Ottawa Winter Deck Preparation: Designing
Plenty of downtime this winter gives you more time to design and plan your do-it-yourself deck. You don’t want to waste any time when the weather turns. You want to get your Ottawa deck built to enjoy as quickly as possible so you can enjoy long Ottawa summer days sitting on, rather than building your deck. So let’s start with deck design considerations:
- A deck is a one of the most significant things you can to do add value to your home, so while you are designing a deck for you and your family’s lifestyle – take a step back and make sure what you are designing is not a deck that is too big, too small… or just flat out ugly. Make sure the deck design complements the design of your house.
- The most important consideration when designing your Ottawa deck is “How will you use it?” Entertaining? How large will the groups on your deck typically be? What kind of seating will you need and would you want to consider benches as part of your deck? Do you want the space arranged to accommodate socializing by small groups or large gatherings? Try to picture all the ways you’d like to use your Ottawa deck because most design elements will be based on this.
- Your options are probably limited as to where you can build your deck off your Ottawa home, but you may have more choices than you think. You could add a door off an alternative site in your home that may work better than the “obvious” choice. Why does this matter? Views and climate – they actually vary in your own Ottawa yard. Do you have heavy winds coming in from the west? Did you know a north-side deck will probably be the coolest location. Careful placement can minimize traffic noise, eliminate unwanted views, or provide additional privacy.
- Remember there are always the dreaded regulations… check to make sure you are not violating any local zoning ordinances. This is the most dreaded task, but don’t put it off as it could inform many of your decisions for your Ottawa deck Also look into your neighborhood or subdivision covenants as the may restrict the appearance of the structure. An finally, you may need a building permit – check with your town.
- There are a lot of considerations for how big your deck will be, including the cost as well as your planned uses. But as you build your Ottawa deck remember that a huge deck can look ridiculous next to a small house the same way a tiny deck on a big house looks out of place. If you think your deck could be too large for your house, try mitigating that with smaller sections on multiple levels.
- test your ideas for your Ottawa deck by measuring and staking off the proposed area in your yard. You can even set furniture in the area to get an idea of how much will fit on your new do-it-yourself Ottawa deck.
Leave a Reply
