Wood Deck Building in Aurora, CO

Wood deck building still makes sense for plenty of Aurora homes: it costs less than composite to put in, it can be refinished in any color, and nothing looks quite like real cedar. The trade-off is maintenance. In Aurora's dry air and strong sun, wood loses moisture, checks and grays faster than it would in a humid climate, so a wood deck needs a finish plan from day one.

Pressure-treated pine versus cedar

Pressure-treated pine is the workhorse. It is treated to resist rot and insects, and Angi lists $2 to $5 per square foot for the lumber alone. Cedar runs about $3 to $7 per square foot for materials and is naturally resistant to decay, lighter, and more stable, with a warmer color. Many builds use treated lumber for the framing, which is hidden and carries the load, and cedar for the visible decking and rails. Redwood and tropical hardwoods such as ipe are also options, at a much higher price.

Why dry air is hard on wood

Aurora averages about 18 inches of precipitation a year. Wood that dries out shrinks, and boards that go through swings between wet snow and bone-dry sun will check and cup if they are not protected. We seal fresh end cuts, space boards so they can drain and dry evenly, and recommend a penetrating stain soon after the wood has dried enough to accept it. Freshly treated lumber is often too wet to stain right away; we will tell you when it is ready.

Connectors and screws

Today's treated lumber is harder on steel to steel than older formulas, so hangers, screws and bolts need to be rated for contact with treated wood, usually hot-dip galvanized or stainless. We use connectors rated for the lumber and follow the hardware maker's installation details, because a deck is only as strong as its connections.

Footings and framing for Aurora

The City of Aurora's design criteria set a 36-inch frost depth, a 34 psf ground snow load and a 115 mph design wind speed for typical homes. Wood joists and beams are sized to carry those loads over the spans in your design, posts are fastened to their footings with hardware rather than toe-nailed, and the ledger gets through-bolts into the rim joist plus flashing above it. The American Wood Council's prescriptive deck guide, DCA 6, lays out details such as minimum 6x6 posts and flashed, bolted ledgers, and the city's inspector checks the framing before the decking goes down.

Planning for upkeep

Angi's 2026 figures suggest restaining a wood deck every two to three years and put a quality stain's life at two to five years. Decks facing the afternoon sun land at the low end. For owners who want to skip refinishing, a composite deck surface over wood framing is a common middle path, and we can price both side by side.

HOA and permits

HOAs in many Aurora neighborhoods specify stain colors or railing styles. We collect those rules before finalizing a design, and we put together the city permit package for attached or elevated decks.