Building a deck can be a major home improvement project. It can also be extremely expensive. If you want a large deck then materials such as decking, supports and even hardware can rapidly add up. If you know when and where to look however, you may be able to shop smart and get the deck of your dreams without breaking the bank.
You will need to consider a number of different items when building your deck. They include all of the materials used to build the surface of the deck, the support structure materials, the hardware you will use, railings and any accessories that you want to incorporate into your design.
The surface of the deck can be made out of natural wood or out of composite materials. Composite materials are new and exciting but natural wood has a number of excellent qualities as well. There are a few different shop smart techniques you can use in order to purchase any of your needed decking materials.
A wooden deck can be lovely and as it is the traditional decking material it can be easy to find what you need to build one. Of the two main types of wood used to build a deck, pressure treated lumber is more reasonably priced and very long lasting. The other type of wood used to build a deck is Western Red Cedar. It is beautiful and durable but very expensive. Both types of wood will give off slivers and will require some care from time to time. This could mean replacing or sanding broken boards or pressure cleaning it once or twice yearly. Because it can be so expensive to ship heavy items, you are farther ahead to purchase the lumber from a store, but order plans and how to books online.
There is also composite decking material. This is synthetic material but it does contain wood pulp. There is also synthetic resin decking material. Composite decking is more expensive than wood but can be completely maintenance free. You should check out websites to find a list of dealers where you can purchase decking. Good ways to save money are to wait until the seasons change and stores want to get rid of their decking supplies over the winter.
If budgeting is a concern you need to make sure that you are not putting in a huge deck if you will only use a small one. You can always add more panels of decking later to expand the deck at a later date. A carefully designed deck plan will keep you from wasting building materials.
You might want to consider some of the different accessories that you can get for your deck. Consider finding ways to economize on the amount of space you will need by building seating into the railings. There are also storage bins and flower boxes which can earn their keep by doing double duty as storage for tools, toys or even food. High end decks could have a BBQ which is connected to a house s natural gas line and incorporates refrigerated storage to keep food and drinks cold.
Building a deck does not have to cost a massive amount of money. If you take the time and decide what you will use the deck for, use a well planned design and choose only those options which will be used most, you can find a way to get a wonderful space suitable for entertaining, dining or simply relaxing.
Author Resource:
Annie is an expert furniture and interior design writer.
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