The Improvement Ledger, No. 10 of 20<\/p>\n
Somewhere around 30 inches above grade, a deck stops being a platform and starts being a code question. That number, and four honest downsides the brochures skip, are what this entry is really about.<\/p>\n
Entry No. 10 moves the ledger outdoors for good. A 16 by 20 foot deck, 320 square feet, attached to the house on footings, pressure treated joists underneath, composite decking on top, stairs and railings, 30 inches above grade. In the 2021 national Cost vs. Value data: $22,426<\/b> in, $14,169<\/b> back, 63.2 percent<\/b> recouped.<\/p>\n
That 30 inches is not a design flourish. It is the threshold where building codes require a guardrail, which means posts, balusters and hardware, which means money. Deck height drives deck cost. The structure underneath is still wood even on a composite deck, treated posts with composite sleeves rolled over them, so what you are really buying is the walking surface and the promise attached to it.<\/p>\n
The promise is real: pay once, never stain, never paint, in the instructors’ phrase, fire and forget. But the course does something brochures never do and lists the honest downsides. Composite can fade over the years. It stains, especially grill grease. It is slippery when wet, essentially a given. And it runs hot in summer sun, hotter than wood, especially in the dark colors composite loves. If July barbecues and kids’ bare feet are the plan, color choice is not cosmetic.<\/p>\n
The printed spec: a 16 by 20 foot deck on pressure treated joists with composite decking, stairs, railings, and a composite fascia board, set 30 inches above grade. Contractors ballpark decks by the square foot first, then detail the decking brand and railing system, the same estimate first, details second method the course teaches for kitchens.<\/p>\n
The course numbers, No. 10 of 20, 2021 national report<\/p>\n
Both instructors flag that the 2021 national figure looks low for a quality build in nicer markets, a rare on camera admission that averages understate good work. The concept still holds: composite costs roughly a quarter to a third more than the same deck in wood, and, as entry No. 8 will show, recoups slightly less. The premium buys maintenance freedom and color choice, not resale value.<\/p>\n
This entry also invents a category the course did not have before: removal. For a deck that has become a hazard, the honest recommendation may be to take it off, leave the ledger board, and sell the house with a clean blank slate instead of a liability. Demolition can beat both repair and discount. A hazard gone is a fear gone, and buyers price fear expensively.<\/p>\n
The 2025 San Francisco metro figures: job cost $29,392<\/b>, resale $19,614<\/b>, a 66.7 percent<\/b> recoup, versus 74.1 percent for the Pacific region and 88.5 percent nationally. Notice the inversion: nationally composite now outperforms wood in the 2025 data, but in our metro wood still wins the ratio, 91.9 against 66.7. Outdoor rooms are valuable everywhere; our market just declines to pay the plastic premium.<\/p>\n Cost recouped, 2025 report<\/p>\n