Career Ramblings

Whether you are a homeowner looking to create your dream home, or a commercial investor looking to upgrade your properties, remodeling your deck/patio will be a great investment. It will increase the value of the home, as well as provide a good looking and functional addition to the house.

Contractors won’t always want to build you a deck or patio, so make sure that you take the time to plan it out, and perhaps include a few other small renovations as well to make it more appealing to a professional. There are many contractors that specialize in decks, though they are often booked weeks or months in advance.

Many people find use from their patio as an outdoor extension of their home, using it as a room that’s outside. You can add furniture, lighting, and even heating elements, making a deck/patio as versatile as a covered room inside your home. Imagine having a second living room outside, with comfortable furniture and privacy. I, for one, would love to have something like that.

Some easy items you can add to bring some life into your patio are:

1. Furniture
2. Container plants
3. Heating elements
4. Stone or concrete pavers
5. Outdoor kitchens
6. Fire pits or fireplaces
7. Water gardens, ponds, and water falls
8. Foliage, grass, and plants
9. Bird feeders
10. Stone or marble statues.

These, along with actual physical changes (such as an increase in space or the addition of steps), can make a deck/patio more appealing and livable.

The average cost of adding a porch/deck/patio to home is $2,985 (according to the Center for Housing Studies at Harvard). If a homeowner did the job themselves, including purchasing the materials and labor, the total cost averaged $1,714. Those who hired professionals spent, on average, $4,635. Many people find the savings appealing, though you certainly shouldn’t decide to build your deck if you have no idea how!

On average, 6% of homeowners annually add a patio/deck, while 5.5% improve existing ones. These figures, though seemingly small, show that there is a large and active market, so finding resources and like minded people will be very easy. This will make looking for inspiration or design ideas simple, and you may find yourself ogling your neighbor’s deck in your search for ideas.

However, if rebuilding or replacing your patio/deck sounds too expensive or like too much work, you could try the following:

• Repaint the wood. Worn or chipping paint looks bad, as well as making a deck look more worn than it really is. Often, a fresh coat of paint is all the doctor ordered.
• Spice it up a bit. Add some planters with exotic flowers or foliage. This puts a nice twist on an otherwise ordinary deck.
• Make it a new room. Instead of having cheap patio furniture and a barbecue, try adding some nice, comfortable furniture (keep the barbecue). Arrange it so that seating is attractive and comfortable.