What do you love/hate about your deck?

[JanaDee]

Build a 4 season room with a roof. Yes I know that the cost is very high but the use you will have with it will be worth it, esp. if you are building it specific to use a hot tub for a sore back.

We have had 4 houses so far and have built a pool, 2 decks, 3 season room, and plenty of patio's.

A hot tub can be used just as often outside on a deck as it can be inside a room. The hot tub will be outside, no matter what we ultimately decide to build.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

Our deck is large - 18 x 28 so I love that. I hate that it's wood, we need to pressure wash and stan every few years. Someday we'll replace it with "plastic".

 

[Luvchefmic]

Smart to decide not to use wood. This is a timely thread for me as we are in a financial crunch and just replaced part of the deck as it is rotting away. No matter, as other people have said the treatments, the sun and rain year after year destroys the wood. I have also dug more than my fair share of splinters out of the bottom of my foot over the years.
The deck also overlooks the horse paddock and she loves to chew on the wood which doesn't help things.

If I could I would have it all ripped down today and replaced with the composite material. That being said we spend more awake time out there than anyplace else on the property. LOVE that we have a deck; just not that deck.

 

[Ambear]

I wish my deck had an awning.

 

[tina.tina]

My deck is 20x20 and I like that it is large enough for a party. We have white vinyl railing around it and I love how it looks. I always thought I would feel like I was in a playpen but I was totally wrong. The white gives it such a clean, finished look.

If you need privacy from neighbors, why not incorporate a privacy fence into your deck design?
If you need privacy from above, a pergola or roof would definitely help.

I highly recommend an actual roof over your hot tub. My parents have a hot tub at the cabin on their farm and they love to use it during periods of light rain or snow. It wouldn't be the same if it were raining on you.

You could do a skylight if you're interested in a view of the stars. My ILs have a retractable awning and it's great for the sun but I'm really not sure how it stands up to rain.

Speaking of privacy, my parents have neighbors near their cabin who like to use a telescope. We cannot confirm the telescope is pointed at my parents' hot tub but when my parents went for dinner, they moved the telescope suddenly (& in a suspicious manner) so that my parents didn't see exactly where it was pointed. They are sort of goofy and are in the 80's so my mom says it doesn't bother her but they've planted some shrubs in between since then.

 

[nkereina]

We have a 10x12' vinyl deck. It's not 100% vinyl - it's composite inside with a vinyl overlay, and it's a dark brown color. The material is Veranda which is Home Depot exclusive. This is our third season with it and so far we've been very happy. We did wide wrap around stairs as the deck was built off a corner of our house, and we have white railings with black aluminum spindles in between. We also have two 6' privacy panels on the end of it to block our neighbors. The cost was great and we have no real complaints. Only gripe I guess would be that the dark color gets very hot in the sun so no barefeet on it, and it also shows all the bird poop and bugs on it so we need to clean it frequently - I usually do this with a Swiffer if I'm in a hurry or I'll hose it down and use dish soap with a stiff broom. Good luck!

 

[Happy Snowman]

A couple other things--try to design the deck so the stairs are not jutting out into the yard. Have them run along the side of the deck or the front of the deck so it doesn't eat up any extra yard space. Also, make sure the stairs are wide enough to bring lawn furniture up and down . Do not use white deck boards---it's blinding in bright sunlight!!! If your deck is high enough (walk out basement) you could put a screen porch under the deck. Those are becoming very popular around here.

 

[JanaDee]

My deck is 20x20 and I like that it is large enough for a party. We have white vinyl railing around it and I love how it looks. I always thought I would feel like I was in a playpen but I was totally wrong. The white gives it such a clean, finished look.

If you need privacy from neighbors, why not incorporate a privacy fence into your deck design?
If you need privacy from above, a pergola or roof would definitely help.

I highly recommend an actual roof over your hot tub. My parents have a hot tub at the cabin on their farm and they love to use it during periods of light rain or snow. It wouldn't be the same if it were raining on you.

You could do a skylight if you're interested in a view of the stars. My ILs have a retractable awning and it's great for the sun but I'm really not sure how it stands up to rain.

Speaking of privacy, my parents have neighbors near their cabin who like to use a telescope. We cannot confirm the telescope is pointed at my parents' hot tub but when my parents went for dinner, they moved the telescope suddenly (& in a suspicious manner) so that my parents didn't see exactly where it was pointed. They are sort of goofy and are in the 80's so my mom says it doesn't bother her but they've planted some shrubs in between since then.

All the houses around us are ranches, so no need for privacy from neighbors peering down onto the deck.

 

[disykat]

It's too close to the neighbors! Why they situated the house and deck that way is a mystery to me since we have almost half an acre.

We put in a little patio in the front and it's actually much more private.

 

[monorailsilver]

Those of you with fake wood aka trex, etc... How does it handle In the snow? We need a deck as ours is wood and falling apart but my dh is worried with the snow, multiple snow storms and feet not inches that we have been getting that his constant shoveling will splinter the fake wood.

Our deck is high off the ground so the snow removal is necessary.

 

[Jaime4004]

Those of you with fake wood aka trex, etc... How does it handle In the snow? We need a deck as ours is wood and falling apart but my dh is worried with the snow, multiple snow storms and feet not inches that we have been getting that his constant shoveling will splinter the fake wood.

Our deck is high off the ground so the snow removal is necessary.

This is the first year DH actually removed snow from the deck. Usually we just let it pile up and melt eventually. We had a bit more feet than usual and he was concerned about the weight. Ours is low and he dragged the snowblower onto it after shoveling wasn't getting him very far. So no experience shoveling it all the time, but it's held up fine with several feet of snow on it all winter!

 

[nkereina]

Those of you with fake wood aka trex, etc... How does it handle In the snow? We need a deck as ours is wood and falling apart but my dh is worried with the snow, multiple snow storms and feet not inches that we have been getting that his constant shoveling will splinter the fake wood.

Our deck is high off the ground so the snow removal is necessary.

We live in Buffalo, NY so we see a good amount of snow. Ours isn't Trex but Veranda brand which is similar - composite inside with PVC coating on the outside. Just finished our third winter with it, with this last one consisting of record snow fall, and we did not remove the snow from it once. It piled pretty high, but never an issue. Our contractor said it wasn't necessary. Once the snow melted, we just hosed off the dirt and it was ready to go! Really, really low maintenance.

 

[soccerdad72]

All the houses around us are ranches, so no need for privacy from neighbors peering down onto the deck.

I totally missed the 'r' in peering the first time I read this.

 

[JanaDee]

I totally missed the 'r' in peering the first time I read this.

Ewwww