An afterthought to the home, the original deck was small and re…
An afterthought to the home, the original deck was small and rectangular, attached to a tall house lacking balance and vertical interest. The stairs lead straight down without a landing and were dangerous.
Lawrence Winterburn
Making the deck waterproof using an EPDM membrane from above mea…
Making the deck waterproof using an EPDM membrane from above means added durability and a useful space below the deck. Lighting and ceiling fans and even drop down screens or curtains can be added later for privacy and insect protection.
Lawrence Winterburn
Below the Deck; Everything below the deck is finished in PVC an…
Below the Deck; Everything below the deck is finished in PVC and aluminum. Aluminum soffits close in the joists and PVC covers the support posts, beams, troughs and fascia. The soffit matches the color of the home and the PVC ties in with the deck.
Lawrence Winterburn
Louvered Roofs; Arcadia Louvered Roofs (www.arcadiaroofs.com) ar…
Louvered Roofs; Arcadia Louvered Roofs (www.arcadiaroofs.com) are becoming very popular. There are other manufacturers but this is simply the most robust system we have found. We used 3 canopies on this deck, one over each room on the deck and one over the hot tub. The best part of Arcadias is that it creates a dry space on the deck and the shade drops the temperature about 15 degrees on sunny days. Heaters and Ceiling fans can also be mounted within the roofs. Being aluminum, you don't have to worry about heaters causing damage.
Lawrence Winterburn
Lighting it Up; Lighting is very crucial these days. Lighting sh…
Lighting it Up; Lighting is very crucial these days. Lighting should never be installed in membrane decks so we kept it within the rails and posts. The staircase is lit with mini LED fixtures that have eyebrows on the lights. This prevents the light from shining in your eyes as you use the stairs at night. Lights that cast up and down were installed on the Arcadia's support posts. Pot lights were installed below the deck in the aluminum soffits.
Lawrence Winterburn
Privacy; Using frosted privacy glass we shielded less attractive…
Privacy; Using frosted privacy glass we shielded less attractive views and continuing the frosted glass panels into the rails and down the stairs helps make it a private space wherever you are on the deck. The closed in below stairs with frosted glass created a privacy barrier from the neighbor's deck when you are in the hot tub.
Lawrence Winterburn
Opening things Up; I suggested adding 2 doors and an upper level…
Opening things Up; I suggested adding 2 doors and an upper level deck. Our client is an accountant and her office is on the 3rd floor of the home. Adding a door with a small deck enables her to take her work outside on beautiful sunny days. People invest in a dream deck to enjoy life. Another door was opened up to the master bedroom on the main deck.
Glass 3 season room; Beneath the smaller louvered roof on the main deck, glass walls will be added soon to create a very unique 3 season room.
My clients wanted to replace their existing deck with one that offered as much privacy as possible, especially in the hot-tub area, which would stay in the same location while being upgraded. They liked the idea of more shade and better lighting, and placed a high priority on low-maintenance materials. It was a short wish list, and to maximize their new deck’s “Wow” factor, they gave me free rein on this project.
In my design, I shaped the new deck to balance the home’s rear elevation and odd-shaped lot, and to stay clear of the hot-tub area [read more about the author’s deck design guidelines here]. The deck’s angles focus the view on forested areas and away from neighboring homes. To help my clients visualize the design before it was actually built and avoid changes later on, I provided them with a full set of 3D renderings, which I prepare using Sketchup Pro. Only grizzled tradesmen and architects can truly envision a project from 2D plans.
Frosted privacy glass is a key element in the design. I used tall panels to block the less attractive views from the main deck and incorporated shorter panels into the rails and down the stairs to make the entire space feel private, wherever one is located on the deck. Frosted glass panels below the stairs create another privacy barrier for when the homeowners are using the hot tub.
To provide the desired shade, I specified three Arcadia louvered roofs, one over each room on the deck and one over the hot tub. Besides dropping the temperature on the deck by about 15 degrees F on sunny days, the louvers create a dry space on the deck in wet weather. Heaters and ceiling fans can also be mounted within the louvered roofs.
The staircase is lit with mini LED fixtures with “eyebrows” that prevent the light from shining in users’ eyes while navigating the stairs at night. Fixtures that cast light both up and down were installed on the posts supporting the louvered roofs, while recessed pot lights were installed below the deck in the aluminum soffits. We chose a soffit that matches the color of the home, and wrapped the support posts, beams, troughs, and fascia with PVC trim that matches the decking.
My client is an accountant, with an in-home office on the third floor of the home. Besides opening up another door to the master bedroom on the main deck, we added a door to the small upper deck, which allows her to take her work outside on beautiful sunny days. Remember, people invest in a dream deck to enjoy life.
