With home improvements becoming an ever more favourite pastime for people, its no surprise that the idea of fitting out your garden with a great looking, and superbly functional deck has become hugely popular in the last few years.
Many garden decks are built by do-it-yourself enthusiasts, which regularly ends with decks that are devoid of much style, and usually sit contradictory to the rest of the house as far as its general look is concerned.
This does not have to be the case however, with a little careful planning and and eye for details its possible for the do-it-yourself enthusiast to design and build a unique, beautiful and stylish deck without the need to employ the pros.
Here we will look at what you can do as a home owner to build a better looking deck for your home, and give you some insight how you can develop your own decking ideas and designs.
First of all, you need to think about what your deck will be constructed of.
While in most cases the main material will be wood, that's not the only choice, and if it is wood the choice of wood is a decision that can greatly add to the success of deck in your home, and taking a little time to choose the best material will pay huge dividends when the project is complete and you sit back to look at your nice new decking.
Other materials that can be selected for decking include aluminium, that while a much more costly option, and a harder challenge to construct for the do-it-yourself fan, can occasionally add a great sense of style to the right type of house, in many cases though you will be choosing wood for your decking and woods such as Cedar make a fantastic basis for decking, as does Redwood.
For an even more rich feel you may consider Mahogany, which though often more pricey than many other woods, can really add character to a home when styled and built with some planning and preparation.
Careful thought must be placed into the planning of your decking, having ideas for designs which will not compliment the style of your home will not result in a good and complimentary end result.
You should attempt to design and construct the deck to match your home, and not rush ahead with the handsaw and nail gun and end up with something that looks out of place, or worse actually lowers the value of your property.
If your house is near the beach with a lightweight look and feel about it then your decking should follow suit, it should look like it is an integral part of the property and not something that was bolted to the home some time after the original property was constructed.
Clearly in the end how you design and construct your deck is up to you, but by making sure you match the style of your decking with the style of your property, you will have a final product that compliments your home, raises its value, and is a pleasure to spend your time on, and that, after-all, is the aim.