Dimensioned drawing sets City of Ottawa applications Setback and easement checks

Deck Design and Permits in Ottawa

Deck Builders Experts produces the drawing set and files the City of Ottawa building permit application for deck projects that need one.

The threshold is a tape-measure answer. Once an attached deck’s walking surface sits more than 600 mm above adjacent grade, the project needs a permit. A freestanding deck needs one only when it is both more than 600 mm up and larger than 10 square metres, and zoning setbacks and drainage easements can pull a low deck into review anyway. We find out which one you are before anything gets priced.

The 600 mm threshold measured on site

Framing plan, elevations and details

Guard and stair dimensions on the drawings

Start With the Drawings

Tell us the deck height and roughly where it sits on the lot.

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The measurement that settles it

Deck Height, Measured From Finished Grade to the Walking Surface

Stand at the adjacent grade beside the deck and measure up to where the boards will be. If that number is more than 600 mm, which is 24 inches, a deck attached to the house needs a City of Ottawa building permit. A freestanding deck works differently: it needs a permit only when it is both more than 600 mm up and larger than 10 square metres, so a small freestanding deck can be exempt even when it is high, and a large low one can be exempt on height. Those numbers settle more arguments than anything else in deck planning, and any homeowner can check them with a tape measure before a builder comes out. What they do not settle is zoning. Setbacks still apply to an exempt deck, and proximity to a lot line or a drainage easement can trigger municipal review on a project that would otherwise need no paperwork at all. That is why we look at the lot, not just at the deck.

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What Is Actually In a Deck Drawing Set

A permit application is a set of drawings, not a form. Here is what goes on them.

Site plan with setbacks

The deck drawn on the lot, dimensioned to the lot lines and to anything else the zoning cares about. This is the drawing that answers the setback question before it becomes a problem.

Framing plan

Joist size, spacing and direction, beam sizes and spans, the ledger detail and its fastening, and the location of every footing. Footing count comes from beam and joist spans, not from a fixed formula.

Elevations

Deck height above grade on each side, post heights, and guard heights called out. This is where the 1,070 mm guard, and the 900 mm guard permitted while the surface is within 1.8 m of the finished ground, appear.

Footing detail

Depth, sonotube diameter and base sizing. Diameter is typically 10 to 12 inches with the flared base sized to the load, and in Ottawa and eastern Ontario footings are commonly taken to 1.5 m.

Stair and guard details

Rise and run through the flight, handrail height between 865 mm and 965 mm above the nosing on any exterior stair with more than three risers, and opening spacing in a required guard that will not pass a 100 mm sphere.

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Three Ways an Ottawa Deck Project Lands

Nearly every deck we quote falls into one of these, and the site visit is what tells us which.

Permit required

An attached deck whose walking surface sits more than 600 mm above adjacent grade, or a freestanding one that is both over 600 mm and larger than 10 square metres. A drawing set gets produced, the application goes to the City, and the build is inspected against the issued permit. Published residential deck permit fees generally run about $200 to $500, above a minimum fee, depending on size and review path.

Exempt, and clear

Freestanding and either under 600 mm above adjacent grade or no larger than 10 square metres, and well off the lot lines. No application, and the build still goes ahead on our own drawings so the framing is designed rather than improvised on site.

Exempt, but reviewed

Under both the height and area thresholds, yet close enough to a lot line or a drainage easement that the City still wants to look. This one surprises people, and it is exactly why we check the lot before quoting.

Why we draw an exempt deck too

No Permit Does Not Mean No Plan

An exempt deck is exempt from the application. It is not exempt from physics, and it is not exempt from the next owner’s home inspector. We draw every deck we build, permit or no permit, because the framing plan is what sets joist spans, beam sizes and footing count, and because a deck built without one gets built by eye. The second reason is resale. A deck that exists on paper, with footings and framing you can point at, is a very different conversation at closing from one nobody can account for. And if the deck is ever widened, raised or enclosed later, that drawing set is what the next permit application gets built on. You get the drawings at the end of the job either way.

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Our Process

From Site Measure to Permit in Hand

1

Site measure and lot check

Heights from grade at each corner, distances to the lot lines, and where any easement runs. This is where the permit question gets answered for good.

2

Design worked out with you

Footprint, levels, stair positions, guard style and where the deck meets the house, all settled before anything is drawn to scale.

3

Drawing set produced

Site plan, framing plan, elevations and details, dimensioned to the guard, stair and footing requirements the build has to meet.

4

Application filed and tracked

We submit to the City, answer any questions the reviewer comes back with, and keep you posted. The fee is a line item in your quote, not a surprise.

Design and Permit Clients

Feedback shared directly with us by clients.

We hired Deck Builders Experts to replace our old wooden deck. They explained our material options clearly and helped us choose a design that suited our home and budget. We are very happy with the result.

Excellent experience from the initial estimate to the final inspection. The builders paid close attention to every detail and kept us updated throughout the project. I would recommend them to other Ottawa homeowners.

Deck Builders Experts did an amazing job building our new backyard deck in Ottawa. The crew was professional, organized, and completed everything on schedule. The finished deck looks beautiful and feels very sturdy.

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Deck Drawing and Application Questions

How long does a permit application take in Ottawa?

It varies with the time of year and with how complete the submission is, and we confirm current turnaround with the City rather than quoting a number from memory. What we can control is the submission itself. A complete drawing set with setbacks, framing and footing details already dimensioned moves through review faster than one that comes back with questions. Spring is the busy season, so applying early is worth real time.

What drawings does the City want with the application?

A site plan showing the deck on the lot with setback dimensions, a framing plan with joist and beam sizes and footing locations, elevations showing height above grade and guard heights, and details for the footings and the stairs. That is the set we produce as standard, because a partial submission simply comes back.

Does a hot tub on the deck change the drawings?

Significantly. A filled tub with people in it is a heavy concentrated load in one spot, and the framing under it has to be designed for that rather than for a dining table. In practice that means additional beams, tighter joist spacing and extra footings directly under the tub position. Tell us at the design stage, because retrofitting that support under a finished deck means the boards come up.

My deck will be low and small. Am I definitely exempt?

Maybe, and the word definitely is what catches people out. A freestanding deck needs a permit only when it is both more than 600 mm above adjacent grade and larger than 10 square metres, so it is exempt if it misses either one, and zoning setbacks still apply on top of that. Proximity to a lot line or a drainage easement can trigger municipal review even on a deck that clears both thresholds. We measure the lot before telling you that you are clear.

Can I take your drawings and get other quotes?

Yes. A dimensioned drawing set is the only honest way to compare deck quotes, because otherwise three builders are pricing three different decks and the cheapest one is just the smallest. We would rather be compared on the same drawing than win on a vague one. How the drawings are handled if you do not build with us is set out in your written quote.

Does a roof or pergola over the deck go on the same application?

If the deck itself needs a permit, anything structural sitting over it belongs on the same drawing set rather than being added quietly afterwards. The posts carrying a roof or a pergola change the load the deck frame has to handle, so the framing plan has to show them from the start. Splitting them into two separate projects is how decks end up with shade structures lagged to the boards.