Honey, We Need More Space

Two-Level Composite Deck With Patio

All they asked for was more room to sit, so the deck came off and went back on across two levels, in composite, with a curve on the yard side.

Before

One Long Strip Along the Back

The old deck ran the length of the back wall in a straight line, which was about as wide as a hallway. The stain had gone patchy years before and the boards had that blotchy orange-brown look pressure treated timber gets when nobody has resealed it in a while.

Everything ended up in a row because there was nowhere else for it to go. Grill at one end, table in the middle, loungers wherever they’d fit, and anyone crossing the deck walked between the furniture to do it.

After

Where the Extra Room Came From

Nobody added a wing to the house. The extra space came out of the shape.

A rectangle is the cheapest deck to build and the hardest one to furnish, because everything has to line up along a single wall. Splitting the deck across two levels gives you two rooms instead of one corridor, so the table sits up by the doors and the seating steps down and out toward the yard.

Then the curve on the outer edge pushes the whole thing wider through the middle, which is where the space actually gets used.

Twelve feet of wall, standing exactly where the neighbors could see in.

The Two Areas

The Upper Level

Off the doors, where the dining table goes. Straight-edged along the house, close enough to the kitchen that carrying plates out is no trouble.

The Lower Level

A step down and out, given over to the seating. This is the half with the curve in it, and it’s where everyone ends up.

The Details

The Curved Edge

Every board along the outer edge was cut to follow the radius. It takes considerably longer to frame and build than a square corner, and it’s what makes the lower level feel like a room.

The Two Tone Railing

White Trex posts with black balusters between them. The white ties into the house trim and the black all but vanishes, so the railing marks the deck’s shape without blocking the view of the trees.

No More Staining

The old boards needed sealing every couple of years and hadn’t had it. Trex Transcend takes that job off the list permanently, which on a deck this size is a weekend a year back.

A Short List, Done Properly

Component	Product
Decking	Trex Transcend, 474 sq. ft. across two levels
Railing	Trex Transcend composite, two color
Privacy wall	Painted pressure treated, 12 linear feet

About $46,000 to build in the north metro today, which puts it among the most affordable projects we take on. There’s no roof structure and nothing below the deck, so nearly all of it is what you can see.

Not Every Project Needs a Roof on It

Most of what we photograph has a fireplace in it somewhere, and that gives people the wrong idea about what we do. Plenty of backyards just need more room to sit and a bit of shelter from the house next door. If that’s all you’re after, tell us and we’ll price exactly that.

or visit us at Woodstock Design Center 135 Village Center W, Suite 100