Builders America, Inc.

If your home has an elevated deck, there's a good chance the space underneath it is wasted — a muddy patch or a storage area that gets soaked every time it rains. An under-deck system changes that. By capturing and redirecting water away from the area below, these systems create a dry, finished space that can be used as an additional patio, an outdoor lounge area, or a sheltered zone for outdoor storage.

The Builders America blog covers exactly how these systems work, what the installation process looks like, and how they pair with the rest of a deck project — whether you're building a new deck and planning ahead, or retrofitting an existing elevated deck to add usable space below. It's one of the better explanations of the product we've come across, written specifically for Atlanta-area homeowners thinking about making better use of their outdoor space.

Link in the comments for the full guide. Worth a read if you have an elevated deck and have always wondered whether that space underneath could be more than dead storage.

Do you have an elevated deck with unused space below it, or is this something you've thought about when looking at your yard?

One of the most common questions homeowners ask before starting an outdoor living project is simple: what does this actually look like? Not the finished deck or sunroom — the process. How does it start, how long does it take, and what does working with a contractor actually feel like day to day?

At Builders America, every project starts with a conversation — not a high-pressure sales visit. The team wants to understand how you use your outdoor space now, what's not working, and what you're imagining. From there, the design is built around your yard, your house, and your budget. Because Builders America handles both the design and the construction, there's no hand-off between a designer and a separate contractor. One team, one point of contact, no communication gaps between the blueprint and what actually gets built.

The construction phase is managed with the same attention to detail. Two licensed residential contractors on staff means every project is overseen by someone with the credentials to stand behind the work, not just execute it. Add an ASHI-certified home inspector on staff and you have a quality-control layer that most outdoor living contractors simply don't have.

For homeowners who've worked with a contractor before and had a less-than-great experience, what made it frustrating — was it communication, the timeline, or the finished quality not matching what was promised?

There's a concept in design called biophilic design, and while it sounds academic, it describes something most homeowners already know intuitively: spaces that connect you to nature feel better to spend time in. More light, living plants woven into the structure, natural materials like wood and stone, and views that open out to greenery rather than fences or walls — these aren't just aesthetic choices, they affect how relaxed and comfortable people feel in a space.

For outdoor living spaces, this is where thoughtful design makes a real difference. A pergola with climbing vines built into the structure becomes a living ceiling over time. A deck built around an existing mature tree preserves something irreplaceable rather than removing it. A screened porch that frames a specific garden view is a different room than one that just faces the neighbor's fence. These decisions start at the design conversation, before a single board is laid.

Builders America's blog covers this approach in depth — link in the comments for the full article. Worth reading if you're in the early stages of thinking about an outdoor space project.

Is there a specific natural element on your property — a tree, a garden, a view you love — that you've always hoped an outdoor space could connect to rather than block?

Summer in Metro Atlanta is backyard season — or it should be. The reality for most homeowners is that the heat, humidity, and lack of a real cooking setup keep the outdoor space from being used the way they imagined when they moved in. An outdoor kitchen changes that in a way that a new patio umbrella or a portable grill never quite does.

Outdoor kitchens in this climate need to be built differently than in drier markets. Humidity is relentless, afternoon thunderstorms are frequent, and surfaces that look good in a showroom can warp, corrode, or stain in a Georgia summer if the materials aren't chosen correctly. Builders America designs and builds outdoor kitchens using materials specified for this region: stainless steel, stone, tile, and concrete that hold up to the heat and the wet season without high-maintenance upkeep.

The most common starting point is pairing an outdoor kitchen with an existing deck or patio cover, which extends the usable season and gives the cooking area protection from the afternoon rain. Some projects stand alone with a pergola or pavilion as the anchor structure. Both approaches work, depending on the space and budget.

If you've been thinking about an outdoor kitchen, what's the hold-up for you — the budget, not knowing where to start, or something about your current yard that feels limiting?

If you have an open porch that sits unused for half the year, you're not alone. Most Metro Atlanta homeowners love the idea of outdoor living, but not when the pollen is thick in spring, the mosquitoes take over by July, or the afternoon heat makes it impossible to sit outside before 7 PM. A screened porch or Flex-Vinyl enclosure changes that equation entirely.

The difference between a screened porch and a fully enclosed space comes down to how you want to use it and when. A screened porch lets in breezes and keeps the bugs out, a classic Southern setup and one of the highest-ROI improvements you can make to a North Georgia home. A Flex-Vinyl enclosure adds removable window panels that can be opened in fall or sealed in winter and spring, giving you a space that functions year-round without the full cost of a four-season sunroom.

Builders America has built both formats across Roswell, Alpharetta, Cu***ng, Duluth, and surrounding communities for 35+ years. Every project starts with a real conversation about how you actually use your outdoor space, what the existing structure can support, and which system fits the budget and lifestyle. The goal is always to get it right the first time.

If your porch has been sitting underused, what's been your biggest frustration with it — the bugs, the heat, the pollen, or something else?

Home is where memories are made—and dads often help build those memories one project at a time.

This Father’s Day, we celebrate the fathers who create spaces where families gather, grow, and thrive. Wishing all the amazing dads a day filled with love and appreciation.

Happy Father’s Day from Builders America! 💙

Choosing a deck contractor in Metro Atlanta is not a decision that should come down to whoever gives you the lowest number. A deck is a structural addition to your home: it needs to be permitted, built to code, and constructed by someone with the licensing and insurance that protects your property and your family when they use it.

The Builders America blog has a guide to exactly this question: what to look for, what questions to ask, and what separates a contractor who builds decks correctly from one who cuts corners that don't show up for a few seasons. Topics include licensing verification, insurance requirements, how to read a contract, what a legitimate permitting process looks like, and the difference between price and value in outdoor construction.

This is the kind of information that's worth reading before you take the first phone call. Find the link in the comments.

If you've hired a contractor for outdoor work before, what was the most useful question you asked during the vetting process?

When you hire a contractor to build a deck, sunroom, or screened porch, you're making a significant investment in your home. The credentials behind that contractor matter more than most homeowners realize, and they're worth understanding before you sign anything.

Builders America carries two Licensed Residential Contractors and an ASHI and Code Certified Home Inspector on staff. Here's why those distinctions matter for a project on your property.

A Licensed Residential Contractor in Georgia has met the state's requirements for education, experience, and examination. They carry the liability insurance required to protect your property if something goes wrong, and they're legally accountable for the work in ways an unlicensed operator is not. When you hire unlicensed contractors, as many homeowners do without realizing it, you often have no legal recourse if the build fails inspection, leaks, or has to be torn out and redone.

An ASHI-certified home inspector on staff is an unusual asset in a remodeling company. It means there's a credentialed eye on the project from a structural and code-compliance perspective before the work is handed off. Problems that would show up in a buyer's home inspection later, and potentially kill a sale or require expensive remediation, get caught and addressed during the build.

These aren't marketing credentials. They're qualifications that protect your investment. What's the most important thing you look for when choosing a contractor for a project at your home?

If your home has an elevated deck, the space beneath it is probably underused, if it's used at all. Without a drainage system, rain runs straight through the deck boards and turns that lower level into a muddy, unusable patch. An under-deck system changes that equation entirely.

A properly installed under-deck drainage system captures water at the deck boards and channels it away through a hidden trough-and-downspout system, keeping the area below completely dry. That opens up a significant amount of square footage that most Metro Atlanta homeowners never think of as livable space: a shaded outdoor dining room, a dry storage area for patio furniture, a covered hangout space that stays usable even during Atlanta's frequent afternoon thunderstorms.

Under-deck systems pair naturally with other Builders America work: screened enclosures around the lower level, lighting, ceiling fans, and hardscaping underfoot to complete the space. The result is essentially a covered outdoor room that didn't exist before, built from infrastructure the home already has.

The best candidates are homes with a deck elevated enough to provide reasonable head clearance below, typically six feet or more. If your deck sits high enough and you've been looking at that lower space and wondering what to do with it, a consultation is the right starting point. Builders America serves Roswell, Alpharetta, Cu***ng, Duluth, Canton, and across Metro Atlanta and North Georgia.

Have you ever thought about what you'd do with the space under an elevated deck? Is that an area you've looked at and wished was more functional?

Most homeowners think of fall as deck season because the project finishes in time for cooler evenings on a new outdoor space. What they don't always realize is that the planning, permitting, and material ordering for a fall project needs to start in summer, not September.

In Metro Atlanta and North Georgia, a custom deck or screened porch involves a design consultation, material selection, permit application and approval, and then scheduled build time on a crew calendar that fills from both ends of the season. By August, fall slots at a quality contractor are typically committed. By September, most are gone.

Builders America's process starts with a free consultation, which is the right time to understand the scope, walk through material options, and get a realistic sense of timeline. There's no pressure and no commitment at that stage, but it's the step that determines whether your project happens this fall or gets pushed to next spring.

If you have a deck, sunroom, screened porch, or outdoor structure project in mind, the conversation to have is this week, not in August. Our licensed contractors serve Roswell, Alpharetta, Cu***ng, Duluth, Canton, and across Metro Atlanta and North Georgia.

Is there an outdoor project you've been putting off that you'd want to have finished before the weather changes? What's been the sticking point?