Deck Remodel design

What the room has to do

A deck remodel is decking boards, balustrade and size. The board and the rail decide how it looks; the dimensions decide whether it gets used, and most disappointing decks are simply too narrow to put a table on.

Layout rules

• A deck needs 12ft of depth to hold a dining table with chairs pulled out. At 8ft it holds two chairs.
• Lay boards parallel to the longest edge, or perpendicular to the house — never diagonally on a small deck.
• Guard rails are required above 30in of drop; keep balusters under 4in apart.
• Allow 36in of clear route from the house door to the steps.
• Give built-in bench seating 18in of height and 18in of depth.

Lighting plan

Low and downward. Step lights, rail lights and a couple of low-level washes make a deck usable after dark without lighting the neighbours or killing the view. Anything mounted high and aimed out turns the deck into a stage.

What usually goes wrong

• A deck sized to the budget rather than to a table, so it never holds one.
• Boards run diagonally, which makes a small deck look busy and wastes material.
• A floodlight on the house wall aimed across the deck.
• Steps added as an afterthought at the one point everyone walks.

In a small one

Under 10ft deep, drop the dining ambition and build in perimeter seating instead. Fixed benches give a narrow deck usable capacity that loose furniture never will.