So here you are. You’ve decided it’s time to go ahead and start talking to contractors about building your dream porch or sun room or deck. You have in your mind whether or not your structure will be covered on top and likely approximately how much of the back of your house you want to cover. You’ve probably gone out back with a tape measure and measured the length of the area you have earmarked for your new structure.
What you probably haven’t thought about is the depth of your deck or patio or sunroom. I had the good pleasure recently to ride to some job sites built by Archadeck of Austin. Several times I learned about being able to convince customers of adding an extra two feet.
I learned that often homeowners will make a decision based on what feels or sounds about right. Or, they may even select their outdoor furniture ahead of time and base the depth on the measurements of the furniture plus adding space to move out chairs.
So I pondered this idea overnight at the hotel where I stayed. The next morning I came down to wait for my ride and noticed the furniture in the lobby
It was just too tight to effectively seat anyone that wanted to sit there. The furniture grouping included a table, a sofa and two chairs. Although the furniture fit (literally) in the area, there was only about 6 inches between the chairs and the table. The chairs could not be pulled out. This made it impossible for people to get by anyone sitting in the chairs without the person having to get up.
So, it’s a great idea to have measurements for your outdoor furniture before you build a new structure. A good contractor should also be able to help you determine how much room is needed around that furniture set to be able to use it effectively.