GREAT outdoors
KIWIS LOVE INDOOROUTDOOR FLOW AND WHAT BETTER WAY TO EXTEND YOUR HOME THAN WITH A DECK?
Afriend gave us a beautiful teak bench a while ago, and the Partner envisages it sitting on a large, rectangular deck in front of the magnolia tree at the very bottom of the garden. It’ll just need a paved pathway from the house so we don’t spill our five o’clock bubbly on the way down there.
The days when decks were always attached to houses are well gone, so anywhere in the garden where you want to sit on the straight and level is good enough. You can pick any size, shape, material and style you want, use a builder, a handyman or do it yourself, and provided you do it well, it’ll add value to your garden.
However, it does pay to plan a deck that will give you the space to do the things you enjoy. If you’re a party animal, it’ll need to be big, with space for making food and serving drinks. If you’re borderline reclusive, an intimate space where you’re knee-to-knee with the only person in the world you like might be the way to go.
Somebody came up with a rule of thumb that a deck should not exceed 20% of the size of the house, but I suspect it was the same person who said you had to drink eight glasses of water a day.
If you plan to be out there all the time, make it as large as you want. Having said that, a massive rectangular deck with no curves, angles, levels or divisions of space will probably look terrible. Build in some steps, a lower level, an angled corner, balustrade seating or even a low dividing wall to get a designer look. And bear in mind a deck is not just a flat space – it’s the railings and the overhead structures that make the most visual impact.
Unless you live somewhere that doesn’t rain in summer – and with global warming who knows how long that will last? – it’ll pay to also incorporate overhead shelter. A pergola, partly covered with polycarbonate roofing or shade sails, will enable you to finish your barbecue even when it rains or get out of the sun when your nose begins to burn.
Before you get the hammer out, sketch up a scale drawing of your deck and the elements you want to include, such as benches, cooking areas and furniture, and make sure it’s all going to fit. There’s nothing worse than being the person at the back of the dining table whose chair legs are five centimetres from the edge.
Unless you have a brother who’s a builder (every home should have one), take advantage of your local hardware shop and mercilessly grill the person in the timber department on what materials to use. They’ll range from pine options to kwila to cedar to teak, as well as composites, which are lower maintenance.
Before you decide between natural and not-so-natural, wonder out loud who is going to scrub the deck with some foul-smelling chemical to keep it looking flash and don’t commit until A Certain Someone has promised he will do the job.