Fence or deck costs in San Diego

Before you sketch a deck in San Diego, find out whether your lot sits in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. The city's residential deck bulletin says a deck there, attached or detached, has to be built with materials and methods that meet the State of California's Wildland-Urban Interface code. If the deck is inside a brush management zone, the city's landscape regulations apply as well.

Size isn't the only permit trigger. Development Services requires a building permit for any deck attached to the house, or one that serves as the main exit door, no matter how small. Large or high decks need one too. The bulletin's sample framing can't be used for a deck closer than five feet to a property line, or one carrying a hot tub or other heavy load.

The same bulletin is specific about rot and rust. Joists, beams and decking within eight inches of the ground have to be pressure-treated lumber or foundation-grade redwood. Every fastener and connector must be hot-dipped galvanized or stainless steel.

Wood-eating pests are part of the local story, too. The University of California's pest program notes that the Formosan subterranean termite, native to China, is now established in California, but so far only in a small area near San Diego. If you're opening up old posts and joists, that's worth a look from a licensed inspector.