Premium Deck Builders | Newman Homes
Almost every deck builder in Maine quotes a lump sum without a rate, which makes comparing three bids nearly impossible.
- 25+ years in construction, building as Newman Homes since 2017
- Over 200 projects completed in Central Maine
- Affordable work, two-year written warranty
What Newman Homes charges to build a deck in Central Maine, starting at $80 a square foot for pressure-treated and running to $120 for complicated layouts.
The frame is what decides how long a deck lasts, so it gets the attention and most of the budget. Footings go below frost depth, joist tops get taped, and the ledger is flashed properly or the deck gets built freestanding instead.
The counterintuitive part is scale. Small decks cost more per square foot, not less, because footings are close to a fixed cost. An 8x12 with stairs lands near $9,800 and a 12x16 costs about a thousand more for exactly twice the deck. If you are torn between small and slightly bigger, bigger is the better buy.
What Deck Building Services Do We Offer?
We design and build complete decks across Central Maine, from the footings to the last stair tread, under one fixed-price contract. The frame decides how long a deck lasts, so it gets the attention and most of the budget.
- Footings and framing. Every footing goes four feet down to full frost depth, on helical piles for most jobs because they go in clean and do not need a hole to stay open. Joists run 16 inches on center, tightened to 12 under PVC, with joist tape on the top edge of every one.
- Wood and composite deck construction and replacement. We recommend TimberTech and AZEK first, with pressure-treated when the budget sets the terms and Trex on request. When an old deck comes off, the frame comes off with it, because new boards on a spent frame buy you very little.
- Railing, stairs and landings. Westbury aluminum is our default railing, with TimberTech Radiance Rail as the composite alternative. Every stair flight and landing sits on its own footings, and the rim gets trimmed so no end grain shows.
What Do Homeowners Say About Newman Homes?
Read more reviews- ★★★★★
Did a great job on my front steps and my stairs inside.
Dan T. - ★★★★★
They were quick and efficient. Left no mess behind. Brandon the owner also was easy to work with.
Ben G. - ★★★★★
Great company to work with. Very communicative and quick with the work.
Michael M.
How Much Does It Cost to Build a Deck?
The cost to build a deck with Newman Homes starts at $80 per square foot for all pressure-treated, turnkey with railing, and runs $100 to $120 for larger or more complicated layouts. These qualifying ranges come from averaging hundreds of our quotes, so your deck will land near them rather than exactly on them.
| Scope | Figure |
|---|---|
| All pressure-treated, new build | $80 per square foot |
| Larger or more complicated layouts, shapes and tie-ins | $100 to $120 |
| Project floor, all pressure-treated | $10,000 |
| Project floor, composite decking with composite railing | $15,000 |
Towns farther out, with camp roads, ledge or urban staging, run up to 10% higher. We assign that by area, never job by job, and each town's page names its tier and the reason for it. Waterville and some southern Maine towns set the deck permit fee as a percentage of the total project price. On a large deck that is a real line item, and we build it into the estimate rather than surprising you with it.
What Other Contractor Services Do We Offer?
What Is the Best Deck Material for Maine Homes?
Composite and PVC are the best deck materials for most Maine homes, and TimberTech and AZEK are the ones we install most. They hold up to freeze-thaw and lake humidity without the yearly sanding and sealing a wood deck demands.
Pressure-treated still makes sense on a tight budget, as long as you know a wood deck is done at about twenty years. Deckorators mineral-based boards are a newer option we quote where PVC is not the right fit.
PVC moves with temperature, so we face-screw and plug it rather than using hidden clips. TimberTech's own specifications are worth reading on span and fastening.
Is It Time to Replace Your Existing Deck?
It is time to replace your deck if it is about twenty years old and you have already swapped out a few boards that turned dangerous. Patching is the end of a wood deck's life, not the middle, and the frame usually failed before the boards did.
Look at where the deck meets the house. A ledger without flashing is the single most common serious defect we find on an existing deck, and it rots the wall behind it as well.
Deck framing, ledger connections and guards all fall under the residential code. The ledger section is the one worth reading first.
Why Do Our Decks Outlast the Cheap Ones?
Our decks outlast the cheap ones because we refuse the three shortcuts that make a low bid possible. We never set a frame on floating deck blocks, and we never fasten a ledger without flashing.
We also will not lay new decking over an old frame. Framing is the cheapest material in the job, so saving there to spend on composite gets the ratio backwards.
What Is Our Deck Building Process?
We walk the site and price it.
We check where the deck goes, what the grade does, how high it sits and whether usable footings already exist, then send a written price with the rate showing and stairs, railing and tie-ins on their own lines.
We file the permit and build the frame.
We file the permit, and your town's code officer decides what gets approved. Then footings go to depth, the frame goes up square, and joist tape goes on before a board goes down.
We finish it and walk it with you.
Decking, railing, trim and cleanup come last, followed by a walkthrough against the written scope and a 2-year workmanship warranty.
Why Do Small Decks Cost More per Square Foot?
Small decks cost more per square foot because footings cost nearly the same no matter how much deck sits on them. Understand this before you shrink a design to save money.
An 8x12 pressure-treated deck with stairs and six footings runs about $9,800. A 12x16 costs roughly $1,000 more, and you get exactly twice the deck.
Height follows the same pattern. Once a deck rises past about 2 feet, staging adds roughly one crew day, and that day costs the same on a 3-day build as on a 12-day one.
So if you are torn between small and slightly bigger, bigger is the better buy. Our deck cost guide walks through the stair and material choices in detail.
Our all-pressure-treated decks start at $80 per square foot, turnkey, with railing included. The sections below explain exactly what moves that rate.
Newman Homes has built from Augusta since 2017 under Brandon Roberge, who brings 25+ years of building experience. By a count we update monthly, 94% of our jobs hold to both the original schedule and the original price.
How Do You Choose the Right Deck Builder?
Choose the deck builder who puts the structure in writing, because Maine has no state licensing standard for deck builders or general contractors. Anyone can sell you a deck here, so the contract has to carry the weight.
Ask every bidder for these three things on paper.
Footing depth and type, joist spacing under the decking you chose, and whether joist tape is included, which it usually is not on a cheap bid.
How the ledger is flashed, or confirmation that the deck is freestanding.
The contract should follow Maine's home construction contract law, with the first payment held to one third. Ours carries a 2-year workmanship warranty, backed by an A+ BBB profile.
What Do Homeowners Ask About Decks?
We can build on existing footings only when they are four feet deep, sound and spaced for the new frame. Most footings under a twenty-year-old deck fail at least one of those, and we tell you which before we price.
Composite is worth the money for most homeowners, on maintenance alone. The project floor is higher, and the 20-year cost usually is not.
A deck takes three days to two weeks to build, depending on size, height and stair count. A deck high off the ground adds about a crew day for staging.
How Do You Get a Price on a New Deck?
Call (207) 480-7700. Someone answers around the clock, usually Brandon.
Or email [email protected] with a rough size and a photo. You can also request a free estimate.