Wood Deck Construction in Point Pleasant, NJ

Wood deck construction at the Jersey Shore is not like building inland. If your house sits right on the water in Point Pleasant, Bay Head, or Mantoloking, the salt air eats cheap hardware fast. Winter winds tear apart weak framing. And before you even dig a single hole, you have to deal with strict local zoning, NJ DEP CAFRA permits, and Impervious Surface Limits.

At Gambrick, we’ve been building custom decks here for over 30 years. We tell you the truth upfront: getting the right permits in Ocean & Monmouth County takes time. It can take weeks just to get the town’s approval. But when the paperwork is done, we build a structure that actually lasts.

Whether you want a simple ground-level space by the pool or a massive, multi-tier balcony for a raised FEMA-compliant home, we guarantee the frame is rock solid. We work hard to match your home’s style using the best natural wood for our harsh coastal climate:

Pressure-Treated Pine: This is a heavy, cost-effective wood. We use strictly “ground contact” rated lumber for incredibly durable structural framing and traditional deck boards.
Natural Cedar: This wood gives you that classic shore style. It fights off rot and bugs naturally, and it cools down very fast under the hot summer sun.
Mahogany & Ipe Hardwoods: These are dense, heavy exotic woods. They cost more upfront, but they take a beating from the saltwater and sun better than almost anything else on the market.

Every wood deck construction project we take on gets the exact same heavy timber framing skills used to build our million-dollar waterfront homes. Our team handles the difficult town zoning fights and variance applications so you get a finished deck your family can actually trust.

Engineered for the Coast: Wood Decks Built to Survive the Jersey Shore

Building decks on the coast is harsh. If you have a raised, FEMA-compliant home on Long Beach Island (LBI), heavy wind uplift will literally rip a poorly built deck off the house. We don’t cut corners. We follow strict NJUBC standards and IRC 2021 code. Here is exactly how we frame a deck to survive the elements:

Marine-Grade Hardware: Regular metal rusts quickly at the shore. We use heavy Simpson ZMAX galvanized brackets for basic builds. If your house is within 300 feet of the water, we only use 316 marine-grade stainless steel. It completely blocks the red rust, prevents galvanic corrosion, and chloride pitting that destroys standard metal in a single season.
Deep Foundations: You cannot pour shallow footings in beach sand because the ground shifts. We use engineered helical piles, deep timber pilings, or deep concrete footings to hit solid earth. We also use thick 6×6 timber posts and attach them to concrete piers with metal standoffs.
Waterproof Ledger Boards: Most deck failures start right where the wood meets the house. We bolt the ledger board directly to your home using heavy lag screws. We wrap the connection in premium membrane flashing. This guarantees saltwater and rain never get inside your walls to rot out the band joist.
Wind Bracing for Coastal Storms: Raised shore homes catch a lot of wind. We use heavy structural knee bracing to stop lateral sway during Nor’easters. Standard builders place floor joists 16 inches apart to save money. We frame using 12-inch joist spacing on center. It makes the deck completely rigid under your feet.
Stopping Interior Rot: Morning dew and heavy summer humidity soak into wood frames. We only buy AWPA-rated ground contact ACQ pressure-treated lumber. We tape the top of every single joist and seal every cut end with a liquid wood preservative. This stops interior rot before it starts.

We tell it straight. Over-engineering a deck frame costs more upfront. But it saves you the nightmare of ripping down a rotted, unsafe structure five years from now. We work hard to build a frame that actually lasts.

Wood Decking Comparison: Pine vs. Cedar vs. Ipe

Picking the right wood for a Jersey Shore deck comes down to your budget and how much maintenance you want to do. Here’s the honest truth about how these woods actually hold up to the salt air and the summer sun.

Wood Type	Upfront Cost	Expected Shore Lifespan	Maintenance Required	Heat in July Sun	Best Used For
ACQ-Treated Pine	Lowest	15 to 20 years	Low. You should wash and seal it every few years to prevent cracks and warping.	Medium. Gets hot in direct sunlight, but not as hot as composite decking.	Strict budgets and the heavy structural framing hidden under the deck.
Natural Cedar	Medium	20 to 25 years	Medium. Needs a stain or clear seal every 1 to 2 years to prevent cracking & splitting and to stop it from turning gray.	Medium. Gets hot in direct sunlight, but not as hot as composite decking. Cedar is a little cooler than treated pine.	Homes that have a classic Jersey Shore aesthetic and hot, direct-sun backyards.
Ipe (Tropical Hardwood)	Highest	30+ years	Low. Naturally fights rot and bugs. Oil it once a year to keep the rich brown color.	Low. Its high-density, low-thermal-conductivity structure absorbs far less heat than composite, plastic, or metal decking.	Direct waterfront properties beating back heavy saltwater spray.

Coastal Aesthetics & Custom Deck Configurations

A plastic-looking square deck ruins the classic shore style seen in Mantoloking, Bay Head, or Spring Lake. If you want a high-end look and feel, you need natural wood. It doesn’t bake in the July sun like fake composite does and custom wood deck construction gives you a rich, timeless look that actually fits the architecture of the Jersey Shore. It never looks cheap, and we can cut, bend, and shape it to fit any tight coastal lot.

We work hard to design a deck that actually makes sense for how you use your yard. Here’s how we handle complex coastal layouts:

Custom Shapes & Curves: We don’t just build standard squares. Using advanced carpentry techniques, we frame decks in any configuration, including sweeping curves, multi-angled layouts, and wrap-around designs that flow naturally around pools, hardscaping, or natural property lines.
Elevated Decks & Custom Stairs: For raised, FEMA-compliant coastal homes, we engineer multi-tier decks that connect your main living area to the ground level smoothly. We build custom staircases that are both structurally rigid and visually striking.
Under-Deck Storage: Raising a home or building an elevated deck creates valuable square footage. We design and enclose the space underneath your wood deck with custom skirting to provide secure, weather-resistant storage for beach gear, boating equipment, and outdoor furniture.

Every cut and joint is tight. We guarantee a finished deck that looks like it belongs on your house, not bolted on as an afterthought.

Custom Wood Decks & Luxury Outdoor Features

You buy a house on the Manasquan River or one of the lakes in Point Pleasant Beach for the view. But standard, thick wood railings block the water. And if you try to put a heavy stone kitchen, hot tub or fire pit on a basic deck, the wood will bend and sag under the weight. We design wood decks meant for heavy loads and clear sightlines.

Here’s how we build luxury features into a wood frame without it falling apart:

Clear Sightline Railings: We install slim cable railing, clear glass panels, or thin metal balusters. You get a wide-open view of the coast, and the deck still passes strict Ocean County building codes.
Custom Masonry & Fireplaces: You cannot just drop a 3,000-pound stone fireplace on a regular wood deck. The frame will fail. To add a custom masonry fire pit or chimney, we pour concrete footings and frame with massive structural beams to carry the dead weight safely.
Full Outdoor Kitchens: Grills, heavy stone countertops, and refrigerators weigh a lot. We over-engineer the floor joists under your cooking zone. We frame it tight so your outdoor kitchen never sags and your stone tops never crack.
Custom Pergolas: High shore winds can rip a cheap, bolt-on pergola right off the deck boards. Our custom built pergolas are designed to handle severe coastal winds and flooding.

From the first town drawings to driving the final stainless steel screw, we manage the whole job. We guarantee a deck that handles the heavy loads and looks great doing it.

Wood Deck Replacement & Mess-Free Demolition

The salt air, summer sun and winter freezing at the Jersey Shore destroys cheap wood frames fast. If your deck suffers from rotted joists, warped decking boards, or unstable railings, Gambrick provides complete wood deck replacement.

Tearing down an old deck is dirty work, but we don’t treat your yard like a dump. We handle the heavy demolition without ruining your siding or your landscaping.

Our tear-down and rebuild process includes:

Fixing Hidden House Rot: Most old decks were nailed right to the house with terrible flashing. Water gets behind the ledger board and silently rots the wood inside your walls. When we tear off the old deck, we inspect your house frame. If there’s rot, we fix it. Then we attach the new frame with heavy bolts and thick membrane flashing to guarantee water never gets inside your house again.
Passing Strict New Codes: Building codes in Point Pleasant and other shore towns change over time. Your old 1990s frame will fail modern wind-load requirements. We pull the new Ocean County and Monmouth County permits, and we build a new frame that actually passes today’s strict inspections.
Containing the Mess: We carefully dismantle your old wood deck and haul away all heavy debris. We protect your existing landscaping, pool areas, and hardscaping during the entire replacement project.

Ripping down an unsafe structure is a big job. We work hard to get the old mess out fast and build a solid, natural wood deck that adds real value to your property.

What Our Clients Are Saying

We recently tore down a rotted structure and built a new Ipe wood deck for a family right on the Manasquan River. They wanted a sturdy, low-maintenance outdoor space where they could enjoy quiet mornings and relax year-round with a view of the water. With built-in seating and subtle lighting, their new deck has quickly become a favorite spot for coffee and gatherings.

Here’s what local homeowner’s are saying about Gambrick.

★★★★★ “Reliable, professional, and excellent quality.”
I’ve worked with contractors before and none were as reliable as Gambrick. They built a heavy pressure-treated pine deck for our home in Red Bank and took care of everything from layout to final inspection. The crew was respectful, clean, and clearly experienced.

— Derek P., Red Bank, NJ

★★★★★ “Handled the town permits and built a rock-solid frame.”
Building a deck on a raised FEMA-compliant house in Point Pleasant is a nightmare with the town zoning. Gambrick handled all the annoying paperwork and built us a heavy natural cedar deck with custom timber stairs. It does not shake at all when the wind blows off the water. Honest builders who actually show up.

— Mike T., Point Pleasant, NJ

★★★★★ “Clean demolition and zero rust.”
Our old deck was literally rotting off the back of our house in Mantoloking. Gambrick tore it down without ruining our landscaping. They fixed the rotted ledger board on the house and used 316 marine-grade stainless steel hardware for the new frame. The crew worked hard and cleaned up the dumpster mess every single day.

— Sarah L., Mantoloking, NJ

Frequently Asked Questions

Building a deck at the Jersey Shore comes with specific questions about codes, timelines, and materials. Here are the answers to the most common questions we receive.

Do I need a permit to build or replace a wood deck in NJ shore towns?

Yes. Attached or elevated decks (over 30 inches) require a construction permit, and all decks need zoning approval for setback compliance. You need a property survey showing exact property lines and the new deck footprint. We manage the entire process, from the initial survey to the final inspection.

How do local regulations and FEMA codes affect my deck design?

Coastal towns enforce strict building codes, including “floor area ratio” (FAR) limits. For raised homes, we guarantee your deck meets all FEMA compliance standards, incorporating specific flood elevation heights, deep pilings, and structural cross-bracing to withstand severe weather.

How deep do the footings need to be in sandy coastal soil?

It depends on where you’re building. Shifting sandy soil and coastal storms require much deeper footings than inland builds. Foundations must comply with updated local codes, frequently requiring deep concrete footings or deep-driven timber or helical pilings. We evaluate your specific lot to guarantee maximum stability.

What’s the best wood for a coastal climate?

ACQ-treated lumber is a highly durable, cost-effective option. Natural cedar and redwood offer superior rot resistance and a classic shore aesthetic. But for extreme durability against saltwater and intense sun, premium tropical hardwoods like Ipe are the absolute best choice.

How do I prevent saltwater and moisture damage?

We exclusively use marine-grade stainless steel or high-quality coated fasteners to stop rust. For the natural wood boards, regular maintenance includes cleaning, possibly a light sanding, and re-staining or sealing every one to two years to prevent rot, warping, and splintering.

Should I use natural wooden boards or composite decking?

Wood offers authentic beauty but requires regular maintenance. Composite resists rot naturally and needs less upkeep, but gets hotter under the summer sun and carries a higher upfront cost. We work hard to help you weigh both options based on your specific property.

How long does construction take, and when should I start planning?

The actual construction time depends on the deck’s size, height, complexity, and site access. A multi-tier curved deck or one with a timber pergola takes longer to frame than a standard ground-level deck. Permits, blueprints, and designing can take another month or two.

Service Areas

Gambrick Construction is proudly based in Point Pleasant, NJ (08742). To maintain the highest level of quality control, we focus exclusively on the coastal communities of Ocean and Monmouth County:

Point Pleasant Beach & Borough
Bay Head & Mantoloking
Manasquan & Brielle
Spring Lake & Sea Girt
Brick Township (Shore Acres, Metedeconk)
Wall Township
Lavallette & Ortley Beach

Ready to Get Started?

Ready to Get Started? Let’s talk about how we can help.
Call 732-892-1386 or contact us online today.