Decks, Porches & Pergolas

Charlotte summers are hot and humid enough that the outdoor room matters as much as anything inside the house. D'Avila Handyman builds decks, covered porches and pergolas that give you somewhere shaded to actually be outside without getting cooked — and builds them solid, not just quick.

Norge's outdoor work goes beyond the standard deck-and-rail job, too — one of the photos on this site is a full wood footbridge he built from scratch, which gives you an idea of the kind of custom outdoor carpentry he's comfortable taking on. Whatever the structure, it starts with a look at the yard and a conversation about how you actually want to use the space.

What's included

• New deck construction
• Covered porches tied into the house
• Pergolas and shade structures
• Custom outdoor carpentry, including footbridges
• Footings and framing built for Charlotte clay soil
• Free in-person estimate and walkthrough

Outdoor structures live or die on what's underneath the finished surface — footings set below frost depth, ledger boards attached correctly to the house, joists spaced right for the decking you're putting on top. Charlotte's red clay soil doesn't drain the way sandy soil does, so footings and post bases need to account for that or the structure moves over time.

A covered porch adds a roof structure tied into the house, which is a different job than an open deck — it needs to shed water correctly and tie in without creating a leak point at the house wall. Pergolas sit in between: less structure than a roof, but still needs posts set deep and square so it doesn't rack in a storm. Norge builds all three the same way — solid from the ground up, not just good-looking from the yard.