The Lakes Area
Commerce Township is known locally as "The Lakes Area," with named lakes inside the township including Commerce Lake, Union Lake, Upper and Lower Proud Lake, Round Lake, Glenwood Lake, Twin Lakes, Bogie Lake, and the Straights Lakes chain, plus frontage on the Huron River. Proud Lake State Recreation Area, a 3,030-acre park within the township, was established in 1944; Union Lake itself is a 465-acre all-sports lake, the 10th-largest and 3rd-deepest in Oakland County.
What a township of lake cottages means for a deck build
Commerce Township's housing ranges from older lake-cottage lots that have since been converted to year-round homes to newer construction set further back from the water, so deck projects here often need to either match an existing lake-cottage footprint or expand a smaller original structure to modern year-round use.
Deck project paths in Commerce Township
Prepare a Commerce Township inquiry
Share the desired deck size and use, material preference, the attachment point on the house, and any known slope or drainage issues on the lot. Provider availability varies, and homeowners should verify credentials directly. In Commerce Township, note whether the property was originally a seasonal lake cottage, since older cottage-era framing needs a different structural check than a newer build.
Michigan frost-line and snow-load basics
New footings in Commerce Township still need to reach Michigan's standard 42-inch frost depth; older lake-cottage foundations near Union Lake or Proud Lake are the more common reason to bring in an evaluation before attaching a new ledger.
For Farmington Hills' own master-plan and floodplain sources, see local research and verification notes; Commerce Township maintains its own planning department for site-specific requirements.