How to Create a Deck Concept Design


Home Improvement:

The deck concept design process is the time to basically get general spatial relationship down. This involves outdoor room sizes, circulation and connections between them and special design considerations such as the sequence and separation of public and private spaces.

The emphasis should be on how family members and guests will use and move around in the deck spaces. The same emphasis will apply to the general physical forms that the deck areas will assume.

There are numerous ways in which to develop a deck concept design. Most professional designers have their own techniques and there are no best splutions. However, there are many good solutions possible to suit any design problem. The degree by which the solution will be measured depends upon how well it serves a homeowner's requirements, how consistent and balanced it is and how flexible it will be in order to accomodate any changes in the future.

Assign preliminary dimensions to the different spaces or outdoor rooms that are desired. Think room size to come up with initial space allocations to avoid creating a deck that is too large to be comfortable and convenient. The idea is to examine the issue realisticly.

If a deck is to be built to entertain guests outdoors then the 2 questions to be answered would be how many people are normally entertained inside and how much space will they use outdoors?

Spend minimal time and energy in assigning these starting dimensions because in all probability they may well change as the deck concept plan evolves.

With 1 or more outdoor spaces roughly dimensioned sketch each as a space in scale on separate sheets of tracing paper and cut them out. Move these tracings around on top of each other to create different configurations. When one is found to be appealing, make a tracing of it. Continue the process to create other design possibilities.

Once several configurations have been developed, examine each one and determine if it accomplishes the design goals, fits the preliminary measurements of the spaces and seems to be practical with respect to serving the uses defined for these outdoor rooms.

It is important to keep in mind during the deck concept design process that spaces are being created for activities or quiet reflection or both. The connection that naturally or ideally exists between them must be considered such as easy access from the kitchen to the barbecue or from a hot tub to the family room or bedroom. Make certain that the concept designs allow for the uses needed.

Be very conscious of circulation issues such as where deck users will need to walk and where a space will be placed that is out of the traffic area. The effective use of any outdoor room will be limited if it becomes a corridor from one place to another.

An outdoor dining area situated between a family room and pool deck might be more successful if it were located off to one side of the direct route between the other 2 spaces.

Save only those deck design concepts that seem to have strong positive characteristics. Work freehand keeping possible spaces to scale but remaining conscious of the basic deck form and how well the various design ideas create space and answer functional needs.

Consider changing deck levels, wrapping a deck around the corner of the house, connecting deck levels with wide stairways, cantilevering beams and joists to disguise the deck framework, enclosing a tree, creating an in-deck flower garden or erecting an arbor, pergola or other shade structure.

Consider how the deck space will look from the interior of the house. Think about how existing conditions can be accomodated. Consider also what the orientaion of the outdoor space is to the angle of the sun, views available, noise types and prevailing wind patterns.

The deck concept design process is an important part in the planning, design and construction of an outdoor living space that ultimately will serve the needs and lifestyle of family members, guests and future owners for years to come.

Richard Vande Sompel is a professional deck builder of 35 years and over 850 decks built and is the author of "How to Plan, Design and Build a Deck from Start to Finish". To Discover More AboutDeck Design and Claim your 2 FREE Deck Plans, Insider Report, MP3 Audio and discover everything to know about building a deck visit: www.DeckBuildingRevealed.com


Hot Topics In Home Improvement

    Home Improvement Loans - Remodeling Using Financing

    Remodeling your home can be costly! From a few hundred dollars to repaint a room to $20-50,000 to remodel a bathroom or kitchen, few people can afford to use their savings alone to pay for hefty remod...

    Bruce Hardwood Flooring Is An Industry Leader

    Nothing can make a room look more attractive, elegant and stately than a beautiful hardwood floor.

    With an ability to be dressed up or down to fit the theme of a room, hardwood is at home in any de...

    Refinishing Hardwood Floors - What To Expect Once You Start

    Refinishing hardwood floors is something that you can do yourself without paying professionals high amounts of money to do it for you. However, you do need to have time to spend on your refinishing pr...

    Kitchen Sink Manufacturers - Where To Find The Very Best.

    If you are looking for the very best in kitchen sink manufacturers then you need go any further than the very accessible Internet. You will find just about every reputable company and manufacturer tha...

    How To Install Laminate Flooring - The Directions Are On The Package

    Knowing how to install laminate flooring is as simple as reading the instructions on each package of laminate flooring that you buy. The edges of the laminate flooring lock together with the tongue an...

    Remodel Your Kitchen Cheaply

    All things come to him who goes after them.

    The information you just read was pulled from many different resources. You should continue searching for information until you believe you have a firm gr...

    Use Antler Lamps For Western Lighting With Rawhide Lamp Shades

    Antler lamps are one of the most beautiful accessories available for western decor. So much more than a lighting fixture, antler lamps bring life to your room. If you have a cabin or mountain home, th...

    Carpet Installation and Carpet Cleaning

    Carpets have continuously increased in popularity and millions of people have them in their homes now. With in-home carpets comes a whole new area of marketing. People now need things to clean their c...

    How To Use Decorative Concrete Effects To Spice Up Your Home

    When a person thinks of concrete art, they usually envision a child's handprint in a slab of wet concrete. While this is cute, this is not the basis of age old concrete art. Concrete really is the mak...

    Flooring Tips You Must Know

    Buying a new floor can be a frustrating and confusing process. Here's a list of things to keep in mind before heading out to purchase your new floor.

    1. Take note of the room layout.

    -Draw an outl...

    Bagless Vacuum Cleaners - Better Value in the Long Run

    Ever since the early nineteen nineties, bagless vacuum cleaners have been chipping away at the market dominance of their bagged vacuum cleaner counterpart. Claiming to best the bagged variety of clean...

    Good Things To Know About Steel Buildings

    The last years have brought an enormous growth in the use of steel as a construction material. The steel buildings are increasingly enchanting the skylines of countries all over the world, even if the...

Most Recent Home Improvement Supplements

Newly Popular Home Living Articles

    What are the Components of a Home Security System?

    Having a safe and secure home now is more important now than it was 100 years ago. What criminals look for and how they accomplish their goals differ greatly than criminals from the past. Today, home ...

    Start A Career In Wedding Planning

    You might not find the man of your dreams like Jennifer Lopez in the movie, the Wedding Planner? but you are sure to enjoy a high-paying career with a wide range of benefits. Not only will you help ot...

    About Morning Sickness Symptom And Suggested Cures

    So the 40 weeks of week by week pregnancy have begun. Early pregnancy symptoms have already started to bother and the most irritating of all, pregnancy morning sickness is in full swing. Dealing with ...

    Home Improvement Loans - Remodeling Using Financing

    Remodeling your home can be costly! From a few hundred dollars to repaint a room to $20-50,000 to remodel a bathroom or kitchen, few people can afford to use their savings alone to pay for hefty remod...

    Add a Water Garden to Your Landscape

    Garden ideas and themes are incomplete without a waterscape. Water gardens can be created both indoors and outdoors. Indoor water gardens can be maintained more easily than the outdoor one.

    One may...

    Theme Ideas For The Perfect Wedding

    Theme weddings are growing in popularity because they are fun and offer the bridal couple the opportunity to express themselves in a different way. If the couple loves the beach, the sea, and anything...

    Keeping Your Cat Healthy

    Cats, by their nature, are independent and require little attention beside cleaning out the litter box, feeding and the stroking they get on their owner's lap. You can be sure that your cat will alway...

    Early Signs Of Pregnancy: Good Times Knocking Your Door

    There are 10 basic symptoms which develop in women just after conceiving which are known as the early signs of pregnancy. After a week of conception, the fertilized egg gets implanted in the uterus. A...

    Using Electronic Access Control Systems To Protect Your Business

    You work hard to keep your business out of the red and all it takes is a break in to send your business into a spiral. Using electronic access control systems to protect your business is smart busines...

    Best Lawn Care Equipment For Really Easy Lawn Care

    If you want the best looking lawn, or even just one that is good enough to look out on as you enjoy a beautiful day, you will need to put some effort in. To minimize that, mechanization could be your ...

Interesting Today:

Most Recent Home Living Blogs:

Releated to Home Living:

Home Improvement Links: