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Valley Decks

Boise neighborhood

Decks in The Bench, Boise

The Bench is the plateau south of the Boise River, sometimes called the First Bench, rising sharply from the river plain; Boiseans have called it the bench since at least 1900. Its rim is marked by the 1925 Boise Depot, whose 96-foot bell tower looks north up Capitol Boulevard, and by Morris Hill Cemetery, which the city began in 1882. Farms and orchards came first, watered by privately funded canals such as the Ridenbaugh, and many of those canals and laterals still irrigate back yards. Depot Bench, Central Bench, Vista, Hillcrest and Morris Hill fill the terrace with practical, unfussy houses.

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The homes and lots in The Bench

Post-war ranches and modest mid-century houses on compact, flat lots. The Central Bench Neighborhood Plan describes farmland being subdivided into residential lots during and after World War II, with new homes going up west of Orchard Street from the mid-1950s through the 1970s, and Blueprint Boise designates the area for compact neighborhoods with lots typically between 5,000 and 7,000 square feet. Single-story houses on crawlspaces or slabs, detached garages and long back yards are the common pattern, and most have had several owners and several rounds of patios, porches and add-on decks, not all of them permitted. The city's 2020 almanac lists adopted neighborhood plans for Vista (1999), Depot Bench (2007), Hillcrest (2007) and Central Bench (2019); none regulates deck design, but together they document how the terrace was settled and built. Build Idaho's 2026 guide, based on 2025 new-home sales, put the Boise Bench median near $548,000; that is an industry figure, not an appraisal.

  • Hillside overlay

None of the Bench's residential neighborhoods sits in a Boise local historic district or the foothills wildfire zone, and most streets predate subdivision HOAs, so a typical deck answers to the city building permit and zoning setbacks alone. Boise requires that permit once a deck, or a concrete patio, is more than 12 inches above grade. Ground is flat across the terrace, but lots on the rim itself, along Crescent Rim Drive and the slopes down to the river plain, can pass 15 percent and fall under the Hillside Development Overlay, which is why the hillside flag is set for those rim lots only. The constraint most Bench owners actually meet is not a zoning district at all: irrigation ditch and lateral easements, which Idaho law protects from encroachment.

What a The Bench deck has to account for

  • Find the ditch before you design. The Central Bench plan notes that many original canals and laterals still deliver water to residential yards, and that flooding from deteriorating laterals is not uncommon because the piping has been in service for more than a century. Under Idaho Code 42-1209, nothing may encroach on an easement held by an irrigation district, lateral ditch association or similar entity without that entity's written permission, and an unauthorized structure that interferes can be removed at the owner's expense. Footings stay out of recorded ditch easements, and the low side of the yard gets a drainage plan in case a lateral overflows.
  • Ranch back doors sit close to grade, so a Bench deck often lands right at Boise's 12-inch permit line. A few inches of joist depth can decide whether a permit is required, and we design to the measured number rather than squeezing under it; a deck that will later get a hot tub, a cover or a step down to a patio is worth permitting from the start.
  • Old add-on decks and porches commonly sit on surface pier blocks or shallow footings. Replacements go to the 24-inch frost depth Boise's code requires, and the 2018 IRC only allows pier blocks for small freestanding decks of 200 square feet or less that stand no more than 20 inches high. Our notes on footing depth for Boise decks explain why.
  • Ledgers fastened through siding without flashing are the most common hidden problem at the rim joist of a mid-century ranch. With 108 freezing nights a year, water trapped behind the ledger freezes and thaws all winter, and rot often runs farther along the rim than the deck itself. Tear-out is the moment to open it up, and our guide to ledger board repair shows what a sound replacement looks like.
  • Compact lots leave less room than the back yard suggests. On a 5,000- to 7,000-square-foot parcel, setbacks, a detached garage and the driveway or alley take a large share, and Boise's permit submittal requires a site plan with distances to every property line. Corner lots carry a second street-side setback, and Planning at 208-608-7100 confirms the numbers before layout.
  • The older Bench streets are shadier than most of Boise. The city's 2020 almanac put tree canopy at 28 percent in Depot Bench and 24 percent in Central Bench, against 14 percent citywide. Mature trees mean leaf drop, roots near footing spots and damp boards on the north side of the house, which favors capped boards over bare wood there, while the treeless lots farther west get the full afternoon sun.
  • The Bench is where simple construction pays. Flat ground, alley or side-yard access and low heights keep labor down, so a ground-level or ranch-height deck is among the most efficient builds in the city; ideas for ground-level decks show the common layouts. The deck replacement cost guide for Boise gives attributed ranges, and tear-out, new footings and hidden rim rot are what move the number.
  • Rim lots are the exception. Houses along the edge of the bench overlooking the river plain and downtown can have steep rear yards, where a deck becomes a raised platform on tall posts and the hillside overlay's slope test applies. Footings stay back from the slope face, posts get bracing, and the view comes with wind exposure that guards and privacy screens have to be built for.
  • Swapping a deck for a raised patio does not avoid the permit. Boise's 12-inch threshold covers concrete patios as well as decks, so a poured patio that steps up to a ranch back door is reviewed the same way, and a solid patio also changes how the yard drains toward the foundation. Where the back door is only a step or two up, a low deck over a gravel base often drains better than concrete and is easier to replace later.
  • Shade structures have their own thresholds. Any patio cover attached to the house needs a Boise permit regardless of size, while a freestanding pergola needs one once it exceeds 200 square feet and is usually treated as pole construction designed by an Idaho-licensed engineer. On a compact Bench lot, a smaller freestanding pergola set at the back of a low deck can provide shade without crossing that line, though setbacks still apply.

Around: Boise Depot · Platt Gardens · Morris Hill Cemetery · Vista Avenue · Orchard Street · Overland Road · Ridenbaugh Canal

The Bench deck questions

Does a low deck on a Bench ranch need a permit?
Only if part of the deck is more than 12 inches above grade, which is Boise's threshold. Many Bench ranches have back doors close to that height, so the final framing depth matters. Even below 12 inches, a deck still has to respect zoning setbacks, and we confirm those with Boise Planning before building.
What does it cost to replace an old deck on the Bench?
It depends on size, height, material and what turns up during tear-out. A low ranch-height deck on flat ground is about as efficient as Boise decks get to build, while new 24-inch footings, a rotted rim joist behind the old ledger or a switch from pressure-treated to composite each move the number. Our deck cost calculator and Boise cost guide show attributed ranges by size and material.
Can I keep the existing footings when replacing a Bench deck?
Only if they reach at least 24 inches below grade, are sized for the new loads and are in good condition. Older Bench decks often sit on surface blocks or shallow piers that do not meet that standard, in which case new footings are part of the job. Digging beside one existing footing usually shows what the rest are like.
Can I build a deck over the irrigation ditch on my Bench lot?
Not without written permission from whoever holds the easement, usually an irrigation district or lateral ditch association. Idaho Code 42-1209 prohibits encroachments on those easements without it, and an unapproved structure that interferes with the ditch can be removed at the owner's expense. In most cases the better plan is to keep the deck and its footings clear of the easement entirely.
Do Bench homes need HOA approval for a deck?
Most do not. The Bench was largely built before subdivision associations were common, so many lots have no CC&Rs or architectural committee. Some later infill and townhome projects do have covenants, so it is worth checking your title documents. The Boise building permit and setbacks apply either way.
Does the hillside overlay apply to a deck on the bench rim?
It can. Lots on the rim, such as those along Crescent Rim Drive, may include ground steeper than 15 percent, which brings in Boise's Hillside Development Overlay. That affects footing placement, possible engineering and how Planning categorizes the project. We measure the slope at the deck location before the design is final.

Sources

  1. City of Boise — Central Bench Neighborhood Plan (2019)
  2. City of Boise — History of the Boise Depot
  3. City of Boise — Morris Hill Cemetery
  4. Idaho Code § 42-1209 — Encroachments on easements and rights-of-way
  5. City of Boise — Neighborhood Data Almanac (March 2020)
  6. City of Boise — Residential Construction guide
  7. City of Boise — Current Building Codes & design criteria (301)
  8. 2018 IRC (Idaho) — Chapter 5, decks (R507)
  9. City of Boise — Hillside Development Overlay
  10. Build Idaho — 2026 guide to new-home prices across the Boise metro

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