Creating A Leisure Oasis
A deck or patio addition is immediately functional for barbecues, furnishings, and leisure as soon as it is complete; however, that doesn’t mean you’re finished. Outdoor living on low-level decks and patios should integrate you into the beauty of the gardens and landscape. Landscaping around your deck doesn’t need to be a huge process! You don’t need to do a lot of research before you take on this extensive project, but here’s a quick overview of the process to get you started. We suggest planning prior to arranging and planting, and consulting with a landscaping designer if necessary. Before you even get out your paper and pencil, Better Homes & Gardens suggests that you study the sun and wind patterns so you don’t accidentally kill that beautiful bush by planting it in the shade. They also suggest that you live with your space for a while before you create a draft of your plan. That way you can figure out traffic flow and solve unexpected problems, like how your kids tend to run exactly where you[...]
Spring Is in Bloom – Get Your Garden in Shape
Here at DeckTec, we work hard to design, create, and maintain beautiful custom outdoor living environments for you to enjoy with friends and family. Once your deck has been built, stained, and sealed, it’s up to you to turn it in to your ideal space. One of the most beautiful and environmentally friendly ways to perk up your outdoor room is to decorate with various flowers and plants. You’ll be surrounded by colorful blossoms and luscious greenery just in time for spring! Whether you’re interested in starting out with your first potted plant or have been tending a garden for years, use these tips and tricks to keep your deck as comfortable as possible and your plants looking great. One of the few downsides to springtime in Colorado is that once the weather inches above 70 degrees, mosquitoes come out to wreak havoc on anyone who forgets to light their citronella candles. While these pesky pests are most active between dusk and dawn, planting lemongrass in your garden or placing potted lemongrass around your deck naturally[...]
Inside Out: Defining The Outdoor Living Room
Here’s a little bit of a trick question for you: What’s the difference between an indoor and an outdoor living room? Answer: The walls! This may seem like an obvious answer, but there really is no big difference in what people do in their living spaces, whether they’re inside or out. They like to eat (barbecue), relax with their favorite beverages — possibly in front of or around a fireplace — and they like to entertain with friends and family. But instead of being surrounded by walls covered in tapestries or pictures, you’re looking at beautiful landscapes and extended views. Things just feel healthier and more relaxing when you’re outside enjoying the open air. Of course you can enjoy outdoor living on a nice deck or patio. However, to create a true outdoor living room you need to incorporate a deck or patio roof addition. Only then will you be able to add the lighting, heaters, and other amenities to really spend some quality time enjoying outdoor leisure activities in less-than-perfect weather conditions. Think playing cards[...]
7 Dazzling Decks Under $20,000
These days, $20,000 will not get you even the most modest of new cars. However, you can create a custom deck with all the bells and whistles starting well below the $20,000 benchmark. As it grows in sophistication, outdoor living has become even more important to homeowners’ leisure lifestyle. Imagine creating a beautiful space to enjoy with friends and family while adding value to your home. Browse these beautiful custom DeckTec designs for inspiration for your own decking project! This beautiful curved mahogany deck has custom redwood and cedar railing with metal pickets. Its large landing and partial shade coverage make it the perfect spot to host a dinner party with the extended family, while the side stairs provide easy access to the back yard. Here’s a bit of builder vocab: the word ‘cantilever’ describes any structure that is fixed at one end but not the other. This low level redwood and cedar deck features a cantilevered bench that adds comfortable built-in seating and makes the most of every inch of space. [...]
Freshen Up Your Spring Cleaning
Two Tips for an Even Cleaner Home It’s that time of year again — time for some spring cleaning! We have a couple of tips to ease your cleaning burdens, particularly for those things that often get forgotten in the rush. Here’s what you can do to have the freshest … Garbage Disposal This tends to be one of those appliances that gets forgotten until that smell starts to invade the kitchen. While specialized cleaning capsules are available, they aren’t something you typically keep around. What you probably do have is citrus: oranges, lemons, and limes. Toss citrus waste into the garbage disposal with a few ice cubes. Turn on the appliance for 20 to 30 seconds. Once the disposal sounds clear, run hot water for another 30 seconds to rinse. Done! Not only will your garbage disposal be nearly as clean as the day it was installed, your kitchen will smell citrusy-fresh! … Pillows No, we’re not talking pillow cases — this is a tip for the actual pillow. You may have washed your bed[...]
Deck-Worthy Delicacies Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients 3 ½ Cups of Flour 1 Cup Sugar 1 Teaspoon Salt 2 Tablespoons Baking Powder 2 Eggs 1/3 Cup Butter 1 Cup Milk ¾ Cups Raisins Directions Soak raisins for a few minutes to plump them, drain, and then dredge with ¼ cup flour in the recipe Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cream shortening and sugar; add eggs and mix Add dry ingredients alternately with milk Mix in raisins. Bake at 350 degrees in a greased pan for about 45 min to an hour depending on the pan you use. Use cake pans (8”-9” in diameter) or tube pans.
Considering the Critters: Your Deck and Wildlife
At DeckTec, we care deeply about the environment, which is why we continue to be the leading crafter of natural wood outdoor projects. We know that you enjoy spending time on your deck or patio, but we also know that other creatures might, too! It’s spring time, and besides a blossoming business season for deck construction and service, that can mean baby animals. Most common visitors are birds and squirrels, who after having spent a long, hard winter collecting nest materials, are just about to give birth to a batch of (soon to be) bushy tailed babies or feathery fledglings. Wooden structures placed off a warm home, like decks or roofs, can seem to be the perfect lodgings for wild animals looking for a place to nest. While you’re getting your house ready for a change in the season, make sure it’s wildlife- proofed as well. Scheduling your deck service in early spring will help you bypass several challenges, such as beating the spring time rush that comes with a specialty contractor in high demand, like[...]
Maintaining Your Outdoor Centerpiece
You’ve created a stunning outdoor space. You’ve made your deck into an outdoor centerpiece using beautiful exotic wood. At Decktec we’re very familiar with many exotic woods but the two we work with most frequently are mahogany and ipê. Mahogany According to eHow, mahogany is “commonly regarded as the world’s leading wood for fine-quality furniture, cabinetry, sculpture, carving, interior trim, and other applications.” The mahogany used for building decks typically comes from a tree called Swietenia macrophylla, also known as the big-leaf mahogany tree. These trees grow in tropical environments and they get huge. Rainforest Alliance says they can grow at tall as 200 feet. Reminiscent of a tropical oak, the Mahogany tree yields a gorgeous auburn colored wood that’s quite durable, which makes for a tough, long-lasting deck. Ipê Another exotic tropical wood called ipê comes from a tree known in the scientific world as Tabebuia spp.. These graceful trees are sometimes called Brazilian Walnuts and they’re particularly stunning around February when they burst into white, pink, yellow, red, and purple hues. The wood from[...]
DeckTec Has Upgraded Their Service Systems!
DeckTec Outdoor Designs continues to grow as a company, and with that growth comes improvements for our customers. With an increase in demands for quality, custom wood decks come the requirements for us to meet the needs of our customers. So, to do that, we have upgraded our scheduling and customer relations systems! The new scheduling system has been implemented to minimize delays and time on the road, get to more jobs each week, and allow for built in slack to lessen any “domino effects” in delays when it comes to weather, according to Sean O’Brien, Customer Service Specialist at DeckTec. “The Deck Service department grew incredibly fast and, due to the older systems and the processes that we had nothing to compare to, there were bumps in the road in years past,” said Steve Sparhawk, DeckTec’s president. An improved scheduling system that ensures proficiency of our work crews out in the field, also calls for improvements in our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, which will guarantee smoother customer service within our office. Easier for both[...]
Meet The Owner
It’s hard to believe, but my whole working life has been about outdoor living design and build. My earliest childhood memories — as well all my adult leisure time — has been spent on decks and patios, relaxing, entertaining, and barbecuing. I did landscaping as a summer job in high school and studied some horticulture in college. I then went to work in a nursery and garden center prior to starting my own landscape company and becoming something of a serial entrepreneur. Curved glass and aluminum then caught my attention but proved to be a short-lived fad. A short stint in cedar homes got me closer to what I wanted to do, but it wasn’t until 1988 when I became involved with a custom deck company that I discovered my calling. These varied, but related, job experiences and time spent living outdoors found me a profession I truly loved. My ‘ah-ha’ moment finally came when I realized that people didn’t want square decks — they wanted something with a design unique to them and their needs.[...]
Recent Works
