How to Build a Deck Blog

Deck Designs: Alternatives to lattice and shrubbery in a high up deck

When thinking through your deck designs it  may be necessary in some circumstances to want to screen a high up deck area if your house is on a raised foundation. If you have built a wrap-around deck or have planned into your deck designs a high up deck then it is often traditional to put lattice down to ‘hide’ what is underneath the deck, or to line the sides with shrubbery, however often neither of these look very good.

One alternative idea might be to create a low maintenance garden underneath the deck.  The way to do this is to initially put down heavy duty black plastic and cover this with earth and then with gravel – there are different textures & colors of gravel available and it is worth experimenting with the gravel color to get the right effect.

When putting together your initial Deck Designs, make sure you think carefully about the right type of plants  – particularly shade loving plants that could thrive in this environment. You can also plant a larger number of the same plant for a more dramatic effect using dramatic leaf plants.

Plant these underneath the deck either in groups or as feature plants. The plants could also be planted as a border following the outline of the deck & leaving the plastic/gravel to the back of the area.

I would initially go to your local plant/nursery and explain to them about what your planting plans are as you need to get the right type of plants that will be happy living in a shady spot under the decking.

It is essential that you buy plants that do not do any damage to the house and that do not grow too big or tall. The nursery will know how high the plants will grow.  In some areas it is very popular to plant out mondo grass as a border or succulents underneath the deck area. However, you need to look at what is appropriate for your local conditions.

Hanging baskets with plants can be used along the floor(roof) of the underneath area as well. This idea creates an easy care garden but does the trick of dressing up an unused space underneath decks.

Having said all of that, if the area is safe for head height then you could make another entertainment area underneath the deck but leave it open. So then there is the top deck & the bottom deck and double the amount of entertaining area! The possibilites are endless! Good luck !

How to build a deck on a house that is built on a slab

You may be considering How to Build a Deck on a house that is built on a slab. If you have a room addition that is built on a concrete slab and when walking out of the back door you step down possibly about 8″ to the ground this can present problems with the building of a deck area.

One suggestion is to get landscape timbers and countersink stepping stones part of the way in the ground.  Then set the landscape timbers the opposite way to the way the decking is going to run. You can attach a treated 2×6 to the house as a ledger board and since it’s on concrete you won’t need any stepping stones-just shim up the ends so that it is level.

How to make curved deck stairs

If you want to build a deck with curved Deck Stairs leading from an upper deck to a lower deck then I have outlined below the overview of the process.

An example might be if the deck itself is about 16 feet wide and the center of the deck stairs are 2 or 3 feet further out than the ends of the stairs, giving a radius of roughly 8.5 feet to the circle inscribed by each tread. Your stair boards that sit on top of the stair joists need to be cut to shape. Also your stair joists will need to be cut to the correct shape to provide support under each stair board.

I’d recommend using three stair joists. A long one in the center and two shorter ones on the ends. Then if you want to add a finish trim underneath the stair boards, you will have to bend them.

That is normally done by steaming the board then bending it around a form that bends the ends slightly more than the amount they will be bent on your deck stairs. You then pin your board in place after bending it around the form and let it sit for a while to gain the bent shape. Once you release it from the form it will bend out a little, just like a spring would. Then just nail your bent trim in place.

One further point – remember on your stair joists to account for the trim width if you are going to add trim.