New railing, new skirting and a yard that drains
This wasn’t a new deck. The owners in Ann Arbor wanted their existing deck to look finished and their yard to stop holding water by the house. We installed new aluminum railing, framed and skirted the space under the deck and ran buried drain lines to carry the water away.
A deck railing and skirting upgrade in Ann Arbor
Plenty of Ann Arbor decks have solid framing and tired details. This one needed three things: a railing to replace the old one, which the owners took down themselves before we started, a finished skirt to close in the open space below the deck and a fix for water collecting along the foundation. That made it a deck railing job, a skirting job and a drainage job in one visit.
Connor managed the project. The proposal was approved in 2024 and the crew did the work in the spring of 2025, after a MISS DIG utility locate marked the yard.
What we built
Aluminum railing and a closed-in skirt
White aluminum with black balusters
The new railing runs the full perimeter of the deck and down both sides of the stairs. White posts and rails with black balusters read clean against the house and won’t need paint or stain. You can see how this compares with a full rebuild on our deck building page.
Buried downspout lines and a French drain
We trenched the downspout lines underground and added a French drain to move water away from the house. Both empty into a gravel drainage pit at the outlet, which we covered and seeded so the yard looks like yard again. Our downspout drainage page covers this work on its own.
The details
Skirting framed to stay straight
Skirting that’s nailed straight to the deck posts tends to wave and sag. We framed below the deck first, then hung the new white skirting on that framing so it stays flat from the corner to the stairs.
When skirting is worth adding
Closing in a deck keeps leaves and animals out from underneath and makes a raised deck look built in rather than perched. Our deck skirting installation page walks through the options.
Around the deck
The side view and the stairs
In her words
What the homeowner said
Mandy O. left this Google review after the work was done. It’s printed here in full, word for word.
Wright’s recently completed work on our deck along with a couple other small outdoor projects. We couldn’t be more impressed! Communication throughout the whole process was fantastic. Their work was efficient and high quality. All projects were complete within the timeline they gave us and our deck looks great! We will definitely use them again in the future!
Mandy O.
Deck and outdoor projects client, Google review
The scope, line by line
This is what the approved proposal covered, about $13,000 in all.
New aluminum railing
Installed around the deck and stairs after the owners removed the old railing.
Support below the deck
New framing under the deck edge to carry the skirting.
New skirting installed
Closes in the open space below the deck.
Downspout lines and French drain
Trenched underground to move water away from the house.
Drainage pit and seed
A gravel pit at the outlet, covered and seeded over.
Questions we hear
Updating a deck you already have
Can you replace a deck railing without rebuilding the deck?
Yes, when the framing and boards are sound. That’s what happened here. We kept the deck and replaced the railing, then added skirting and drainage. Our Wright’s Repairs team handles smaller deck and exterior jobs like this.
Why fix drainage at the same time as the deck?
Water that pools by the foundation or under a deck shortens the life of both. Doing the drain lines while the crew is already on site saves a second trip and a second torn-up lawn.
Related projects
More deck projects
Thinking about a new railing for your deck?
Send us a few photos of the deck and the yard around it. We’ll tell you what can stay, what should go and what it will cost, line by line.
(734) 540-0347
