Click on any
photo to go to the cited project for more photos.
Most people think of a deck as a rectangular structure, sometimes
enclosed by railings, which basically functions as a raised platform
outside a doorway exit. And this is what do-it-yourself-ers hope to
achieve in their first, and possibly
last, attempt at building one. Even
many professional deck-builders don't think beyond this basic design
concept. They view their work as a great accomplishment if the deck also
has stairs and railings. A designer deck breaks out of this "deck
as a platform" concept and adds many architectural elements to a
deck that make it not only functional but exceptionally beautiful in its
own right.
Let's take the way
steps are handled.
An amateur will
build boxy steps by constructing the risers to cover the tread. The
professional deck-builder will expose the tread and cantilever it beyond
the riser by 1 inch as shown at right.
A master deck-builder will take this a step further
and extend this treatment to the entire perimeter by making at least one
course of bordering plank all around the exposed sides and have the
outermost course overhang all the facia boards. Then there is little
distinction between steps and
borders
except
the borders may also have railings.
In the photo at left, there are 3 courses of
parallel border plank with the outer course cantilevered over the facia by
1 inch. Note how this configuration continues across the top step riser,
highlighting the stair and repeating the planking pattern of the step
below it.
Next, take the way
railings are added to the deck.
Again the amateur
will
choose the easiest way to fasten the railing to the facia. He will
construct a railing with no posts and extend each baluster over the facia
and fasten it there. The professional deck-builder will use posts and a
bottom rail between them on which to fasten shortened balusters. Usually
that bottom rail is turned up on its edge. The master deck-builder will
place the posts inside the facia and use a flattened bottom rail between
them to hold the balusters centered in the rails.
When it comes to
designer railings, then the master craftsman goes beyond mere
evenly-spaced vertical balusters on horizontal rails and constructs a more
complex pattern of rail and baluster. This gets very complicated when
extended to stair railings because not all patterns will carry over to
sloped configurations, like the pattern shown below here.
Sometimes the pattern must change completely such as when a lean-out
deck railing encounters a stair railing. The designer deck might
incorporate a tall narrow planter box to handle the discontinuity, as
shown below here.
But the master craftsman is not deterred by this conjunction of
disparate railings, like the lean-out railing intersecting a straight
railing, and that intersecting yet a stair railing, shown below here.
Nor is he deterred by curved or bowed railings as
shown below here.
Next, let's address
planter boxes.
An amateur will build a box made of multiple courses of horizontal
rectangular frames piled one on top another. The professional deck-builder
will put a flat frame-plank cap on the top and miter the corners. The
master deck-builder will first make a horizontally framed interior box,
then add vertical slats around the exposed side and then add the flat
plank-frame cap cantilevered 1 inch beyond that.
The
designer builder will go even further and add a horizontal base and trim
board that exhibit a 3/4 inch relief beyond the vertical slats before
adding the cantilevered plank-frame cap, as
shown at left.
The ultimate designer-planter will have the cap
flare upward at 45° as shown to the right.
Note too, the cascading trapezoidal shape of
the designer planters in the photos
above and below.
The professional deck-builder will move the posts
inside the edge far enough so that the outside edge of the seat is flush
with the facia. He will place
T-cross boards onto each side of the post
supports and finish their ends with a sloping or
S-curve cut. He will also box the seat planking by framing the planks with
a trim board all around the perimeter.
The master builder will turn the seat planking on
edge in butcher-block fashion. The designer builder will now take this
arrangement and remove every other seat plank in a skip-lath pattern. And
he will contour his seats to conform to the direction-changing deck
borders.
The ultimate seat construction takes this designer
style and incorporates it into a lean-out railing so the seat has a
comfortable back-rest.
Another ultimate treatment is to cascade the seating
along the sides of wide stairs as shown at left,
or run them right down the center bend as shown
here below.
Shown here below is this same treatment but with solid plastic 2x4s making
seats that are uniformly
curved .
Next, let's discuss
screens.
The amateur uses prefabricated lattice purchased at
a local supply yard. This screen is usually made from very low grade scrap
material that the manufacturer is trying to salvage. The amateur
incorporates the lattice into background or overhead screening or skirting
almost as is, tacked onto the deck's framework or canopy frame, in 2x8,
4x4 or 4x8 panels.
Shown above is professional lattice
skirting run beneath a cantilevered deck.
Note the large seamless panels and meshing of the lattice strips at the
corners. Note the change in diagonal strips to emphasize the corners
without having to use vertical molding strips -- all important details.
The professional deck-builder will cut the panels to the appropriate
size and frame-in the lattice with border trim. The master deck-builder
will order upgraded lattice made from select lath strips, add
architectural corners in the frame and, where appropriate, contour the
frame and screen to accent the space.
The designer builder will fabricate his
own lattice from scratch and make the strips on a table-saw by ripping
high-grade all-clear lumber or by using seamless plastic lath strips.
Moreover, the open spaces in the lattice will match the width of the lath
strips, which is the most pleasing visual arrangement. Purchased
prefab-lattice never has this equal-spacing.
He can go a step further and complement the lattice with vertical lath
panels setting the lath at 45° to the plane of the panel. And he may set
the panel's frame distinctly apart from the structure's framework, giving
accent to the screens as individual elements on par with other design
features, as in both the photo above and the very top photo.
Now
let's get down to the deck
planking.
The amateur will run the planks parallel to the
building's wall. And he will butt-splice planks across a single joist. He
will also place the splices where convenience and remaining lengths
dictate. The professional deck-builder will systematically place a double
joist at splice points and stagger his splices across two or more courses
using boards as long as he can get.
The
master deck builder will lay the plank at a diagonal and if the deck's
width is short enough there will be no splicing needed. The photo above
shows planking run at 60° to the house, 15°
more than standard, just to avoid splicing !
If splices are required, he will do what is called "a floating
square-butt splice" between joists. "Floating" because it's not done over
any joist. The butt ends of each plank in this splice will be beveled so
that one plank runs on top of the next plank. This minimizes the
visibility of the splice as well as keeps out wetness and moss forming
between the butt ends. Shown in the above photo at right, there are continuous
24ft runs of planking, yet no splices are visible.
Now, let's address handling a
tree through a deck.
On the left is an opening in the
deck for a mature tree; it uses a single 2x8 octagonal frame.
On the right is an opening in the
deck for a young tree; it uses double 2x6 octagonal frames. It was
constructed so that the inner ring could be easily removed as the
tree-trunk expanded without impacting the deck.
Note the tightness of the splices
and fit of the ring in the decks.
Next, let's address the deck's
enclosure
-- this element can turn a simple deck into a monumental
showpiece ! Most deck-builders don't even address this issue because
they're "carpenters" and don't get involved with masonry. But masonry
work can replace baluster railings and give a spiral flare to wide stairs,
like in the photo shown here.
I want to make mention of
the revolution going on right now in California in which
solid-plastic lumber is being used on designer decks for the planking,
railings, facia, planters, lattice skirting and screens in place of wood.
Let me emphasize that
I'm not talking about "composites" here
like Trex or Weatherbest, but about 100% recycled-plastic solid
polyethylene lumber.
"Revolution" is not an overstatement -- it is truly a
real revolution. These decks are being built on very upscale homes.
See the all-plastic decks below and right. Even the porch canopy and arch
shown to the right are solid-plastic.
That deck a few pictures above with the floor-level
hot-tub is an all-plastic deck. Surprised?
The curved railing
and the attached conforming staircase pictured to the left below are only made
possible on an exterior structure by
the use of solid-plastic lumber.
All photos on this page that are bordered in
[this
color] are structures made from
solid-plastic. You can read all about solid-plastic decking by clicking
here.
You're in for a real eye-opening.
Here are some designer deck
add-ons:
an integrated cover for dual AC cooling
units on the left and a fold-down wall table on the right (see
Products).
Not only does a
professionally-built deck exhibit the basic extras like railings and
steps, but it's the
add-ons and finer details that make a deck a designer deck.
Just
because a contractor shows you some deck pictures, that doesn't make him a
deck-builder. Some of these guys build 50 decks a year, all pretty much
alike. Just because the builder may have lots of pictures, it doesn't make
him a master builder either. You
can tell when seeing a builder's photos just what level of skill and
experience the builder has by just looking at the details. The master
craftsman pays attention to the details, not just the money.
Most
contractors I know get themselves in a
groove: they get their techniques down to a few that they can handle and
are guaranteed to make them some profit. And they stick with that. They're
limited in what they can do and that's why there's so much of the Plain
Jane stuff out there. And there's always a market for the economy deck.
In this one webpage you got
to see many different and original designer decks in just one place. And that
education doesn't come cheap -- every time I did something new, I paid my
dues to the school of self-Ed. But now my experience is way
more varied than any other deck builder anywhere.
Actually, most deck-builders today are really not deck contractors at all but other types
such as rough-framers or general contractors who think deck-building is an
option when they're out of work. If someone is really a
deckman, they will have a D41 classification under their California
contractor's license.
You can see what charlatans, who claim to be deck-builders,
have fabricated just by scanning their web-photos on my
Renditions of the
Ridiculous page.
Designer decks
built by a master craftsman obviously take more and better materials and
more time to accomplish. But it's not just a better job
for the money; it's also better money for the job.
Of course, you have to treat me nice too. That's your insurance with me
for a showpiece job -- I don't work for just anybody just because they're
spending big bucks.
So if you want a showpiece deck that makes a
statement about your own station in a world where mediocrity, duplicity
and "cheap" are the norm and you are willing to consider the
extra
cost an investment, then give me a chance to design and build something
spectacular for you that all the world can see.
You may
click
here to contact me.
