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Outdoor Living & Decks · Cumming, GA
Decks & Outdoor Living in Cumming, Georgia
Covered porches, screened rooms, decks, and outdoor kitchens built to be used in August as well as October.
Outdoor Living and Decks in Cumming
Built to be used in August and in January
The deck on the back of most Forsyth County houses was framed in around 2001, out of pressure treated lumber, with nothing over it. It takes full afternoon sun from May through September, which is exactly the half of the year you would want to be out there. So it sits empty, the boards cup and gray, and the family uses it twice a summer. Putting a roof over that space changes what it is worth to you far more than any amount of new decking will.
A covered porch is a structure, not a deck with a lid on it. It carries roof load down through posts into footings that have to be sized for it, it ties into a roofline that was never drawn to receive it, and it needs flashing at that seam that will still be dry in ten years. That connection is what separates work that lasts from work that leaks, and it is the reason this is a general contractor’s job rather than a deck crew’s.
Scope of Work
What we build outside
Most decks run 2 to 4 weeks of construction. Covered and screened porches run 5 to 10 weeks, longer with an outdoor kitchen or a masonry fireplace.
Covered porches
A roofed structure carrying real load down to sized footings, tied into an existing roofline that was never drawn to receive it.
Screened rooms
Screen, door, and framing detailed so the view stays open, worth it on the wooded and lakefront lots north of town.
Decks and rebuilds
New decking and framing, or a full rebuild where a twenty-year-old pressure treated deck has reached the end of it.
Outdoor kitchens
Gas, water, drainage, and power planned in at framing instead of surface-mounted afterward, with counters built for weather.
Fireplaces and fire features
Masonry fireplaces and chimneys, permitted by Forsyth under the same deck and porch permit as the structure itself.
Grading, patios, and stone
Hardscape, steps, and drainage so the water leaves the way you want it to rather than the way the lot decides.
Local Requirements
Permitting in Cumming and Forsyth County
Permitting is handled by Forsyth County Planning & Community Development, or the City of Cumming if the property sits inside city limits. Here is what actually shapes the schedule on an outdoor living project in Cumming.
Two different building departments
Whether your project is reviewed by Forsyth County or the City of Cumming depends on which side of the city limit line your parcel falls on. We confirm jurisdiction before drawings are started, because the submittal packages are not the same.
The permit does not certify your setbacks
Forsyth County states plainly on the deck and porch permit that issuing it does not assure the setbacks have been met or that the structure does not encroach on an easement or a buffer, and that this responsibility sits with the owner. On a creek lot or a lot with a rear utility easement, that sentence is the entire risk. We pull the recorded plat and lay out the footings against it.
Septic approval comes before the building permit
If your home is on septic, Forsyth County Environmental Health has to sign off on the proposed footprint before a building permit can be issued, and that review can take twenty business days or more. It is the item most likely to move your start date, so we file it first.
Watershed and stream buffers north of town
Parts of northern Forsyth sit inside the Etowah Water Supply Watershed overlay, which carries impervious surface setbacks measured from the stream bank. On sloped or creek-adjacent lots we check this before laying out a footprint rather than after.
What actually moves a porch schedule
A deck and porch permit reviews quickly next to new construction. What moves the date is the paperwork in front of it: a scaled site plan, a copy of the approved recorded plat, and Environmental Health approval when the home is on septic, all of which have to be assembled before the application goes in.
Why GHIR
Why Cumming homeowners choose GHIR
Plat and setbacks checked before layout
Forsyth County puts setback, easement, and buffer compliance on the owner in writing, on the permit itself. We pull the recorded plat, locate the buffers, and confirm the footprint before anything gets dug.
The roof tie-in is detailed, not improvised
Where new roof meets old roof is where these projects fail. We detail the flashing and the structural connection during design and look at it before it gets covered.
Built for the way Forsyth sits
Sloped wooded lots, red clay that holds water, and stream buffers north of town. Footing depth, drainage under the structure, and post placement all get set against what your lot actually is.
Kitchens, fireplaces, and screen planned in
Gas, water, drainage, and power go in at framing instead of getting surface-mounted later. Forsyth permits an outdoor fireplace under the same deck and porch packet, so it goes in one submittal.
Project Collection
Recent outdoor living in Cumming
Porch & Outdoor Living Addition
Smith Project
Cumming, GA
Deck Rebuild
Kelly Project
Cumming, GA
Deck Rebuild
Barnes Project
Cumming, GA
Kitchen Addition & Deck Rebuild
Cone Project
Cumming, GA
Areas We Serve
Outdoor Living and Decks across Cumming & Forsyth
Cumming grew faster than almost anywhere in Georgia between 1995 and 2010, which means a large share of its housing stock is now twenty to thirty years old: good bones, dated layouts, and closed-off kitchens that no longer match how the families inside them actually live.
How It Works
Your outdoor living project, step by step
Free consultation at your home
We look at the roofline, the grade, the sun, and where the buffers and easements sit before talking about size.
Design and line-item budget
A structure drawn to tie into the existing house, priced by trade with real allowances.
Permits and plat review
Submittal to Forsyth County Planning & Community Development, or the City of Cumming if the property sits inside city limits with a scaled site plan and your recorded plat, plus Environmental Health approval when the home is on septic.
Construction
Footings, framing, roof tie-in and flashing, then decking, screen, and finish.
Walkthrough
A punch walkthrough, with the roof seam and the flashing the first things we look at.
★★★★★
“We had been told a covered porch was simple. It was not, and they were the only ones who explained why before quoting it.”
Verified Google Review
Porch & Outdoor Living · Cumming, GA
Common Questions
Outdoor Living and Decks in Cumming FAQs
Do I need a permit to build a deck in Cumming?
Yes, and Forsyth County is explicit that the permit is required for the installation or structural repair of a deck regardless of its height. The same packet covers front porches, converting a rear deck to a covered deck, converting a patio to a covered patio, pergolas, and outdoor fireplaces. It takes a scaled site plan and a copy of your approved recorded plat, plus Environmental Health approval if the home is on septic.
Should I screen it, roof it, or leave it open?
In this climate the roof does more work than the screen. Shade is what makes the space usable from May through September, and a covered but open porch still gets the breeze. Screen earns its cost on wooded lots and anywhere near water, which describes most of north Forsyth and everything around Lanier. Open deck is still worth keeping for grilling and for the view, which is why most of what we build is a covered section with open decking off the side of it.
Can you build near a stream or a buffer?
Sometimes, and that answer has to come before design rather than after. Parts of northern Forsyth sit inside the Etowah water supply watershed overlay, which carries setbacks measured from the stream bank. The county tells you in writing that a building permit does not confirm you are clear of a buffer or an easement. We check the plat and the overlay first, because a structure built inside a buffer is a removal order rather than a correction.
What areas around Cumming do you serve?
We are based in Dawsonville and work throughout North Georgia, including Cumming, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Buford, Gainesville, Suwanee, Roswell, Sandy Springs, and Dahlonega.
Are you a licensed general contractor in Georgia?
Yes. GHIR holds Georgia Unlimited GC licenses #GCCO006076 and #GCQA006072, plus Florida GC #CGC1527188. We are a NARI Atlanta member and fully insured.
Do you offer financing?
Yes. We offer unsecured project financing up to $150,000 with no home equity required. Ask during your free consultation.
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