and a sliding door. He did a meticulous job, and went above and beyond to accommodate some special requests that I had. His attention to detail and willingness to do whatever it took to make me happy didn't go unnoticed. Will definitely use him each and every time!
Here is what Worcester County homeowners ask us most about decks. If your question is not here, call us at (774) 249-0221.
Almost always. A building permit is required for any deck attached to the house, any deck more than 30 inches above grade, any deck larger than 200 square feet, and any deck serving a required exit door. Replacing an existing deck, rather than just swapping the surface boards, usually requires a new permit as well, and so does modifying an existing ledger, footings, or framing. The narrow exemption is a freestanding platform under 200 square feet and under 30 inches high that is not attached to the house and does not serve an exit. Even then, many towns require zoning review to confirm setbacks and lot coverage. If you hire a contractor, a Massachusetts Construction Supervisor License number has to appear on the permit application.
Below the frost line, which in Massachusetts runs roughly 42 to 48 inches depending on the town. That is among the deepest frost depth requirements in the country and it is a large part of why decks cost more to build here than in warmer states. A footing that does not reach below frost will heave and settle every winter, which racks the frame and eventually pulls the deck away from the house. The building department inspects footings after the holes are dug and before any concrete is poured, specifically to verify depth and undisturbed soil at the bottom.
Ledger failure, almost every time. The ledger board is what connects the deck to your house, and it has to be bolted or lagged according to the code's fastener spacing tables and properly flashed to keep water off the band joist behind it. A ledger that was nailed rather than bolted, or installed without flashing so the band joist has been quietly rotting for a decade, is the single most common cause of catastrophic deck collapse. Lateral load connections that keep the deck from pulling away from the house matter for the same reason. None of this is visible once the deck is finished, which is exactly why it is worth caring about who builds it.
It usually comes down to grade. If your back door sits well above the yard, a deck bridges that distance and a patio would require significant fill or retaining. If your door is close to grade, a patio is often the better answer: it costs less to maintain, it never needs staining or board replacement, and properly built it outlasts a wood deck by a wide margin. Sloped lots sometimes want both, with a deck off the house and a patio at grade below it. We build both, which means we can tell you which one your property actually wants rather than recommending the one we happen to sell.
A typical 300 to 400 square foot deck generally starts around $9,000 to $15,000 in pressure treated lumber, and runs $25,000 to $30,000 or more for a larger composite deck with upgraded railings, stairs, and built-in features. Cedar and hardwood fall between, commonly $30 to $55 per square foot installed. Massachusetts runs meaningfully above the national average for deck construction, largely because of the frost depth footing requirement, which is more than double what most states require, and higher regional labor rates. Permit fees typically add $100 to $500 depending on the town.
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ARM Construction & Management Inc
131 Houghton Road
Princeton, MA 01541
(774) 249-0221
Licensed and insured in Massachusetts. MA CSL #CS-093044 | MA HIC Reg. #153199
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