Excel Custom Decks, a family owned deck building company owned by Rob McDonald, has detailed the custom deck design, construction, and inspection services it offers to homeowners in the Franksville, Wisconsin area ahead of the spring and summer building season. The company builds new residential decks across a range of styles and materials and also evaluates existing decks for structural condition.
"A deck is one of the largest additions most homeowners make to their property, so it has to be designed around how the family actually plans to live outdoors," said Rob McDonald, Owner of Excel Custom Decks. "The conversation comes first, and then the framing and the decking are matched to that design so the finished space both looks right and performs for years."
Excel Custom Decks builds decks in configurations ranging from single-level platform and raised designs to multi-level layouts that connect a home to its yard across changes in grade. The company frames with wood, steel, and aluminum, selecting the framing material based on the size of the structure, its span requirements, and the long-term durability a project calls for. Decking surfaces are finished with composite and PVC products from manufacturers including Trex, TimberTech, and Deckorators. Railing options range from traditional balusters to cable and glass systems, and lighting can be integrated into stairs, posts, and railing caps during construction rather than added afterward.
Composite and PVC decking are chosen by many homeowners for their resistance to moisture and their lower maintenance requirements compared with traditional wood, which are meaningful considerations in a climate with wide seasonal temperature swings and repeated freeze-thaw cycles. Because these products do not require the annual staining and sealing that wood decks often need, they tend to hold their appearance across seasons with routine cleaning rather than refinishing.
Each project begins with a design consultation and 3D deck models, which allow homeowners to preview the layout, railing style, and finish choices before construction starts. For elevated decks, the company offers underdeck systems that manage drainage and waterproofing while adding lighting and storage, turning the area beneath a raised deck into a dry, usable outdoor room.
Alongside new construction, Excel Custom Decks inspects existing decks. A structural review typically examines the ledger board where the deck attaches to the house, the joist and beam connections that carry the load, the fasteners and hardware holding the frame together, the condition and depth of the post footings, and the stability of the railing system. These are the components most likely to weaken over time, and the goal of the review is to give the homeowner a clear picture of which elements are sound and which need attention before the outdoor season begins.
In this climate, years of moisture exposure and repeated freezing and thawing can compromise framing and connections that still look sound from the surface, which is why the timing of a review matters.
"The failures we see most often are not obvious from the top of the deck. They are at the ledger, the footings, and the fasteners, where water and movement do their work slowly," said McDonald. "Catching those things early is far less disruptive, and far less expensive, than dealing with them after they have become a real problem."
When an inspection identifies a deck that no longer meets structural expectations, the company's design and construction services allow the same team to handle a rebuild or replacement, rather than referring the homeowner to a separate contractor to finish the work.
Beyond decks, Excel Custom Decks builds related outdoor living features such as pergolas and patios that extend the usable space around a home while keeping the deck as the central structure of the project.
Excel Custom Decks designs, builds, and inspects custom decks for homeowners in the Franksville, Wisconsin area. The family owned company is led by owner Rob McDonald and works with composite, wood, and PVC decking materials across a range of residential deck styles, from single-level platforms to multi-level designs.
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For more information about Excel Custom Decks, contact the company here:
Excel Custom Decks - Franksville
Josiah McDonald
+14144852817
josiahrmcdonald@gmail.com
12000 W 6 Mile Rd Suite A, Franksville, WI 53126, United States
