Decks-Patios
Creating Your Outdoor Living Space
Decks and patios are extremely popular with homeowners because they can add substantial outdoor living space to your home. A deck or a patio can stand alone or can be combined together to create a wonderful result.
If you are looking to build a new deck or patio, or refurbish your existing deck or patio, you’ve come to the right place. At Potter Contracting, we are a design and build firm, We will help you create the outdoor living space that fits your needs and budget, help you attain a building permit, and then build it for you.
Design
We’ll help you design your deck or patio to include the features you want. Over the years, we have helped many people design creative outdoor areas, and we will be happy to share ideas with you. There are many features and combinations, such as coordinating your new deck with a new patio below. You will also want to determine the size of your outdoor living space so that it fits well with your home and needs. As you think about design, here are some details to consider.
Some people choose multi-levels, built-in bench seating, planters, grilling areas, hot tubs, gazebos and screen porches. Decks and patios can be flush to the ground, stand many feet from the ground or include several levels depending on the layout of your home and property. For decks that are high off the ground, we can close off the underside of the deck and build in drainage so that a patio can be built underneath providing a dry shaded area to relax or enterain when it is raining or too sunny. We can also build a roof over a deck or patio to further enhance the outdoor living space.
Deck Materials
When it comes to selecting the materials to use in building your deck, there are several products from which you can choose — such as composite, pressure treated wood. and specialty woods. While it usually comes down to personal preference and budget, most new decks today are being built with composite materials. Here’s why:
Composite decks are virtually maintenance free. The only maintenance that is usually necessary with composite decks is power washing every couple of years. Along with the composite deck material, you can select PVC railing systems which are steel reinforced and very strong. You can select PVC railings from a variety of colors, and select a color that coordinates with the color of your home.
On the other end of the spectrum from composite deck materials are pressure treated wood decks. Many existing decks have been built out of pressure treated wood because it costs less initially than composite materials and speciality woods. Pressure treated decks look good and hold up with regular maintenance. But they usually have to be retreated with deck stain or sealant every couple of years, and over time boards may warp and require replacement.
Some people also choose specialty woods such as cedar, redwood and mahogany. These woods produce a nice overall look and are preferred by some people for this reason. Generally they are expensive, and while they do not deteriorate over time as easily as pressure treated wood they do require maintenance.
When building decks we also ask homeowners to choose between two fastening systems – hidden cleats or traditional screws. With hidden cleats, the deck materials are fastened from below and no screw holes show on the surface.
Patio Materials
Most patio materials stand up well to the weather and require little maintenance. We offer a variety of materials for patios, such as pavers, concrete, stamped concrete, bluestone, brick, colored sand stone and slate.
We are certified installers for EP Henry and Cambridge products. Hardscape comes in a variety of styles, shapes and colors. These materials are not only great for patios, but can also be used for walkways, steps, landings, curbstones along the driveway and driveway aprons.
Lighting
In addition to the materials you wish to use to build your deck or patio, you may also wish to include lighting, such as low voltage perimeter lights, step lights and rail lights. These can be easily installed on a separate transformer and timer so you can choose when you want your outdoor space to be lit. You may also wish to have floodlights installed on your home to fully illuminate the area.
Permits
Whatever choices you make for your deck or patio, Potter Contracting will build it to the stringent building codes in your municipality. Once we have a good understanding of what you are looking for, we will create all of the drawings necessary for approval. We will provide the drawings and specifications to your local municipality along with your permit application. You will be responsible for permit fees, but we will help you through the permit process.
If you’d like to talk with us about creating a new deck or patio for your home, please call us at 215-651-4850.
