A new deck, huh?
That’s quite the project, but you’re probably so full of ideas and inspiration photos that you don’t need another article telling you what to add and how to design it. What you do need, however, is for someone to tell you what to watch out for because, in all that excitement, nobody takes enough time to think about how terribly wrong this can all go.
Most likely, you think this will be pretty straightforward. You’ll pick a style, order some wood, and get to work. If only it were that easy. The thing you probably don’t realize is that the biggest mistakes happen before you grab your hammer, while you’re still planning.
If you want to learn all about that, keep reading.
You can’t wait to get to the fun stuff, so you start picking out railings and wood stains right away.
Congratulations, you just made the first mistake, and your deck is still just an idea in your head. What you want and what’s going to work don’t necessarily have to match, and, unless you have experience with DIY projects of this scale, you might want to pause and get some help from the pros, such as Keystone Custom Decks, or any other business that specializes in creating decks, porches, and similar structures.
If, however, you kind of, sort of know what you’re doing and want to give it a shot, here’s what not to do.
You see a deck, and you figure it’s nothing more than a rectangle tacked onto the house.
The problem with thinking like this is that you forget to plan how you’ll use it, so you might end up with something that looks okay on a blueprint but feels awkward and is unusable in practice.
You have to think about how you’ll move in the space, where’s the place where people will gather to chat, where the grill will go, what’s the best spot for your yoga mat, etc. The flow of your everyday life has to be a part of the design.
Photos you see on social media and in magazines are great for inspiration, but you can’t try to match your deck to any of it.
It should match your life, and that’s all you need to care about. Sure, that gorgeous sunny deck looks amazing in a photo, and you might want something like this. But then it hits you. You realize that your entire backyard faces south. This means your deck will be pretty much unusable by 2 PM, all the way till 6, maybe 7 PM.
So in this case, you need to design the deck to account for that. You have to figure out and decide on where you want to sit and relax – this will also be the place where you want to create shade by any means necessary. Just don't compromise on comfort too much (or ideally, at all).
Permit talk is way more than red tape, and you absolutely have to take permits seriously. Your backyard is your own; it’s not a mistake to think that, but that doesn’t mean you can build any ol’ atrocity in it and there won’t be any consequences.
There are local rules you have to follow, like how far your deck has to be from the property lines, how tall you can make it, and in what way you can attach it to the house, etc. These rules are really strict, and if you find out you're in violation too late… Oh, man. Those are some hefty fines you’ll pay. And that’s if you’re lucky! If you’re not, you’ll be forced to tear the whole thing down.
You might get tempted into choosing decking based on how it looks or what it costs, but that’s far from ideal because they’re all different. Take natural wood, for instance. It needs regular staining, so that means more maintenance.
If you’re thinking of composites, you should know that some of them get really hot in the sun.
The material you choose will decide how much time you’ll spend babysitting your deck and, of course, how durable it’ll be. Unless you understand the differences between them, let someone who knows what they’re doing do the picking.
When you think about having a deck, you imagine sunny 75-degree days. Is that really your climate? Is that anyone’s climate? Your deck should work in all seasons and in all weather. Think about which direction the wind usually comes from and where the rain tends to collect. How is the sun in the afternoon? Does it bake the entire space in the summer?
Local weather is a big deal, and if you don’t consider it, you’ll use the deck a few weeks out of the year. Tops.
So what’s the point of this whole article?
It’s simple – leave the fun stuff for after you’re 100% sure you’ve planned everything well. And if you don’t quite know if your plans will work, you can always get in touch with the professionals.
Dream big, plan smart, and don’t forget about those pesky permits!
