| 1. How do I determine the best size of deck for my needs? |
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A deck is normally meant to replicate a room that already exists inside your home. The purpose of a deck is to be able to offer that same room in an outdoor "fresh-air" environment. |
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A great place to start your deck design is to decide which room in your house it is that you want to extend outdoors. |
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Measuring the room that you want to replicate will give you a good start on determining what size deck may be best for your needs. |
| 2. What rooms might I want to replicate outdoors? |
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By far the most popular use of backyard Sundecks is as a dining area for entertaining. |
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Another popular deck is a small sitting area for parents, much like you might find a parent retreat inside the master bedroom. |
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Writers, artists, and musicians often look for a quiet little outdoor studio. |
| 3. Once I've decided the room type the deck is based on, what's the next consideration? |
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You generally want to place the deck as close as possible to the room that you are replicating. |
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The existing room in your home has probably been designed to work best with regards to the natural traffic flow of your home. |
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A parent's retreat is generally going to work best if it comes off the master bedroom and the most useful dining area is going to come off the existing kitchen/dining area. |
| 4. What if there's no doorway from the existing interior room to the proposed deck area? |
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This is where you'd want to talk to an expert. You can get the most out of your budget if you explore the options with the help of a professional eye. |
| 5. How do I know what height to set the deck at? |
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Always think of how the deck will blend into your home (as opposed to thinking of it as a stand-alone unit). |
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Like any other room in your house staying at the same floor level feels like an extension of the existing room, one or two steps down may be considered classy (like a sunk-in living room), but anything more than two steps can feel like you're changing floors (going from main floor to the basement). |
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Note that deck elevation can also have an impact on both your privacy and the final cost of your deck. |
| 6. Which Deck Features are right for my deck? |
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This is another area where an expert can be indispensable in helping you make informed decisions. |
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Some structural items, like say the number of steps, are determined by the general plan (i.e., the elevation). Other items are more aesthetically oriented giving you a wider latitude of choice (e.g., Fascia or Skirting). These features can be simplified to meet budget constraints or they can be made more elaborate and elegant when opportunity knocks. |
| 7. What's Fascia? |
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Fascia is the trim on the side of the deck between the deck boards and skirting. |
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It can be Single, Double, or Triple |
| 8. What's Skirting? |
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Skirting is the covering on the vertical sides of your deck. |
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Skirting can be done with privacy boards, lattice, or the sides of the deck can be left open. |
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