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Our work as a deck builder in Orcutt follows Santa Barbara County's rules, not a city's.

Santa Maria Deck Builders builds new decks, fixes and stains old ones, and adds patio covers and pergolas for homes in Orcutt, where Santa Barbara County's building rules apply because Orcutt isn't a city.

From a new deck off the back of the house to a patio cover for some shade, we handle the work, and we start with what the county asks of it.

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Backyard wood deck with railing and steps to a lawn, golden hills with oaks beyond

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Tell us your town and the deck work you have in mind. Estimates are free.

What Santa Barbara County asks of a deck in Orcutt

Will the county want a permit for my patio cover or raised deck?

You want shade over the patio or a deck off the back door, and you aren't sure what the county will ask of either one.

Orcutt isn't a city, so Santa Barbara County's rule applies here. Height above the ground decides it for a deck, and only a small, detached patio cover with no wiring or plumbing goes without a county permit. A pergola or an attached cover doesn't get that pass.

We look at how high your deck will sit and whether a patio cover stands on its own before we size it and build it.

Orcutt isn't a city, so there's no city building department in the picture. The county's rules are the ones that apply.

In unincorporated Santa Barbara County, Orcutt included, a deck needs a county building permit if any part of it is more than 30 inches off the ground, if it sits over a basement or a floor below, if it holds up a structure above it, or if it is part of an accessible route.

There, a detached patio cover can go without a county building permit only if it is small: one story, 120 square feet or less, no more than 12 feet tall, and with no wiring or plumbing.

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Wood false-front storefronts with a covered wood boardwalk along a small-town street

Old Town Orcutt and its wood boardwalks

Old Town Orcutt's design rules, written by the county, call for the look of the western oil town it grew from: wood false fronts and covered boardwalks along Clark Avenue and Broadway.

Wood false fronts and covered boardwalks are built from the same basic parts a deck is: posts, beams and boards.

Deck work we do for Orcutt homes

Every kind of deck work we do is open to Orcutt homes. If you're thinking about a patio cover, the county rule above for small detached covers is worth knowing before you pick a size.

How a deck job goes, from first look to last board

  1. Send the estimate form

    Tell us your town, the work you want and anything you know about the deck.

  2. We look at the deck or the yard

    We look at the frame, the footings and the space, and check what permit rules apply.

  3. You get a free estimate

    A clear price for the work, in wood or composite where that's a choice.

  4. We do the work

    Footings, frame, boards, stairs, railing, stain or cover, whatever the job is.

Nearby towns we work in

We build, repair and stain decks in these towns too.

ZIP code we cover in Orcutt: 93455

Ready to plan a deck or patio cover in Orcutt?

Send the estimate form at the top of this page with the work you have in mind. Estimates are free.

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