Typically, it recoups 71 percent of the original construction costs if the house is sold within the year. Even if selling your home isn’t in your immediate plans, regular maintenance of the deck will still allow you to retain much of its value over the years.
How do you decide what kind of deck you want, what it should look like and what kind of materials to use? Whether you join the large number of homeowners who build decks themselves, build part of it and contract the tough parts out to someone else or hire a carpenter to do the whole job, you still need to make some fundamental decisions.
*What will you use if for? Be specific, as an outdoor “bathroom” with a shower and hot tub will have different costs, design elements and amenities than, say, a contemplative bonsai garden.
*Where will it be? If you need to build a new door, it will be more expensive than if you have an entrance-exit already.
*How will it attach to the house? Will it be free-standing or connected? Is the house’s framing accessible to create support for the deck?
*What is your budget? Can you afford quality woods like redwood, cedar or pressure-treated pine that will last over the years? Will you have money left over for furnishing the deck, if that’s an issue? Do you need to build it in phases for financial reasons?
*How much time do you have to build it? Also, how much time do you have to maintain it?
*Do you need a building permit? Most municipalities require one. Get in touch with your local government to find out what’s necessary in terms of fees, plan reviews and field inspections. Don’t forget to find out about easements, the location of underground utilities and other practical issues.
There are a number of great books on the market that can help you map out a design for your deck. These include: “Ideas For Great Patios and Decks” (Sunset), “How to Design & Build Decks & Patios” (Ortho Books) and “Decks, Patios, and Porches” (Reader’s Digest).
You’ll find that even the smallest space or hilliest terrain can be accommodated.
The first step is evaluating the site. Do you want a basic backyard deck or are you interested in wrapping it around the house? Will you want it to be multilevel, surrounding a pool, enhancing a garden?
Take weather patterns into consideration as well. What kind of exposure do you have to the sun, rain, wind and even snow? Does the house mitigate some of these problems by protecting the space, for example, from strong winds? Can you moderate the impact of weather conditions with an overhang or a wall?
What kind of built-ins, if any, do you want? Planters, storage, a barbecue, hot tub, furniture, a fountain?
How will it blend in with the surrounding area? Do you need special landscape to ease it in with the rest of the yard?
Once you’ve worked all these disparate elements into a plan, pick up some large drawing paper and simple mechanical drawing tools, such as a triangle and T-square and tracing paper to allow you to play around with your concepts. To be accurate, use a ruler or architect’s scale. Work through your sketches until you’ve come up with a plan you like.
At this point, you’re ready either to begin staking out or hiring a contractor. You can develop your cost estimate, which may require further refinements. Regardless, you’ll need to refine your sketches into a final working plan as you get past the conceptual phase and into the nitty-gritty of construction.
Once you have your plan, assuming you’ve drawn it on good-quality tracing paper, it’s smart to have a blueprint and five or six copies made.
When it comes to furnishing your new deck, keep some ideas in mind:
*Use color — in furniture, in plants, in pottery.
*Meet your needs. Will this be a place where kids feel free to create a mess, or will it be an elegant spot for entertaining? Will furniture need to withstand the elements or be put away during tough weather?
*Keep it safe. Make sure you have adequate lighting, that passageways are unobstructed, that small hands and pets are protected from barbecues.
What kind of furniture works well outdoors? Wrought-iron chairs come to mind immediately. But what you select depends on your style and the use you have in mind for it.
Redwood remains the wood of choice for furniture as well as for the deck itself. As sturdy and durable as it is beautiful, it can be carved into some lovely shapes. Reed Bros., a Sebastopol-based furniture company, has a wide variety of hand-carved designs, including tables, chairs, a garden bench, even a martini table. One especially comfortable-looking set is the Sonoma Lounge Chair and Ottoman. Topped with thick cushions made of water-resistant fabric, the chair makes you feel you could virtually live outside.