I’ve been wanting a deck for what seems like forever at the cabin. The front of the cabin has a screened in porch on the right, and the left is covered but not screened in. We use the screened in part of the deck as a sitting area, and when it’s nice out it’s my favorite room in the house, so since we don’t have a deck or patio in the back, we really have no outside space for dining or even laying out in the sun. You can take a peek at the open porch here and a small peek at the screened in porch here.
I found this picture and I’m including it for two reasons: our deck will need to be on the second floor, and we want to incorporate some kind of enclosed space underneath. Not an enclosed porch like this, but a place for storage. There seems to be some challenges in doing that, especially in relation to preventing leaking in the room below.
This deck seems to be about the same size as ours will be, which is 12×32. Ideally, I would like composite decking for both the deck boards and railings, but of course it’s significantly more expensive. We could have composite railings and pressure treated deck boards, as a compromise. Originally I wanted part of the deck to be an enclosed porch, but that’s too expensive so we abandoned that idea.
I have an appointment on Thursday with the Pro Desk at Home Depot, and I want to try to finalize the design and whatever materials we are going to use at that time. We are also speaking with a few contractors and trying to decide what features to include. That’s where you come in.
If you have a deck, are there any features you have that you can’t live without? Any that you feel were a waste of money? What materials did you use and would you use them again? Any other tips to share would be appreciated!
Angela says
I wish our deck was composite just because of maintenance but it is quite expensive! If you could afford to have the railings done in composite, thought, it would save you a lot of time and frustration when it comes to maintenance! Just my two cents worth!! Can’t wait to see what you decide on!!~~Angela
Doreen@househoneys says
Agreed! At the very least we will do the rails I’m composite because they’re a pain to stain.
Cynthia says
Composite decking really is the way to go if it is in the budget. It can be pricey but we love it for the maintenance. We get a lot of bugs and we have so many trees that our wood deck did not wear well at all for us and we were very diligent with it. We tried to take such good care of our wood deck.
Cynthia
Doreen@househoneys says
Did you get trex Cynthia, or another kind? I’m so confused because when I went to Home Depot they quoted me pricing for their band that was less than trex (as expected) but the contractor had trex as less.
Cynthia says
We got Home Depots brand. The only thing I will tell you is that composite, no matter what brand, if it bakes in the sun it will fade a bit. Not bad to scare you off but a bit and the other thing to keep in mind is the darker the color the hotter the deck will be if it bakes in the sun. Some people go barefoot on the composite decking that is why I mentioned that.
Cynthia
Doreen@househoneys says
Yes, we were told that. I have to go dark because our cabin is dark brown in the front and medium brown in the back (long story lol) and there doesn’t seem to be many options. I don’t want white because I don’t think that would look right with the two shades of brown. Fortunately, in Massachusetts it doesn’t get blazing hot too often and if it was I’d be in the enclosed porch or the house ;).
Cynthia says
That is great then and I agree white would not look right. Can’t wait to hear what you choose.
Cynthia
Lisa Newlin says
Matt and I want a deck but I’m afraid of the cost. How about you do all this research and find out everything, and then teach me?
Let us know what they say at Home Depot too. I didn’t think about going there to talk to them but it’s an excellent idea.
I will demand follow up posts on this.
And do that exact deck in the photo! The bottom looks awesome!
Doreen Sargente says
I don’t usually give in to demands Lisa, but coming from you somehow I think I can deal. 😉
I agree about the screened in porch, but we really need that space for storage. We have a porch at the front of the house, so that will have to do.
If there is anything specific you would like to know, just email me or message me on FB and ask away!