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DeckscapingBy Jim Sulski Summary: Improving your deck can increase its utility and make your whole house look better. Deck coverings, additions, and extensions are all worthy home investments. While backyard decks made of treated lumber have become the summer hangout of choice, aesthetically decks have never been much to look at.
Many homeowners, however, have added a little pizzazz to their decks by sprucing them up with deckscaping improvements ranging from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars. Because these improvements are usually not structural in nature, they're perfect projects for the typical do-it-yourselfer. For example, one of the easiest ways to embellish a deck is to add a few pre-constructed treated wood ornamental pieces that are available at most home improvement outlets. Colonial or Gothic post caps, or finials, can be placed on top of columns and rails to give more dimension to the deck. Costing a few dollars each, they are simply screwed and glued to the top of the rail or column. Four-by-eight-foot sheets of lattice, meanwhile, are a great way to fill in the gaps between the bottom of the deck and the ground. After being cut, the lattice sheets can be attached to the backs or fronts of the four-by-four-inch posts holding the deck up. Use galvanized deck screws to anchor the lattice sheets and then cover the edges with treated wood trim. The lattice sheets, available in either diamond or square patterns, also come in two-by-four-foot lengths. The lattice not only adds a nice decorative touch but keep animals and leaves from gathering underneath the deck. A slightly more expensive but still simple upgrade is to replace the deck's pickets. Going from a monolithic square pole to a front porch-type Victorian picket, combined with post caps, will create an entire new look to the deck. To get at the old pickets, take off the top handrail and remove the screws or nails holding them down. You can also build an extension above the rails to erect some privacy screening. This usually necessitates removing the existing top handrail and extending the vertical support posts that the handrails are attached to. Then, you can replace the handrails, and attach lattice screens above the rails for privacy. Top the lattice screens with another horizontal rail for support. Another fairly simple upgrade is to build a bench or planter box to replace a standard-looking rail. There are kits for such projects available at many home improvement stores. Finally, you can add some low-voltage deck lights to add ambience to the deck as well as security lighting at night. The low voltage required to power the light allows for a fairly easy installation without a concern about electrical shock. About the only challenge with the low-voltage deck lights is trying to hide the wiring. Topping the deck with some sort of a cover can maximize its usability. In addition to providing privacy, a deck cover is also a good improvement for those decks that heat up because of prolonged periods of exposure to sunlight. Usually, the cover is open in that it's a trellis or some sort of latticework. If it rains, the deck still gets wet but such a cover helps break up sunlight coming down on the deck. Start by removing the horizontal vertical handrail over the top of the pickets. Next, you'll need to extend the vertical posts that support the flooring and railing of the deck and replace them with taller posts - usually eight feet in length above the floor of the deck. Next, you'll need to install two-by-four-inch or two-by-six-inch horizontal beams or joists along the top of the posts that will support the overhead framework. There are a number of metal hangers, anchors and straps available for connecting beams to posts. The beams or joists should be spaced depending on the covering that will be placed over them. Typical spacings are 16-inch or 24-inch on center. Then, you can construct any number of coverings. For example, you can add two-by-two-inch beams in a variety of patterns across the top of the deck. Or you can erect two-by-four-inch or two-by-six-inch beams across the top of the deck, and the crisscross those beams with additional two-by-two-inch pieces. You can also cover the deck with sheets of lattice, which will block out a good percentage of the sunshine.
© by Jim Sulski. All rights reserved. May 5, 2005. NOTE: This column is distributed by Real Estate Matters Syndicate, PO Box 366, Glencoe, Illinois, 60022. This column may not be resold, reprinted, resyndicated or redistributed without written permission from the publisher. © 2005 by Ilyce R. Glink. Distributed by Real Estate Matters Syndicate. |
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