A deck can add visual appeal, utility, and value to a home. In addition, designing and building a deck can be a fun and rewarding project in its own right. All of those benefits are amplified when you take the time to do the job right and craft a deck you’ll enjoy for years to come. To help you do that, we’ve assembled a collection of 10 tips, split across the design and building phases of the project.
Deck Designing Tips
The design of your deck has a great impact on both its beauty and its function. The design should match nicely with the rest of your home, yet fulfills the duties you expect to get from the deck. By following these tips, you’ll be sure to end up with a design that will bring your family the most joy.
1. Assessing the purpose and function
Decks aren’t universal. Some are used for entertainment, others for dining, relaxing, or extending living space. Jumping headfirst into a deck project is a bad idea. Without taking the time to examine why you’re building it in the first place, your deck might outgrow its usefulness. By giving thought to how you’ll use the deck, you can build it to suit that purpose right from the beginning.
2. Choosing the right size and shape
Several factors go into how large a deck should be. If you get carried away building a massive deck, you may later find that it takes up too much of your yard, leaving too little room for other activities. Conversely, if you want to entertain but build a deck that’s too small, you’ll limit the maximum size of your gatherings.
3. Considering the orientation and sun exposure
This is an often overlooked factor in deck design. What time of day will you be spending most of your time on the deck? Where is the sun during that time? Knowing this can help you plan features such as awnings, plants, and other elements that can block the sun if needed. Depending on the space available, you may even be able to shift the orientation of the deck to account for the sun.
4. Incorporating add-ons
Some features are standard parts of a deck. Railings for safety and stairs for access, for example. The design of these features should take into account your overall vision for the deck. Other features are use-case specific. These may include lighting, storage, and seating. Consider how you’ll use the deck and add features that make that usage more comfortable.
5. Seeking inspiration and ideas
Even if you have an idea of the dream deck in mind, you may find that seeking inspiration from other sources can spark an idea to make that dream even better. Design books, magazines, Pinterest and Houzz can provide a visual guide to spark your imagination. If budget allows, professional deck designers may reveal possibilities you hadn’t even considered.
Deck Building Tips
Although not the most expensive home improvement, building a deck isn’t cheap. You want to make sure you do it right the first time and save yourself some legal or maintenance hassles later on. The tips below will help to ensure a quality, and legal, finished product.
6. Obtaining the necessary permits and inspections
Every locality is different, but very few will let you just build a deck onto your home without filing some sort of paperwork with the local government. Your local building department or zoning board will be able to point you in the right direction and make sure that you won’t run into any legal trouble after completing your deck. Having the proper inspections will also ensure that your deck is safe for use.
7. Evaluating the site for proper grading, drainage, and foundation
For your deck to stand the test of time, it must be built on a solid foundation. For decks, this means it should sit on ground that’s been properly leveled and drains efficiently. Ground that isn’t level and accumulates water will lower the lifetime of the materials. Ground that’s too soft or a foundation that isn’t reinforced properly can make the deck unsafe.
8. Using quality materials and tools
It can be tempting to cheap out on materials. Wood that isn’t pressure treated, cheap nails and screws that will quickly rust, and other low cost components can save you a lot of money in building costs. But over time, they’ll cost you much more in maintenance costs. Buying quality materials from the beginning will give you a deck that stands the test of time and doesn’t need frequent, and potentially expensive, repairs.
9. Creating a detailed plan and layout
A lot of amateur builders make the mistake of trying to fly by the seat of their pants. While this may work for the most simple of designs, even then it can result in a product that takes longer to build or doesn’t end up quite as desired. Taking the time to plan out the deck and build as detailed a layout as possible will help you discover potential problems you may have missed and keep you on track once the building begins.
10. Knowing when to hire a professional contractor
What starts off a do-it-yourself project can quickly grow in scope to something that you can’t handle by yourself. This is especially true as you begin to explore the options available to you and make additions to your original plans. When that happens you have the choice of simplifying your design to something more manageable or hiring a professional to complete the work. Consider both your budget and your future happiness with the deck when deciding.
Design and Build a Quality Deck with Help from Builders
We’ve already discussed the benefits of building a deck with high-quality materials. When choosing a supplier for your decking materials, you want to look for quality, but you also want a large selection. Builders stocks a number of material collections, each with an assortment of designs and options to help you find the perfect look for your deck. To learn more, contact our Kearney hardware store today.
