Transform Your Outdoor Living Space With a Deck

We’ve been working the past few months with the Fox family to transform their landscape into something beautiful and more livable. A big part of that has been the tiered deck that extends from their home into the backyard.

The Neave Group team talks a lot about patio design on our blogs, but the Fox project has reminded us in a big way just how much fun it can be to design and install beautiful, long-lasting decks.

Let’s address some of the most common questions we get about decks.

Why build decks?

Most importantly, decks open up a larger usable area of your landscape. Many of our clients have designed multi-tier decks that begin as a private retreat from the master suite on an upper floor and descend into a larger space for family and friends to gather.

In that vein, it’s also a great way to make the most of a large home with a smaller backyard. Don’t ignore the design freedom vertical space can offer you!

Decks are also a great way to optimize an irregular landscape. For example, if you live on steeply sloped land, you can build a deck that extends out onto it instead of worrying about grading and flattening it out for a patio space.

Finally, decks and patios need not be an either/or situation! Blending materials in your landscape can create a dynamic outdoor living space.

What Design Options Are There For Decks?

The best part about decks is the design freedom they offer. You can use both the dimensions of your home and the layout of your landscape to dictate your design.

Decks can be built as far out from your home as you’d like, in any direction, with multiple levels, if you’d like. A deck can be as low to the ground or as high as you’d like.

Finished deck, stairs and patio at Fox residence.

You can also construct a deck to run the length of your pool, or to create visual interest elsewhere in your landscape. (If you have the inspiration, there’s a good chance your designer can make it happen somehow!)

You can further customize your deck’s design with stains in a variety of colors and railings that suit your personal style, from matching wood to decorative metals and wrought iron.

Decks are also designed to support plenty of weight, so you can customize to your liking and still enjoy your space! Decks can typically be adorned with anything a patio can, from container plantings and arbors to outdoor heaters, fire pits and customized lighting.

What’s The Best Material For Decks?

Decks can be constructed out of natural wood as well as many synthetic and composite materials.

Wood

Pressure-treated lumber, usually made from chemically treated pine is the most popular and ubiquitous material for most decks. It’s also one of the most affordable material options, but it’s likely to swell, warp or crack. Depending on your commitment to maintenance, though, the need to power wash and stain wood decks periodically could be a deterrent.

Other wood options include cedar and tropical hardwoods like tigerwood and ipe, which can wear better than pressure-treated lumber but are more expensive.

Plastic

These materials can be either recycled or “virgin,” and of course, plastic’s biggest benefits are its stain and weather resistance. Plastic decks will never swell, warp or crack.

A potential downside, though, is that most plastic decking is part of a system that you must purchase part and parcel for it to be installed properly. That can drive your costs up pretty quickly, but if you love the system and are committed to the material’s resilience, the benefits could outweigh the costs.

Composites

Composite materials are made from a blend of wood and synthetic materials, such as plastic. These materials require very little maintenance — no sanding, scrubbing or re-staining! One of the biggest downsides to standard composite decking is that your color options are limited, and those colors will fade over time.

How Much Will A Deck Cost?

Like any outdoor living project, the cost of designing and installing decks will vary based on the bounds of your budget and the depths of your imagination.

If you’re interested in exploring the deck design process, give the experts at Neave Carpentry a ring! We can help you design and install a deck that suits your personal aesthetic and fits into your budget.

Call us at (845) 463-0592, or fill out the web form to the right of this post, and one of our design professionals will contact you as soon as possible.