A deck addition can be a good investment toward the value of your home and the quality of your outdoor living.

Some of the many benefits of custom decks include:

• Seamless integration with your home and yard’s landscaping
• Customized protection from both the wind and the sun
• Adding privacy from nearby neighbors
• Customization tailored to your personal taste and site
• Practically and aesthetically combining your deck and additional amenities such as a fireplace, outdoor kitchen, a hot tub, and more
• A way to frame the best possible views
• Choosing the features that are most important to you that still satisfy your budget
• Higher ROI (return on investment) than a generic deck.
• Increase future marketability with unique function and appeal.

The benefits don’t automatically come with any custom deck — you need to make sure your outdoor deck project is being strategically designed.

With that in mind, here are 6 questions to ask yourself before setting out to design your own custom deck to help you be more prepared.

1. How Much Space Do You Have To Work With?

When it comes to decks, the bigger, the better. More space means more options for outdoor living: a place for a grill or grills, a hot tub, a fire feature, an outdoor kitchen, a wider range of furnishings, or anything else that you can dream up.

When you go to resell, more space can give potential buyers more ways to daydream about how they’ll utilize the large space as well.

That being said, when it comes to size, the main thing to keep in mind is how the deck will look in comparison to your house and landscape.

Is it in scale? You typically don’t want a large deck on a small house or a small deck on a large house. Outdoor spaces should mirror inside spaces for size. And aesthetically, it is possible to go too big.

2. What Are You Going to Use It For?

Make a list of what you want to be able to do on your deck, and how many people you want to be able to accommodate at once. Also consider the amount and size of furnishings and don’t forget about any freestanding umbrellas, plant containers, or heaters.

If you daydream of big parties within multiple areas to host different activities, then a deck with more than one tier, at varying heights, connected by stairs, might be ideal for you.

Or if you prefer an area dedicated to cooking on your grill, you may want to look into creating a designated area for cooking and eating, and then a separate area (like a fire hearth) for relaxing that flow together cohesively.

At DeckTec, we call this kind of deck a Grand Design.

Some other options to expand the usability of your deck include:

• Built-in Benches: Where possible, these are a great way to add seating and save on space, while saving a little on outdoor weatherproof seating.
• Roof Addition: This is the most desired feature in outdoor living spaces. If you want to be able to use your deck in all of the various phases of Colorado’s weather, consider a roof addition to turn your outdoor living space into an outdoor living room.
• Deck & Patio Combination: Extend your outdoor living space with a paver patio that picks up where your deck left off. Balance of materials can add interest and appeal.

3. Where Does the Sun Shine?

This is an important consideration for deck design that a lot of homeowners overlook!

In the heat of the summer, where will the sun be shining down on your deck? An ideal deck design will always get some sun and some shade, so you always have somewhere to relax.

A custom deck can be oriented relative to the summer sun to achieve this. You can also look at a roof addition, awnings, large umbrellas, or an arbor or pergola to bring extra shade to your deck. However, if the space and budget allow, nothing compares to the value of a quality roof addition.

If your deck is low, don’t forget to consider the benefits of a well-placed tree.

4. How Can You Achieve the Best Views?

If you purchased your home for the view, you want to optimize how you get to experience it. Design should be important as your deck will typically be between your house and the view.

A common decision is to place your lounging area on a part of the deck that gives you the best access to the surrounding landscape’s beautiful views. You will want to consider the design and integration of landscaping to create an outdoor environment.

You’ll also want to figure out how high your deck needs be to achieve these views — it’s possible a multi-level deck could be the best way to go.

Alternatively, if your property doesn’t come with a view because of nearby houses on all sides, you may want to design for privacy. Instead of being able to look out, you want to keep others from looking in.

A custom deck design can always include privacy walls and/or screens to keep your outdoor living space your outdoor living space.

5. Where Will People Walk?

Designing for flow is essential in your custom deck design. You don’t want to have to move furnishings to get around.

Once you know the features you plan to include in your deck and how big the deck will be, consider where people will walk across the deck, in and out of your home, and to and from the yard. You want to create an easy path for easy, smooth transitions between spaces.

6. What Materials Will Allow Your Design To Standout?

The two most popular material options for a custom outdoor deck are composite decking and hardwood decking. Simply put, real wood lasts longer, looks richer, and has a higher return on investment (ROI) than composite.

The authentic, natural feel of hardwood has proven over time to retain its beauty for longer. Beyond beauty, natural wood has more than a handful of benefits when compared to composite (see graphic below):

Once you’ve compared them both, hardwood is a no-brainer as the best decking material for your custom outdoor living space. Composite markets as maintenance-free, but this isn’t entirely true.

Can you think of anything that is maintenance free? Composite just implicates different types of maintenance. Whether the boards are fading or flaking, or the heat is just too unbearable on your bare feet and pet’s feet (due to the synthetic material retaining more of the heat than wood), you’ll be looking to rebuild/replace with wood in a few years because its wasn’t what you thought it was.

Do Your Custom Deck Right with DeckTec

When you’re talking about this type of investment, you want to deal with a specialist in their field.

Once you’ve answered all the questions in this blog, you’ll want to hire an experienced specialty contractor to bring your vision to life.

DeckTec is a specialty deck contractor that can craft a custom deck design that fits your taste, desires and budget. We can then help you select the best type of wood for your deck (Cedar, Mahogany, Ipe, or Redwood).

Once you’ve approved every detail about your new custom deck, our team of professional Colorado deck builders will turn your dream deck into a reality that you can enjoy for decades to come.

However, being prepared means allowing the necessary time needed to make your vision a reality.

If you want your new space to be ready in time for a full season of enjoyment, now’s the time to start planning. Contact us at our office via email at mail@decktec.com or by calling the office at (303) 277-1550.

Read our guide on why you should start planning a summer deck project by March (at the latest!) »