How to find deck and addition leads in Wilmington from building permits — free
Wilmington & New Hanover County filed 527 deck, porch and addition permits in the last 12 months — about 10 a week, 41 in the last 30 days. Every one is a public record naming the address, the work and, usually, who's doing it. Here's how deck builders, remodelers and their subs find them for free, which ones are worth a call, and when it's worth paying not to.
The busiest ZIP code was 28411, with 18% of them, and the most active name on them was Blue Shores Construction LLC, with 10.
- Last 12 months
- 527
- A week, on average
- 10
- Last 30 days
- 41
- Busiest month
- 55
- August 2026
Step 1: Search New Hanover County's COAST portal (free)
The permit office's own records, straight from the source. Search for: deck, porch, screened porch and residential addition.
- Open the portal and choose Search (no account needed to look).
- Set the search to Permit, then filter by permit type (residential or commercial building, mechanical, electrical, plumbing) and an applied or issued date range.
- Page through the results; each permit opens to its address, work description and status.
Who's on a permit: A permit's page lists its contacts on some permits, not all.
Step 2: Keep the permits worth a call
Does the work need a permit in North Carolina? Yes. A new deck, porch or addition is load-bearing work; replacing boards, railings or treads isn't. So these are the deck, porch and addition permits on file, and what each is worth.
Additions
An addition needs a foundation, framing, a roof, windows, electrical, HVAC and finishes. The general contractor on the permit hires most of them.
Decks and porches
A new deck or screened porch is often followed by electrical, lighting, a screen enclosure or an outdoor kitchen.
Who's building where
For a deck builder, a permit is a job already sold. Clusters by ZIP show where homeowners are spending on outdoor space.
Step 4: Know who's pulling them
The remodelers and general contractors on this list hire subs; the deck builders are your competition. Ranked by permits in the last 12 months.
| Contractor | Last 12 months | Last 90 days |
|---|---|---|
| Blue Shores Construction LLC | 10 | 1 |
| BROOKWOOD CONSTRUCTION GROUP LLC aka Decksense | 8 | 2 |
| Konrady & Son Construction LLC | 7 | 0 |
| Old School Rebuilder And Company | 7 | 0 |
| Third North Construction, LLC | 7 | 0 |
| Deck And Patio Tuneup Inc | 6 | 0 |
| Solace Construction Services LLC T/A Port City Pools | 6 | 2 |
| Element Outdoor Living Inc | 6 | 4 |
| Coastal Building Concepts LLC | 6 | 1 |
| Delaneys Coastal Construction LLC | 5 | 1 |
| 1 Oak Construction LLC | 5 | 4 |
| Riverside Pools & Hardscapes LLC | 5 | 1 |
Step 5: Reach out at the right time
Call the general contractor when an addition permit is issued, before framing. For decks, follow-on work is bought in the weeks after the deck is built.
The free way, and the fast way
The permits are free either way. What costs time is finding them, one office and one search at a time.
| The office's portal | TarSignal Free | TarSignal Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where | One permit office's site at a time | 23 North Carolina offices, one search | 23 offices, one search |
| How recent | Same day, if you search every day | Permits over 30 days old | Up to today |
| Who's doing the work | Depends on the office; phone numbers rarely | Contractor and contact, on permits over 30 days old | Contractor and contact on every permit |
| New permits sent to you | No | Weekly, one ZIP code | Daily, every area |
| Export | Rarely | No | CSV |
| Cost | Free | Free | $199/month |
Deck & Addition Leads in Wilmington: common questions
- How do I find deck and addition leads in Wilmington for free?
- From the building permits. New Hanover County's COAST portal is free to search: Open the portal and choose Search (no account needed to look). TarSignal's free search has the same permits from 23 North Carolina offices in one place, with the contractor where the record names one, for permits more than 30 days old.
- How many deck, porch and addition permits are filed in Wilmington?
- 527 in the last 12 months, about 10 a week, and 41 in the last 30 days. The busiest ZIP codes were 28411, 28409 and 28405.
- Are building permits public record in North Carolina?
- Yes. Permits are public records under the North Carolina Public Records Act (G.S. Chapter 132), so anyone can look them up, and the contractor named on a permit is part of the record.
- Does a deck, porch or addition need a permit in Wilmington?
- Yes. A new deck, porch or addition is load-bearing work; replacing boards, railings or treads isn't. That's state law (G.S. 160D-1110), so it's the same at any permit office in the state.
Related
The numbers behind this guide, with recent permits: Deck and addition permits in Wilmington & New Hanover County. Every permit in the area: building permits in Wilmington & New Hanover County.
Deck & Addition Leads in other places
See this week's deck and addition leads
Permit Search has every deck, porch and addition permit filed in Wilmington & New Hanover County, with the contractor where the record names one. Free for permits over 30 days old; Pro has them the day they're filed.
Source: TarSignal, from North Carolina public building permit records, data through October 28, 2026. Refreshed nightly. Counts include every permit type a jurisdiction files — trade permits (electrical, plumbing, mechanical) as well as building permits — so one project can appear more than once. Values are what the applicant declared, where the jurisdiction records one. We keep improving how we collect each office's permits, so a count that steps up suddenly usually means more complete records, not more construction.