Hi. Decks are always an exciting expansion of the usable space of a home. A very useful mod! In my previous remodeling business, I had 5 copies of Sunset's "The Complete Deck Book" for my client lending-library. Everyone who incorporated decks into our projects really enjoyed it. It is a bit heavy on redwood (hard to resist for the pics) which may not be in common use in your area, but the designs can be carried out with cedar, Trex, or any of the other myriad options.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/037...Fencoding=UTF8
Some of that content may be available on the publishers website.

BTW, if moisture is a concern, I'd also recommend a under-deck fastening system, rather than having exposed nails of screws. It used to add a lot to the cost, but now that many systems are made, I think it should be considered standard practice.
Last, have the builder pre-treat any wood in the installation with sealer. Some of the decks we installed are just having their first reseals after 10 years because of that step, while decks without it often need retreatment every year. YMMV based on your weather conditions, of course.
Happy designing &

Sounds like some good information there on decks.

Just a thought, based on having built several decks and patios in various new homes: I would vote for a patio every time. Our favourites have been done with a variety of paving stones, usually using some interesting patterns. The manufacturers all have web sites with design ideas. Being able to walk right from the patio into the garden has advantages. You can build the BBQ in if you like, and bring the planting right to the edge to create rooms. A deck can have all of that, but if it is up in the air it is harder to integrate it into the rest of the yard. We built a small deck in one house, as a staged transition down to the patio, which was made of cobblestone circles overlapping each other. We spent all our time on the patio, and none on the deck.

Sample link here for project ideas:
http://www.mutualmaterials.com/homeo...id=31&pc_id=23

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We rebuilt our old 10x12 deck a year and a half ago and replaced it with a 500 sf deck. Being a fellow New Englander, you may understand that, after much thought, we decided on a nice mahogany-colored composite decking (CorrectDeck). One of my leastest favorite chores was stripping/cleaning/sealing the deck. Also,although I did the whole process very religiously, the deck would not hold up long term, probably due to weather extremes (very sunny location, New England winters). The deck looks today the same as the day it was done. VERY low maintainance, and we get compliments on how it looks all the time.

I would suggest staying away from the traditional rectangular configurations and add some interest. We also turned our deck into true four-season enjoyment by putting a hot tub on the deck. We now use our deck all winter long-winter being the best time for the hot tub . Being in New England, I would recommend keeping the hot tub not to far from a house door.

Like everything else, everyone will have different opinions. Use the info and adapt to your wants, needs and style. Good luck.

well, since you're starting from square one, do it right, and have fun with it. Having also built my fair share of decks, I would recommend looking at a brazilian wood called Ipe (pronounced ee-pay). It's a brazilian rosewood, and around the same price as the synthetic decking products, but looks amazing. It's ten times as dense as pine, and has the same fire rating as concrete and steel. It won't warp, won't cup, and looks really great. I've done a couple decks with Ipe and I've barried the screws in the wood and used zebra wood plugs. I'd also think about doing some sort of pattern, maybe laying the boards in an opposing diagonal pattern or something to provide interest. I'll try to get some pictures of the Ipe decks I've done if you'd be interested. Keep us posted and have fun with it!

There are some nice mags/books at Home Depot/Lowe's. I did a 12" X 15" stone and paver patio last summer from the top of my head and found those books useful.

JV

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JV

What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know...it's what we know for sure that just ain't so

What is the grade of the land, are you working with morning or afternoon light? Does your deck flow through to the kitchen? Are termites an issue in your area? Rain? Snow? I agree that Ipe is just beautiful. Personally, I like a deck that has a cut-out in the center for a tree. Don't forget to plan for low voltage lighting.

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I posted some pics of the current deck and the land. The area gets sun all day because the sun rises to the right of the house and sets to the left. The current deck opens up to French doors from the family room. The kitchen is the next set of windows to the right.

No termites (that I know of), plenty of rain and snow in New England. The grade is fairly level.

I was watching one of those home makeover shows and they re-did a deck for a lady who liked camping. One interesting feature they incorporated was a faux campfire in the deck itself. It was built around a cutout in the deck with the gas line running underneath. The top part was the gas tray and that was surrounded by rocks. They used a commercially available unit. It was a really neat look and very much resembled a campfire. I mention this because you want a fire to sit around.

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How about taking a photo of the existing structure so we can throw ideas at you based on what will work........

photos looking back at house, out from deck, down at ground and along wall that deck is to go (so we can see the grade of land)

Cheers

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