Short answer
We remodel bathrooms and build decks in Archdale, about 10 miles from our Randleman office. One local fact matters more than most: the town incorporated in 1969 partly because heavy clay soil made public water and sewer necessary. That same clay affects every deck footing we dig and every crawl space under a bathroom floor.
Deck footings in Archdale's heavy clay
Piedmont clay drains slowly and erodes easily once disturbed, and the NC Geological Survey notes that shrink-swell clays occur across the Piedmont, where even a small amount of expansion can damage foundations. For a deck, that means footings on firm, undisturbed soil at least 12 inches down, the minimum in the state residential code, and deeper where the soil is soft. We keep downspouts and grading from dumping water around the posts. We also look at the deck as part of the house. The ledger gets flashed, posts sit on concrete instead of in it, and stairs land on a pad rather than bare soil. Pressure-treated pine and composite both work over a sound frame.
Bathrooms in an owner-occupied town built around 1986
Archdale had 5,138 housing units in 2020, and 78.4 percent of homes are owner-occupied, with a median build year of 1986. Bathrooms that old often have a tub-shower combo and a cramped vanity. A low-curb walk-in shower, a wider vanity and a tile floor over a stiffened subfloor make the room easier to use and clean. Because 20.7 percent of Randolph County residents are 65 or older, per QuickFacts, it also makes sense to add grab-bar blocking, a hand shower and a comfort-height toilet while the walls are open.
Quaker roots and Randolph County permits
Archdale was once called Bush Hill, began as a mostly Quaker settlement and is named for Quaker governor John Archdale. Most of the city lies in Randolph County with a part in Guilford. Randolph County Building Inspections issues Archdale's permits and inspections through its ePermits system, and for addresses on the Guilford side we confirm jurisdiction first. Archdale is 16.2 road miles southwest of Greensboro, about 21 minutes. Because the Guilford side can fall under a different office, two houses a few streets apart may file in different places, so deck and bathroom permits are sorted out before any materials are ordered.