Designing, planning, and building a deck is an attractive opportunity to make the perfect outdoor space for your house. Adding a deck to your home will increase the enjoyment of your house as well as its value. The ideal deck will increase your living space and change an uninspiring outdoor area to an entertainment space for various functions and purposes.
A deck is the right option if you want to create a verandah or porch like design around your house or in a courtyard to make balconies. A good deck is worth your money as it is an ideal space for barbecues, get-togethers, and surrounding a swimming pool.
What is a Deck?
A deck is a structure that is mainly made of wood (such as treated pine, composite timber, and hardwood), and can either be freestanding or attached to your house. Even though decks are mostly built on houses with sloping blocks like a big balcony, decks can also be constructed on flat surfaces to create outdoor living areas and design features.
What Makes a Good Deck?
When building a deck, the first consideration should be the spaces it will occupy. Is it going to be a cozy, comfortable space, or is it expansive and vast with long-range sights. The character of your house and space will determine how to best design your decking to fit.
Evaluating your space should always be a vital consideration, and just like any other design, designing the perfect deck starts with planning.
5 Deck Design Tips
Add Deck Furniture for Guest Seating
You should consider the kind of deck furniture you will add to your deck area and plan for it.
Having a picture of the space you desire will make identifying office furniture easier. If you want a patio dining table, all you have to do is plan for one. You can even lighten up your deck with a fire pit or fountain.
Build a Deck That Fits Your Space
Architects and builders recommend that your decking should not be larger than 20% of your home’s square footage so as not to subdue your home visually. Nevertheless, if you want to divide your deck into various sections, design it as large as you’d like! You can design some sections of your deck for specific roles to make you and your home’s occupants spread out.
Plan for Your Lifestyle
Do you love to cook for big gatherings of family and friends and entertain them? Do you love to party? Or do you want a quiet space to wind out a day reading a book? Thoughts such as this will enable you to build the ideal deck that fits your needs and lifestyle.
Install Deck Lighting
LED deck lights are a great way to accent your deck features while providing safety to your family and friends. Make your deck the ideal spot in your home using landscape and deck lighting to form a unique outdoor area.
Plan To Reduce Maintenance Costs
When designing your deck, you should consider the annual maintenance practices. You should consider installing metal deck rails or composite rails to prevent staining. To ensure your deck is water-resistant and does not fade, you should install composite decking instead of cedar or pressure-treated decking. This will ensure you enjoy your deck more and incur less maintenance expenses in the future.
Deck Dos
- Make sure nails, bolts, and screws that hold the structure together are galvanized to inhibit rusting.
- Always build your deck on a solid structure like concrete pad footings.
- Screws are more suitable in decking than nails as nails will become loose as the wood is weathered and worn.
- Always treat your wood decking with the right finish and oils, and maintain your wood decking by finishing it, staining it, and oiling it regularly.
- Always use post stirrups for your wood posts as setting them directly on the ground or concrete will make the wood stay wet and end up rotting.
Deck Don’ts
• Don’t fail to recoat your deck after every two years to increase its longevity.
