At Archadeck of Fort Wayne, we were thrilled to learn we had won Archadeck’s 1st Quarter 2020 Design Excellence Award in the “Combination Project” category! As you view these photos of our winning project, you’ll quickly see why it was awarded top prize in its category.
This home featuring a custom-designed, multi-faceted outdoor living environment is located just north of Fort Wayne. The homeowners were looking to replace their tired, old wooden deck and pergola with … something more. Yes, they wanted a new deck it had to be a low-maintenance composite deck. No more wood deck maintenance chores for this family! But that’s not all they wanted. They talked with us about their desire for a full-blown outdoor living combination project including a deck, fire pit, screened porch, patio, and outdoor kitchen/bar/entertainment area.
Enjoy this virtual tour from our YouTube channel:
As Fort Wayne’s deck, porch, and patio builder, we were more than willing to create a cohesive outdoor living design that included every structure they requested. We have observed that combining two or more outdoor living structures delivers more than the sum of the parts—every time. The new project extends the length of the home, with the deck and screened porch above, the patio and cooking/entertainment area below. Let’s take a look at this amazing project.
Top Level: Expansive Elevated Deck, Fire Pit and Exquisite Screened Porch
For their decking material, the homeowners chose low-maintenance composite Trex decking with hidden fasteners. They made an absolutely beautiful selection, which is good because there’s a lot of deck in this project! The deck features TimberTech rail posts and a Westbury aluminum rail. At night, the caps on these rail posts will emit a subtle glow from the LED lighting built in. We also added LED lighting on the deck’s stair risers. There are two stairways leading down from the deck, one on each end. The deck lighting will enhance safety and ambiance.
The deck includes several special design elements. Its curvilinear shape isn’t only eye-catching, it allowed us to create a section that’s more spacious without the entire deck being that wide. We “carved out” this section to function as a room designed around the integrated fire pit. This area is on a separate level, setting it apart, and the deck boards run in a different direction here, another visual cue. The parting board through the center of the area creates visual interest and anchors the fire pit. We built the gas-burning fire pit using Belgard Weston wall blocks.
And the octagonal screened porch? This has to be one of the prettiest screened porches we’ve ever designed. Not too large, it’s a sweetly intimate space these homeowners will want to use even when they don’t need protection from pesky insects! We used SCREENEZE for the screening, and we built the unique porch ceiling with galvanized steel. Like every great screened porch, it comes complete with a ceiling fan.
Lower Level: Patio, Outdoor Kitchen, Bar, Entertainment Area
The outdoor kitchen/bar and entertainment area is adjacent to the family’s pool, so you know the patio space will see plenty of action. To protect this under-deck space from rainwater dripping from above, we used TimberTech’s DrySpace system. Any moisture that runs between the decking boards above is channeled through a hidden under-deck drainage system.
The clients selected beautiful Belgard Dublin Cobble pavers for their patio. For the outdoor kitchen, we used the same Belgard Weston wall blocks that we used for the fire pit above. The outdoor kitchen is a grill/bar combination featuring a gas grill, a refrigerator, and a side burner. We topped off the kitchen area with limestone countertops—perfect for bar seating, as you can see. There’s ample room on the patio for a dining table and chairs, too. With lighting, a TV, speakers, and a ceiling fan, our clients will have everything they need at hand as they enjoy their new patio.
Archadeck of Fort Wayne is now taking appointments for virtual design consultations. We’re using video conferencing for meetings and electronic signatures for contracts.
Archadeck of Fort Wayne is northeast Indiana’s premier designer and builder of beautiful, high-quality outdoor living spaces. If you are interested in learning how we can design the perfect outdoor living space for your home, call us today at (855) 931-4746.
— Craig Whitman, owner at Archadeck of Fort Wayne.
