Brian Williams
Founder, PermitDeck
Brian Williams is a 25-year career firefighter based in Kansas City, Kansas, and the founder of PermitDeck. He built the site out of the same frustration every homeowner knows — contractors who don't call back, quote forms that sell your information, and permit rules buried in state websites no one can decipher.
PermitDeck is the resource he wished existed when he was hiring: verified contractors with real phone numbers, straightforward permit guidance, and no interest in extracting fees from either side.
What PermitDeck stands for
Two mandates govern every decision on this site. They exist because the aggregator industry has spent two decades teaching homeowners and contractors to expect the opposite.
Every contractor is verified
License numbers checked against state agency records. Websites reachable. Location verified. The methodology is published.
Read the methodologyContractors never pay per lead
Free listings through at least April 2027. Max 3 verified pros per match request (never 8 like Angi, never 15 like Thumbtack). No contracts.
See the comparisonRecent writing
A sample of the guides, state pages, and deep-dive technical articles I've written or edited on PermitDeck.
Deck permit cost by state (2026)
50-state pricing reference built from the actual fee schedules.
How to get a building permit
The step-by-step process, written for homeowners.
How to look up building permits
Finding open, closed, and historical permits for any property.
What happens if you build without a permit
Fines, stop-work orders, resale issues — the real consequences.
Do you need a permit to build a deck?
The national rule, plus where the exemptions actually apply.
California deck permits
State code, CRC updates, and the city portals that matter.
Deck joist span tables (IRC)
The span chart most deck builders are quietly getting wrong.
California electrical permits
NEC adoption, C-10 licensing, and AB 1236 streamlined EV rules.
Editorial approach
I'm not a contractor or a tech executive. I don't pretend to be one. What I am is a homeowner who's done a lot of projects, talked to a lot of contractors, and read a lot of government permit pages — and I got tired of how hard the industry makes it for normal people to hire someone they can trust.
Every cost estimate on this site is built from industry averages and regional construction indices. Every permit page cites official state or city sources. Every contractor listing is checked against real public records before it goes live. When I don't know something, I say so and point you to the state or local department that does.
On AI:I use AI tools to help draft cost guides, first-pass blog content, and the checklist text on category pages. Every page then gets reviewed against authoritative sources (IRS publications, state licensing boards, ICC/IRC code editions, BLS data, city permit offices) before it goes live. The AI does not get to publish unchecked. Contractor listings are never AI-generated — every single one is researched manually and WebFetch-verified against the business's own website.
If you find something wrong, email me at support@permitdeck.com. I read every one.