Planning For Your Outdoor Wooden Deck Traffic
A deck is often conveniently located off of or near the kitchen but is supposed to be designed to be out of the way of traffic
. Sometimes a homeowner will section off a portion of the outdoor deck to be a screened in porch. This arrangement ensures lovely summer evening meals that are free from mosquitoes and other pesky flying insects.
Deck traffic can be facilitated by positioning the screened in porch with a corridor between the porch and the railings to be out of the way of normal deck traffic.
Be generous when sizing the main traffic "corridors" of your deck by allowing at least 4 feet so that the traffic lanes can accommodate two people walking abreast. Allow at least 4 feet around activity areas where people will circulate, such as a dining or conversation areas. Locate potentially hazardous activity areas away from traffic corridors. For example, put the cooking area where people will not have to pass close by to get somewhere else. The same practice should be considered for tripping hazards, such as steps, and cutouts for ponds, spas, trees, or through deck gardens. If your deck is small, use items such as benches, planters, and trellises to define traffic paths. A small counter, for example, may be all you need to force kids to walk around a grilling area rather than through it. A bench that is built around a through deck planter will prevent visitors from stepping off of the edge.
Lessen Visibility of Stairs
Stair placement goes along with traffic patterns and is key to designing a useful deck, keep in mind paths from the door to the stairs, it's always best to keep areas for seating clear of pathways from the door to the stairs. Stair placement, traffic paths, furniture placement are all key in determining how much space in necessary and how big a deck to build.
Most designers recommend stairs with a minimum 3 foot width and that you treat the handrail the same as you've treated the guardrail. With long stairs, this may create too much visual clutter, so you may want to use a less visible metal handrail system. Painted black or white, depending on the background, such handrails almost disappear from a distance.
Steps for a deck built less than 2 feet above ground level are relatively easy to build, usually requiring no railing or anchors to the ground. Loads imposed on stairs are carried by treads usually 2 by 12 boards, called stringers, that span descending boards. The top of the steps are fastened to the deck, the bottom rests on a concrete slab.
A deck that rises 8 or more feet above the ground shares much with similar structures built nearer the ground.
However, these taller structures require additional rigidity. This comes from thicker, stiffer posts at the outer edge of the deck, and from a piece of lumber called a ledger board. Fastened directly to the house, the ledger board allows the deck to borrow strength from the larger structure.
Stairs that are adjacent to an exterior wall will be less intrusive than those that reach into the yard.
For a period style house with bold detailing, you may want the railings to stand out.
The stairs to a Victorian-influenced deck could be discreetly tucked away to either side of the deck, keeping the rear elevation of the house visually unencumbered.
Spiral stairs are a compact way to connect a second-story deck with the yard.
Fill the space where stairs turn with planters, and use benches in place of guardrails where allowed by code.
A handrail without cable or balusters is permissible against a wall but not along a stairs' open side.
A stairs' handrail is subject to many of the same code restrictions as a deck guardrail, including a maximum 4-in. opening between balusters.
Consider traffic patterns. Where are the entries to the deck or doors from house? The placement of the stairs can be critical to a good design and of course can affect the necessary size of the deck. It is also very important to consider traffic patterns around the deck, by making the deck that extra few feet bigger does it make it near impossible to get a mower around the deck? Do you now have to go up and down the deck just to get from one side of the yard to the other?
by: Matt Millsap
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