One of the most frustrating things for homeowners is spending thousands of dollars on a deck and not getting the desired function or appearance out of it. There are a few simple questions that will help you to design and plan your deck in the way that suits your desires for its function and appearance.

The first thing that you need to do is ask yourself “What do I want to fit into the space?”. Many homeowners have a specific idea about deck furniture. Do you want to be able to have family dinner on your deck? Are you hoping to fit a couch? chairs? a hot tub? These are all important factors to consider when thinking about deck design. The amount of furniture and desired function can help you determine the size of the deck you would like to build.

The second question that you need to ask yourself is about flow. “How do you want your deck to flow?”. Here is an example. Lets say that you would like to put a big table on your deck. Now lets say that you also desire to have stairs off your deck. At first you might be picturing a square deck. If you were to build a perfectly square deck you would have to walk around your table every time you wished to exist the deck. Now picture if there were a lot of people on this deck. Walking around that table to get the deck stairs would become incredibly annoying. This is what we mean by “flow”. If you are wanting a big table it may be a good idea to plan an area to have that table. The same thing can be said for other functions of the deck, make sure to think about the flow of your deck.

The final questions involve more ascetics and maintenance. Ascetics are extremely important to most customers. Here are a few questions to keep in mind…

Is the view off your deck important to you? If the answer is yes, our recommendation would be to ask your contractor about installing Aluminum railings on your deck. The Aluminum railings disappear into the view and allow for a more seamless transition into the world around you. (Pictures of this can be found in our Deck Gallery).

Would you like to build with a deck material that is composite or natural wood? Composite material comes in many different colors and requires little to no maintenance. Natural wood is installed naturally but can be stained after instillation for desired color. Stain can come in many different colors and depths but does require a touch up every 1-3 years depending on sun exposure. (For more information check out our Deck Services Page).

Would you like there to patterns in the floor boards? Some customers want boarders around certain portions of their deck. Others desire a flooring pattern that covers the entire deck. Here at LD&F the standard is to install all floor boards diagonally because it enlarges the felling of the deck. However, we often install different deck patters including boarders (1,2 and 3 boards thick), herring bone and a weave pattern.

With these questions in mind you will be able to design a deck that fits all of the things that you desire both in terms of function and ascetically.