As your family gets bigger and your children get older it’s not unusual for you to outgrow your living space. When that happens it will definitely take away a little from your comfort and make personal space hard to find. So what do you do short of putting an expensive addition on your home or go through the super-hassle of selling your house, finding another and then moving? Many people find that the resolution to the lack of living and personal space can be easily and affordably resolved by adding a custom built deck onto their home.
Why choose a custom built deck over other options such as putting an addition onto your home. It has a lot more to do than with just cost. Custom built decks are much less strict as far as permitting goes and in most cases they do not count against ground cover requirements either. Not to mention the fact that the shapes and sizes that can be created are virtually limitless.
Let’s take a closer look at all the different options you will have once you decide that a custom built deck is the right choice for you.
Custom Built Deck Options
When we say custom built deck that means you will have a lot of choices with its design. Your deck design choices are really only limited by your imagination, free lot space and budget. Here are a few of the most popular deck design choices.
Attached deck
This is by far the most popular type of deck design you will find on homes. The main reason for that is because these decks are often used to extend living and sitting space off a bedroom, family room or kitchen. Attaching them to your home makes them very sturdy, too.
Detached/Island/Freestanding decks
Freestanding decks are the best deck type for giving you a lot of flexibility as to where you locate the deck in your yard. They also give you many options as far as shape and size are concerned.
Screened in deck
Many people don’t think adding a deck to add extra living space is a great idea because of mosquitoes and other pests. Well there is nothing that says a deck can’t be screened to make it pest free like any other living area in your house.
Hot tub deck
When you are talking about building a deck to add extra living space with an extra emphasis on comfort there is no better way to do that than by building a hot tub deck. The hot tub can either be recessed or placed on top of the deck.
Wraparound Deck
This is a great deck type if you like to do things like sit in the sun or shade all day. They are like a raised up version of a wraparound porch and can even have entranceways from multiple rooms.
Material Choices for Your New Custom Deck
There are several different materials you can choose to build your new custom deck from. Here are the most popular custom built deck material choices:
Pressure treated wood
Pressure treated wood has long been the building material of choice for custom built decks. That’s because it offers a nice mix of both price and longevity. Once it has dried completely it can be very nicely stained too. The only problem with this deck material is some people may be sensitive to its chemical treatment. One nice thing about pressure treated wood is that with new treating methods it’s no longer the environmental hazard that it was once thought to be.
Natural wood
Without a doubt no decking material looks as good as natural wood once it’s been stained. There is just something special about the looks of a natural wood deck if you are willing to pay the extra cost. This is especially true if your home has a more classic or rustic look. When matched up with the right home style and décor a natural wood deck can help your home look amazing.
Your main choices for natural wood decking are redwood, cedar and imported tropical hardwoods. The best bet here may be cedar because both redwood and tropical hardwoods run to the very expensive side.
Synthetic/Composite decking
If you are planning on staying in your present home for a long time then synthetic decking is never a bad choice. Once you build your deck it’s then virtually maintenance free. You never have to worry about painting your deck and the composite deck boards you use to build your deck out of will last longer than your lifetime in most cases. It will cost you a little more to build this type of deck but for many it’s well worth using this popular decking material for all of the advantages it offers you.
In most cases you will also have some say when it comes to composite decking color choices, texture and pattern options.
Discuss Building Your New Deck with a Competent Decking Contractor
So you have done your homework and now you feel that building a new deck is the perfect way for you to affordably gain some extra living space. You may be wondering what your next step is. We would highly suggest sitting down with a professional deck builder and letting them add their experienced opinion to what your thoughts are on the type of deck you want to build. Decking experts like Evergreen Renovations & Roofing out of Beaverton, Oregon and the Portland Metro area will work with you to come up with the perfect deck design that also nicely fits into your budget.
Adding a deck onto your home really is a great idea to economically increase your living space. It does not matter whether you build a large screened in deck, small deck reading area or sun deck just off your swimming pool, they will all accomplish the goal of getting you that extra living space and comfort you need.
