Where you file
Inkom is its own city. A deck inside the city limits is permitted by the City of Inkom, not by Pocatello and not by Chubbuck. The building permit application is on the city's permits page. The office line is (208) 775-3372, and the published email is inkomcityoffices@gmail.com. The form can be emailed, mailed, or dropped at the city office.
A property outside the city limit is unincorporated Bannock County, and that permit goes to Bannock County Planning and Development, (208) 236-7230. The two applications are easy to mix up because the houses look like one community from the road. The parcel decides. Electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits, if the deck has power or a gas line, go to the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses either way.
What the lots are like
Inkom sits in the canyon, along the Portneuf. Some yards are nearly level. A lot of them drop toward the river or climb into the hillside, and a main-floor door on that ground opens onto a deck with the yard well below it. That is the same walkout problem as the Bench in Pocatello: guards, a real stair run, taller posts, footings to 36 inches. The square footage is the smaller part of the price. How height moves the range.
What does not change down the canyon
The structural story is the Pocatello story. Footings bear below a 36-inch frost line, on undisturbed soil, with the post on a metal base. Snow sits on the deck through a long cold spell, so the framing is heavier than a generic national plan. High-desert sun at this elevation is what wears the surface out. A roof or a cover over the deck is a second project, and the wind figure it is designed to should be the one the inspecting department is using. Pocatello publishes 115 mph. Chubbuck's portal publishes 90 mph constant and 110 mph gust. Ask Inkom what they are reviewing against before a cover gets drawn.
The longer explanations live on the main pages, and they apply here:
- Footings, the ledger, and the two sizes people actually build — 12 by 16 and 16 by 20, and why a walkout of either size is a different job.
- Permits and the design values — with the official department pages linked.
- Planning ranges — wood and composite at 200, 300, and 400 square feet, railing separate, walkouts called out.
- Chubbuck — the other city line, with its own attached-deck rule.
Common questions
Who permits a deck in Inkom?
Inside Inkom city limits, the City of Inkom does. The application is on the city's website, and the office line is (208) 775-3372. A property outside the city, in unincorporated Bannock County, goes to Bannock County Planning and Development instead. Those are different counters.
Are the footings different from Pocatello?
Inkom is in the same valley, and a footing still has to get below a 36-inch frost line. What changes is the lot. Canyon and hillside ground often means a taller deck, which means guards and stairs, at the same frost depth as Pocatello.
Does a deck cost more in Inkom than in Pocatello?
The prices track the rest of Bannock County. Height, footings, and material move the bid, and those come from the lot. A walkout above the river is a more expensive deck than a ground-level platform of the same size anywhere in the county.
When should I call?
Late winter, if you want the deck for summer. Demand across Bannock County peaks in May and June, and the builders who work Inkom are generally the same crews who work Pocatello. They book up before the rush.