Building an Elevated Deck on a Foothills Lot: What to Plan For
The best views in the Denver area tend to come with a catch: the ground drops away right where you want the deck. If you live in Evergreen, Conifer, Morrison, the Golden foothills, or anywhere on the west side of the metro, there's a good chance your deck is going to be a second-story deck whether you planned on one or not.
Elevated decks are some of our favorite projects. They're also the ones where planning matters most. Here's what changes when the deck is ten or twelve feet in the air.
What makes an elevated deck different?
A ground-level deck is mostly about the surface. An elevated deck is a structure. The posts are taller, the loads are bigger, the beams span farther, and everything underneath is visible from the yard. A few things move to the top of the list:
Footings. Footings have to go below the frost line your building department requires, and on a slope they're often at very different depths from one another.
Lateral bracing. Tall posts need to resist sway, not just hold weight. Elevated decks get bracing and connection details that a low deck never needs.
The ledger. If the deck attaches to the house, that connection carries a lot of load. It has to be flashed and fastened correctly, or water gets behind it.
Stairs. A twelve-foot rise means a long staircase, often with a landing. Stairs take real planning on a sloped lot.
Do I need to worry about snow load?
Yes. Design snow loads in Colorado go up with elevation, so a deck in the foothills is usually engineered for more snow than the same deck in Lakewood. Your building department sets the number for your address, and we design the framing to it. If you're thinking about a roof or pergola over the deck, that snow load applies to the cover too.
What about wildfire rules?
Many foothills homes are in Jefferson County's Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI). The county's wildfire resiliency code applies to new construction and exterior alterations in unincorporated WUI areas, and that includes deck replacements. That affects which decking and framing materials you can use. We cover it in detail on our WUI decks page, and we handle the permit side for you.
What should the frame be made of?
On an elevated deck, the frame is a big part of what you see from below, and it's what's holding a lot of people and furniture in the air. That's why many of our elevated builds use our Forever Frame steel package or our Structural LVL frame. Steel won't rot or warp, and it's noncombustible. LVL is straighter and more consistent than sawn lumber. Both are worth a look before you default to standard lumber on a tall deck.
What about the space under the deck?
Don't forget the level below. An elevated deck creates a covered area underneath that can be a patio, storage, or just shade. Plan it early. Drainage, lighting, and whether you want the underside to look finished are all easier to handle during design than after the deck is built.
How do you plan an elevated deck before you build it?
Every project we take on starts with a site visit and a design consultation. We use SketchUp to build plans and photorealistic renderings, so you can see the deck from the yard, from the kitchen window, and from the street before anyone digs a footing. On a sloped lot, that step catches a lot of surprises.
If you're in Jefferson County, Golden, or the foothills and you've got a view that deserves a better deck, book a design consultation. We'll walk the site with you and tell you what it's going to take.
