Replacing a deck at your Austin-area home doesn’t mean you have to make a lot of changes. Our clients in The Hills of Lakeway, TX, liked the deck they had. They liked the color, the size, the shape, and the way it hugged the back of their home. The deck was built with cedar, however, and what the homeowners did not like was the way their wood deck was starting to deteriorate. The deck was low to grade, exposed to moisture near the ground, and the wood was beginning to rot. It was time for a deck replacement.
Will a Low-Maintenance Deck Rot Like Wood?
Not likely! One of the reasons many homeowners choose low-maintenance decking today is for its moisture-resistant properties. Composite and synthetic decking is capped with polymers making it extremely resistant to moisture damage. You can tell by these products’ lengthy warranties that they’re made to last a very long time—without rotting. At Archadeck of Austin, we recommend synthetic (PVC) decking if your deck is low to grade.
Before
After
Like many of our clients, these homeowners in The Hills of Lakeway wanted a new deck that would look great without a lot of upkeep. For their deck replacement, they selected AZEK low-maintenance decking from TimberTech’s Harvest Collection in Slate Gray.
Your Austin Deck Replacement: What to Keep, What to Change?
Since the homeowners liked so much about their original deck, design decisions for their deck replacement were easy! That’s the great thing about replacing a deck—you don’t have to make a lot of changes if you don’t want to. In this case, our clients wanted us to use the same footprint for their new deck’s scale and size. They chose a similar shade of gray, too, and they wanted similar benches along the sides of the new deck.
We laid the decking boards out in a picture-frame design. Since the decking is monochromatic, the picture-framing is not as noticeable here as it would be on a deck with contrasting board colors. Picture-framing gives the deck a smooth edge, which is especially significant at the location of the step down to the yard.
We also built the new benches with AZEK. We used low maintenance PVC for the deck skirting, too, so the mulch around the deck will never cause rotting in the future. The Hardie stucco-finish board we used on this project is a low maintenance material as well.
And the Rest of the Story …
The scope of this job included a side project in addition to the deck replacement. The clients had a little walkout/stoop at a doorway elsewhere on the home that was built with the same cedar boards as the original deck. Archadeck of Austin removed the cedar stoop and built a new one with concrete.
Has the time come to replace a deck at your home? Whether you are replacing a deck or interested in adding one for the first time, call Archadeck of Austin today at (512) 886-8367 to schedule your free design consultation.
Jim Schallon, Lead Designer at Archadeck of Austin.
