When I bought the #1796house a few years ago, I could not have predicted how much it could bother me that you couldn’t easily get outside from inside the house. And, I also couldn’t have predicted how much time I would be spending at home now because of the coronavirus.
Luckily we have LOTS of outdoor space…
If I could have cast a property for my dream mountain cabin movie, this house would have been a contender. As a designer, when I moved in I knew that there were some things that I wanted to tweak (I can’t live without a good home project), but it didn’t take living there more than two weeks to realize that there was no good way to get outside from the house. These are things you might not be thinking about when you are wearing the rose colored glasses of finding 95% of the things you want in your dream home. Ay!
The house is built on a hill, likely moved there at one point in its history from another location. So, there are stairs everywhere.
Being a historic building, the ceilings are relatively low and the rooms are pretty closed-in, so the main living room doesn’t get much natural light. So, over the past few years, those features of the house combined with living with two active little kids, I was more and more bothered by having no indoor/outdoor living space.
So, this year I decided to take the leap and get myself the #nicebigdeck that I knew we could really use. When it came to the material, I was pretty clear. I wanted to use Trex decking because the product is durable, looks natural and, even more importantly than all that, I wanted to use a sustainable product. Trex is manufactured from more than 95% recycled content. In fact, Trex reclaims and repurposes more than 800 million pounds of recycled plastic film and reclaimed wood fiber every year, which is pretty cool.
I have a wood deck by the stream in the yard, and every few years, the deck needs to be scraped, repaired and re-stained, a project that I am WAY overdue for now. I knew that I didn’t want that kind of maintenance with this deck, and so I wanted our new deck to be virtually maintenance free, which is another reason why a Trex deck was the perfect optionsolution. I can clean it with just soap and water!
Here is my first stab at the deck design:
Here are some general things you should consider when planning your own deck:
Timeline– Give yourself more time than you think it will take. A typical deck project can take six months or more from start to finish. Just deciding the layout can be time intensive! Sketch your design and really sit with it. Imagine yourself using it. What makes sense for your family? How will the flow be? What do you plan to use it for? A deck is something you build once and never want to revisit, so it makes sense to take your time with the design to make it perfect for your family.
Material – I chose a grey color with natural variations in it that make it look like silvery aged wood, it’s called Island Mist from the Trex Transcend decking collection. It was SO hard to choose, but this one blended in so well with the very grey color scheme I currently have around the property. My advice when picking a color for the decking material: Don’t feel like you have to match or coordinate it with the color your house is painted because hat can be changed! Instead, make sure the deck coordinates with the permanent colors of your home like any stone for steps or building foundation, or other permanent features around the house. I went with grey because it blended in well with all of the weathered wood around the property and the stone foundation of the house. There are SO many colors to choose from!
Trex Transcend Decking in Island Mist
All of the Trex Transcend Colors…it was SO hard to choose!
Stone Stairs to the garden
The stone work and building around the property are all lovely shades of grey
Deck Size – I went with a deck that was 13 feet wide. To be comfortable for entertaining, make sure that your deck is at least 9’ deep. You have to account for at least 3’ of clearance for people to easily move around the space (48” if you have people in your family or visiting who might be in wheelchairs and you want to give them space to turn around). And then, of course you need space for furniture!
Location – I decided to put my deck right off of the kitchen, which makes a lot of sense since most people tend to congregate there. But think about where the ideal location might be for your home. Usually decks off of the higher-traffic spaces in your home, such as the living room, family room, kitchen, dining rooms make the most sense.
Substructure – I knew that I wanted a substructure that was strong and wouldn’t warp, rot, twist, split and decay over time, so I chose the Trex Elevations steel framing system. In addition to stability, steel ensures a flat surface for the life of the deck, while pressure-treated lumber can shift over time and move the boards for a less safe and less sleek-looking deck.
Zones – It’s a good idea to think about the different activities that you want to use the deck for. Do you want to have a grill out there? How many separate seating areas do you want? Are you including a dining table, sofas or other larger furniture pieces? Do you want a hot tub or fireplace? Think about what you expect to do out there and think about creating different “rooms” on the deck so that different activities can be comfortably going on at the same time.
Doors and Windows – Figure out how you plan to get OUT on the deck. Do you want more than one opening? Remember that wherever there is a window it is a relatively easy swap to put in a door of the same height. Creating a door where there was none is a much bigger undertaking.
Covered vs. uncovered – There are many, many options for gazebos that can be put on the deck and those are amazing! My initial design plans included a gazebo, but while I was thinking about the design and sitting with it, I realized that a gazebo (although it would add a nice architectural element and covered areas), would decrease the amount of sun that came through the kitchen window and I ultimately didn’t want to sacrifice that.
Railings – Do you want to enhance a view or block out noise or eyesores? There are so many railings available but you want to make sure that they work seamlessly with the decking material you select. One of my FAVORITE things about the kitchen is the view out the windows at the trees and visiting birds so I was SO excited to find that the Trex Signature Railings come with glass panels! So now I can have a deck and still enjoy an uninterrupted view of the trees and birds.
What is your dream for a deck? Have any of you already built one and have some advice for me?