Deck builders in Merion Station, PA

With a median construction year of 1938, a typical home in Merion Station is roughly 88 years old — older than modern deck building itself. Any deck on these houses was added later, often more than once, so it pays to find out when the current one was built and how it is attached.

Older houses frequently have rim boards, sill plates or masonry that were never designed to carry a ledger. A freestanding deck supported on its own beams and posts, or a ledger connection designed around the existing framing, is often the more reliable choice than bolting into century-old wood.

That makes Merion Station's housing 33 years older than Montgomery County as a whole, where the median home was built in 1971. Statewide, the median Pennsylvania home was built in 1965. Among the 120 covered Pennsylvania communities with Census data, Merion Station ranks #6 for oldest housing. In this ZIP code, 84% of homes were built before 1960, 12% between 1960 and 1979, 3% between 1980 and 1999, and 2% since 2000 — the single largest group dates to the before 1940.

The nearest NOAA climate station with 1991–2020 normals is Phila Franklin Inst, about 5 miles away. It records an average of 62 days a year with a low at or below 32°F — a moderate number of freezing nights. On roughly 50 of those days the temperature climbs back above freezing, so water in wood, soil and gaps between boards repeatedly freezes and thaws.

Frost is less severe in Merion Station than in northern states, but footings still have to meet the local frost-depth requirement, and freeze-thaw cycles are enough to work loose nails and open checks in unsealed wood.

Average snowfall near Merion Station is about 16.1 inches a year (Phila Franklin Inst). That's enough that shoveling and ice-melt choices affect deck surfaces, and stair treads benefit from good texture and drainage.

Merion Station sees about 50.7 inches of precipitation a year, with measurable rain or snow (0.1 inch or more) on about 82 days. Good drainage between boards, clean gaps and a ledger that is properly flashed keep that water from rotting the frame.

Summers are hot: average summer highs are near 87°F, with about 40 days a year reaching 90°F or more. Surface temperature is a real consideration — lighter board colors, shade from the house or a pergola, and heat-mitigating composite lines are worth comparing.

On Merion Station's many older homes, a wood-look capped composite or a stained cedar deck usually suits the architecture better than high-gloss boards.

Merion Station has about 1,831 housing units across its covered ZIP code. 77% are single-family detached homes, 11% are attached homes such as townhouses and rowhouses, and about 13% are in buildings with two or more units. Roughly 88% of occupied homes are owner-occupied.

Detached single-family homes dominate in Merion Station, so most decks are backyard decks attached to the rear of the house. That gives more freedom on size, layout and stairs, and makes a well-planned deck one of the most-used rooms of the home.

• Retrofit decks on older homes: about 1,719 homes (94%) predate 1970. Here the priority is confirming that add-on decks are properly attached — or rebuilding them freestanding — before any cosmetic work.
• Replacement and major repair: about 82 homes (4%) were built between 1970 and 1999, the age group whose original or early add-on decks are most likely to have worn-out framing, connectors and boards.
• Upgrades and expansions: about 30 homes (2%) were built since 2010. Their decks are usually sound but small or builder-grade, so enlarging the deck, adding stairs and switching to composite or upgraded railings are common.

Merion Station's milder winters — about 62 freezing nights a year — allow construction through most of the year. Peak summer heat (around 40 days at 90°F+) is the hardest time to apply stain or work in full sun, so many projects are scheduled for spring and fall.

For Merion Station, PA, ask the permit office whether your deck needs a permit based on its size, height and attachment to the house, which drawings and inspections are required. Statewide code background for Pennsylvania is on our state page; local rules change, so the building department remains the authority.

The closest covered area is Bala Cynwyd, about 1.1 miles from the center of Merion Station's covered ZIPs. Its median home was built in 1960, 22 years later than in Merion Station. Merion Station has 25 percentage points more detached single-family homes (77% vs. 52%), which changes how many projects are backyard decks versus compact townhouse decks. Owner-occupancy is 88% in Merion Station compared with 72% in Bala Cynwyd. Merion Station's covered ZIP code span about 1.3 square miles of land with roughly 1,831 homes — about 1,408 per square mile, a typical suburban density where most homes have usable backyards.