Our Work · Residential Carpentry
Custom Mahogany Deck
A mahogany deck and stairs built to replace a small rotted landing, from repairing the house itself to a drink-rail railing and a finish that ages well. Built in collaboration with HDA Carpentry.
How It Was Made
From rot repair to a deck built right.
Notes from the bench, in Dan's own words.
Fixing the house first
Joint project with HDA Carpentry. We pulled the old, rotted landing and, like always, found rot where it had been attached. Before anything new, we repaired the house with wood that matched its age and style. We never just slap a deck on; we fix what is behind it first.
Footings and framing
Instead of sonotubes, we set precast pyramid footings below the frost line; they hold more weight and resist pull-out, and you can build on them right away. Then we framed it: copper flashing and ice-and-water behind a ledger locked to the house, with joist hangers and hurricane ties everywhere, all to code.
Picture-frame and posts
We picture-frame our decks so you never see a raw cut end, and add extra blocking around every railing post so nothing wiggles. It is mahogany throughout, a naturally rot-resistant hardwood, face-screwed with stainless steel because the wood's tannins eat ordinary fasteners.
Mahogany decking
Every cut end got sealed against moisture, and the whole deck was treated with Penofin, a penetrating oil you refresh every couple of years to keep it looking new.
Stairs and the drink rail
The stairs are mahogany too, picture-framed, with even rise and run so you do not trip. We added a flat drink rail on top to lean on or set a glass, and skirted the framing in Azek with hidden Cortex plugs so no pressure-treated shows.
The finished deck
Done right the first time means no callbacks, and a deck you can enjoy for years. And we haul our trash out every day; we never leave a mess behind.
I build every piece to last for generations, with the same attention to the wood, the joinery, and the finish that went into this one. If you have something in mind for your own home, I would love to talk it through.
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