Richard From Ideas For Deck Design
Deck PlansIt was my pleasure to interview a true master of carpentry. Richard from Ideas For Deck Designs has been in and around carpentry for many years and has a massive amount of experience and expertise in the field of building pretty much anything and everything. You can find Pt. 2 of Richard's interview by clicking here. Being this is a site about pools I thought it would be great for an interview about a very popular topic: Swimming pool decks and deck designs. But first a little background is needed:
My first experience to carpentry and construction was as a high school student working at a lumber yard where I received a great education on building materials and volunteered to build any of the displays in the store. From there I ventured out on to my own building fences and decks for people. And of course the more you build the more you learn and want to challenge yourself to build the very best structures you can and enrich the lives of your customers. Now I also build custom homes which incorporates every aspect of building. My father and grandfather were big influences in my life and they got me started as a kid giving me a small hammer and saw to play around with the scrap 2x4s in their workshops. I then got very interested in building gas powered model airplanes and making skateboard ramps and tree houses. Pretty normal stuff. But it always fed my creative mind and I always wanted to take the visions and ideas in my head and make them happen in the real world. That has never changed. And it's quite funny how all of these things have led me to a great life - my wife and my kids - my website which feeds my desire to share my knowledge with folks and help them out as well as my unique building products like the Titan wood post anchor. And this year I have several new unique products coming out. One is a really cool deck board tool called the Deck Devil. Another is called the Titan Ground Screw Anchor and makes very quick and easy installations for sign posts, fence posts and even deck post foundations all the while being installed - or removed if you want - with just a hand held tool if needed. So being true to my desires and brutally honest about what it is that fires up my interest has led me to a wonderful place where I feel that by helping people achieve their goals - by sharing my information - it actually empowers me to pursue my interests fully. If any of your visitors ever want to learn more about deck building or find they have a need for some of my products they can go to Ideas For Deck Designs and search around until their heart's content.
For those homeowners who have above ground swimming pools, some kind of deck structure that surrounds it is a wise investment as well as practical. A well designed and constructed deck will improve the appearance of an above ground pool. But it will also make it much easier to get in and out of as well. This factor alone can justify the effort to enhance your pool. And a deck can be a very beautiful accent to an in ground pool also. When contemplating a deck for an in ground pool, planning ahead of time has to be done to ensure the grade surrounding the pool is both low enough to accommodate any deck framing and footings but also allow for drainage concerns. The pool walls also have to be capable of standing on their own without any back fill support around the upper areas where the grade has been lowered. This is usually not a problem for pools that use steel walls and a vinyl liner but may not work for concrete pools. It is also worth mentioning that a soil assessment should be done if you have any concerns about the load capacity of the soils. The footings must be large enough that the soil can easily support the decking structure above. So there are some engineering issues that must be assessed. Once that is done, construction can proceed as usual. But given the proximity of the deck to the pool it is important to select a decking material that is best suited for long term exposure to moisture. The best woods for this kind of environment are the exotic hardwoods such as ipe and cumaru. This material has been used on the walkways of some of the bridges between New York and Brooklyn and is over 100 years old. There are also alternate decking materials such as extruded aluminum boards, pvc boards and a variety of composite decking materials. When using composite materials pay special attention to its recorded performance for fading, staining and resistance to mold and bacteria. Decking around an in ground pool raises several more issues than an above ground pool deck but are manageable if proper planning is done.
The most important aspect of building a deck is to think of what you wish to achieve with this new structure. Rather than simply building a large expansive conglomeration of wood and fasteners and everything else, take a lot of time to think of how you plan to use every square foot of your deck and your backyard. That means you should break your deck down into zones to most efficiently design and plan your deck and yard. Zones can be thought of as areas for dining, lounging, spa, traffic circulation including access points such as stairs and finally tasking areas. A common task area is a grilling station - which I tend to think ought to be fairly close to a kitchen entrance door for ease of access - unless you go to the extent of building a complete outdoor all weather kitchen area. By first identifying all the specific purpose zones of your deck you will then know exactly what you need. You can then begin to start penciling in these areas on to a pad of paper and you will quickly see what size of deck you need to achieve your goals. Lastly, I always recommend taking time to think of style and architecture. By that I mean you should try to make the materials and colors and overall design mate well with the architecture of your home. After all, you are building an extension of your home.
I think the most common mistakes first time builders have is to not make wise use of space and fail to think of how to peacefully combine foot traffic paths to stairs and entrance points without criss-crossing through dining areas and the like. With just a little thought its quite easy to make sure that the areas for coming and going don't conflict with the destination areas on a deck. This makes a more harmonious comfortable deck that really feels inviting and gets used to its full potential.
Read, read and read some more. You will know when you have read enough and you are confident that you know the problems others have faced and what it is you want. You will also know what materials are going to work best for you. So a good education will help you understand what you would like and what various options cost so you can budget accordingly.
Well, there are two kinds of vinyl. First there are decking boards that are made of vinyl, (PVC - poly vinyl chloride) and they look much like a wooden board but last longer and also require some slightly different installation techniques. So you have to refer to the manufacturer's guidance. These decks are not water proof. So any area underneath would get wet during rain just like traditional wood decks. This material lasts a long time, has low maintenance but can have a colder feel to it. The other kind of vinyl is the vinyl deck flooring membrane that comes in wide rolls of about 5'-6'. It is glued onto to standard plywood flooring sheathing (T&G) and rolls are overlapped about 1/2" and heat welded for a waterproof seam. When the deck is built properly - both the sheeting is smooth and flat and sloped at least 1/2" per 12" and the vinyl is properly installed and welded you end up with a very low maintenance deck and completely water proof. The only issue I would say is that bbq grilling grease that drops onto the surface, or even sap from tall trees can adhere very will into some of the texture patterns and can be almost impossible to clean up if you leave it to long. Some new vinyls are coming out without such deep textured finishes and makes this less of a problem. But you still have to do a good spring and fall cleaning with a power washer for maximum longevity. Go To: Pt. 2 Of Richard's Interview
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