As a homeowner, you have the awesome opportunity to alter your home to match your mood and create enhancements that capture the beauty of the place where you've chosen to own property.  With Virginia's stunning landscape available at every angle, a deck, porch, patio, or outdoor entertaining space seems only natural. If you're considering designing a deck for your Virginia home, check out these tips:

Are You Going It Alone?  

DIY is a great idea in theory, but if you're construction novice, you might want to consider hiring help to help you through the process.  Event the "easiest" of deck projects can become moderate to hard obligations for experienced handymen, so if you're on the fence, you should at least bring in a professional for a consultation.

What's The Optimal Solution?

Decks, porches, and patios come in a seemingly endless array of shapes, sizes, and sorts.  You'll want to have an idea of what you want in mind, but you'll also need to understand which options are optimal for your particular property.  Here are some things to think about:

• Have you done your homework to understand if your property is better suited for a deck or a patio?
• Will you need stairs or protective railings?
• How elaborate do you want your deck to be?  Are you imagining a raised deck with stairs, a two-story wonderland with multiple entrances, or a simple single-story space on which you can enjoy the world around you?

What's Your Budget?

Everything mentioned above is a baseline that begins with your ideal deck or patio, but money will make the final determination.  You can get a rough estimate by using a deck calculator so you have a reasonable grasp of your project's cost before you even begin.  If you've decided to use a professional company to help you as you're designing a deck and completing the construction, make sure you get estimates from your company of choice, and ask questions if you don't understand something.  Breaking your budget midway through can have devastating results, so you'll want to have a solid understanding of the financial implications before you even start designing a deck.

Can You Find Examples?

If you have a design in mind, try to find real-life examples even if you combine several pictures to get the perfect sample.

Looking for a little help designing a deck?  Check out our Woodscape Construction Project Planning Guide!

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