Tell us about the project.

Roughly what size you are thinking, how far off the ground it will sit, what the ground does under it, and whether it ties into the house. Even rough answers narrow things considerably. If it is a repair rather than a build, the most useful thing you can tell us is whether anything moves — the railing, the middle of a span, the connection to the house — because that is what separates a surface job from a structural one.

A few pictures answer what is difficult to put into words: how the yard slopes, how the existing deck is holding up, where the door comes out, how tight the access is. For a repair, a photo taken from underneath is the single most useful one you can send, because that is where the answer usually is.

Whether your build needs a permit — the rules differ between Monroe, West Monroe and the unincorporated parish — and whether an HOA has anything to say about materials, height or railings. Both are much easier to sort out before a design is settled than after, and neither is something to find out about halfway through.