An old wood deck in need of replacement
The well built, old wood deck had served this house for over 20 years, however it was starting to weaken and the wood no longer held a finish, requiring more and more maintenance. Their goal was to reduce the size of the deck, improve the view from the family room windows and provide a contained area for their small dog. The use of low maintenance materials was also on their wish list if the budget allowed for it. We presented concepts that incorporated a smaller deck surface, with low maintenance decking and rail, adjacent to a new patio.
New Azek deck with Azek rail and gates
After talking about the advantages of a interlocking paver patio versus stamped concrete, the cost differences, and the site issues, they decided that because the soil was usually very wet and subject to movement, pavers would be the best alternative.
Belgard paver patio- Dublin Cobble
Working through the design alternatives they eventually settled on one that reduced the footprint of the old deck on one side and increased the footprint on the other with the paver patio. A double gate was incorporated so that the family pet could enjoy the outside, and yet be constrained. The wider opening facilitates moving furniture from deck to patio. We removed the old deck and then put the patio in so that everything would work together. The pavers the owners selected were Belgard, Dublin Cobble, in the Harvest Blend color. This choice worked nicely with the gray/brown house color. Someday, they may want to create a larger patio surface and incorporate a gas fire pit, so we made sure that the current design would allow for that and we extended the gas line so that an easy connection could be made, if and when the time came. The gas line to the grill area was also extended so that the grill could be fueled by natural gas, rather than propane. We then started construction on the deck, with all new posts and footings. Because we were using composite decking (Azek PVC-Harvest Collection- Slate Gray), we placed the joists at 12″ on center and utilized hidden fasteners.
AZEK decking, rail and double gate
The railing was also composite (Azek-Premier-Slate Gray). The new Azek gate system which provides for a gate that matches well and is very robust, without the need for bracing and cross ties, was utilized A running change during construction replaced the railing surrounding the window well with a fiberglass grating. This provided the necessary safety feature without compromising the view from the family room window. The tradeoff meant slightly less light reaching the basement windows, but also less accumulation of leaves and debris. The homeowners were very pleased with the results and said “we don’t know why we didn’t do this sooner, it’s so elegant. We love being able see our back yard from the family room window. What a difference.” As is evident by the first snow on the ground, this job was started late in the season, but it turned out well and the homeowners will be able to dream about using it this spring, and enjoy the view all winter. Combining traditional deck design with a hardscape is a great look, and adds another dimension to outdoor living enjoyment.
Baron Biedenweg - Archadeck of Fort Wayne and NE Indiana
For a free consultation, call us at 260/969-8663, or email neindiana@archadeck.net, or visit our website fort-wayne.archadeck.com
