Decks

At the begining of the project I decided that I would build the decks in an attempt to save a bit of money. The task proved to be quite simple, although I am not sure I saved much by doing it myself. The finish carpenters would have probably done the job for a few hundred bucks.

The decks on our house are very simple - rectangular, which made them very simple to lay out and build. We thought about the different materials we could use for the decking, and eventually decided on a dark brown Trex for a couple of reasons. First, Trex comes in lengths up to 20 feet long, which for use meant that we could lay the decking down without any butt joints (the width of the back deck was just less than 20 feet). More importantly, however, was long term maintenance. Trex is made from a combination of recycled products such as sawdust, plastic bags, bottles, etc. The color is solid through the entire board, so we just set it on the deck, screwed it down and were done.

Trex has been around for quite some time, but so far the effective life of Trex decking is unknown. I read that testing has proved that Trex should last at least 50 years, maybe much longer. That is good enough for me.

Of course, the downside to all these conveniences is cost. Trex is quite a bit more expensive than traditional lumber. However, I suspect if you add in the cost of staining, maintenance and eventually replacing traditional lumber, Trex would actually be the less expensive option.

The decks did not take long to complete - a couple of days is all. We poured concrete under and around the back deck in order to avoid weeds, bugs, and small animals from taking residence below it. Additionally, it will make it easier to mow around.

We will eventually get a railing around the back deck (as the deck off the master bedroom has) and put some stairs in. Unfortunately, the back deck was not completed in time for the railing contractor, so we will have to wait.