Fence or deck costs in Lansing

Lansing has eleven local historic districts, and only one of them, Cherry Hill, is named as a neighborhood district. The other ten are single buildings or sites, such as the Darius B. Moon House and the Ottawa Street Power Station. If your home is in Cherry Hill, the Historic District Commission reviews permits for construction and alteration, and its 2020 design guidelines get specific about decks and fences.

Decks belong on the rear or least visible side of the house, built so they could come off later without harming the historic structure. Unfinished lumber or decking isn't appropriate as the final look. The guidelines want the deck painted or stained in colors that suit the house, with skirt boards, and lattice where it fits, to screen the framing underneath. Taking off a historic porch to make room for a deck isn't appropriate either.

For fences, the guidelines call low retaining walls, low hedges and open fences right for front yards, and leave taller privacy fences and walls for side and back yards. Vinyl and chain link are listed as not appropriate in a historic district.

That's firmer than the state's own advice. Michigan's State Historic Preservation Office won't give a flat yes or no on modern materials like vinyl and says fencing material should be reviewed case by case, though it does say fencing a front yard should be discouraged.