Wooden Deck Appeal: Spiff Up Your Home

First, ask yourself if a wooden deck makes sense for your property

. Will it reduce or increase your privacy? How does it affect ease of entry to the house--main floor and basement; will it block light into the house? Does the sacrifice of open yard space make sense for your family's lifestyle? If a large interior renovation is in your future, it would be wise to postpone the wooden deck till afterward, as they can be hard to protect.

Before starting, check for bylaw end permit requirements in your municipality.

Making a Wooden Deck Sound

The building code specifies that a deck's support structure, including concrete footings and/or foundations, be strong enough to bear the possible load of, say, a big summer party or a pile of snow. That means footings sunk below the frost line. Sometimes you will see porches or wooden decks built on small concrete blocks or purchased piers placed on the lawn or soft soil. This can leave the structure vulnerable to sagging or dangerous instability.

If you want to upgrade an existing deck--say, by glassing it in to create a sun porch--don't assume the foundations can handle the load. Wooden decks usually have to be rebuilt when being modified or extended. Make sure you discuss this with your builder at the estimate stage.

Making The Wooden Deck Safe

Railings or guards should be installed when the deck is a certain distance above the ground and is a requirement in some jurisdictions. The height of a railing usually is at least 3 or 4 feet high, which, although best for safety, tends to block the eye-level view for a seated person. Your local building code may forbid horizontal details such as benches that could provide an opportunity for a child to climb. Vertical rails should be no more than a certain width apart, to avoid creating spaces where a child might fall or get her head stuck.

Key details

Several choices of floor can be used on a wooden deck or porch. A solid-surface deck, which must be carefully built to slope away from the house, is usually plywood covered with waterproofing (sheet vinyl or fiberglass last much longer than a paint-on surface). A solid-surface deck may be hotter in summer but provides dry space below. An open draining deck is usually floored with two- by-four lumber, spaced to allow draining. Many wooden decks use cedar or other wood, chemically treated to resist rot.

Generally, outdoor renovations that include a beautiful outdoor wooden deck are less disruptive than inside ones. They extend living space and give pleasure to the whole family for many years to come

by: Matt Millsap

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