Deck Builders Across the Portland Metro: Cities We Cover
The same state code applies across the Oregon side of the metro, but each city issues its own deck permits and several add rules of their own.
Last updated
Lake Oswego, OR
Decks over 10 feet tall need an engineered design.
Tigard, OR
Unroofed decks 3 feet or lower may project into side and rear setbacks, leaving at least 3 feet.
Happy Valley, OR
City policy POL 13-108 requires engineering for decks 10 feet or taller.
Oregon City, OR
Decks over 30 inches need both Planning and Building permits.
Beaverton, OR
Beaverton accepts the state permit-ready deck plan, all 28 sheets, with a 12-inch frost line.
Hillsboro, OR
Rainfall normal at Hillsboro Airport: 35.93 inches a year (NOAA 1991-2020).
West Linn, OR
The City states that rebuilding an existing deck over 30 inches needs a permit, as a new deck does.
Gresham, OR
A deck more than 30 inches above grade needs a building permit, as under the state rule.
Milwaukie, OR
Median home built in 1968, the second oldest of the cities we cover (ACS 2020-2024).
Tualatin, OR
Oregon's statewide rule applies: decks more than 30 inches above grade need a building permit.
Wilsonville, OR
Decks over 120 square feet and more than 30 inches above grade: the City says to check setbacks with the Planning Division.
What changes from city to city
Every city here applies Oregon’s residential code, so the basic test is the same everywhere: a deck whose walking surface is more than 30 inches above the ground needs a building permit. What differs is who issues it and what each city adds.
- Tall decks on slopes. Deck builders in Lake Oswego need an engineered design for decks over 10 feet tall, and deck builders in Happy Valley work under a City policy requiring engineering for any deck 10 feet or taller.
- Setbacks. Deck builders in Tigard can take low, unroofed decks into the side and rear setbacks, leaving at least 3 feet, and deck builders in Oregon City work to a setback table by zone, with planning and building permits for raised or covered decks.
- Trees. Lake Oswego requires tree permits to be approved before the building permit, and Portland’s deck plans must show the root protection zone of nearby trees.
- Rain. The climate normal ranges from 35.93 inches a year at Hillsboro Airport to 44.81 inches at Oregon City (NOAA, 1991-2020).
For Portland itself, our Portland deck builders page covers the City’s permit line, setbacks and tree rules. Beaverton, Hillsboro, West Linn, Gresham, Milwaukie, Tualatin and Wilsonville have shorter pages with their permit offices and the facts we could confirm.
Outside the city limits
In unincorporated areas, the county issues the permit. The Clackamas County Building Codes Division (150 Beavercreek Road, Oregon City, 503-742-4240) handles unincorporated Clackamas County and publishes a ready-to-build prescriptive deck plan. In unincorporated Washington County, Building Services (155 N. First Ave., Suite 350, Hillsboro, 503-846-3470) says a ground-level deck needs no permit, but its Current Planning staff should be asked about the setbacks.
We cover the Oregon side of the metro. Vancouver and the rest of Clark County, Washington, are under Washington’s contractor registration and permit rules, and are not served at present.
Our deck permit rules put all of this in one table, with each city’s permit office.
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