7 Reasons to Consider Wood Decks

If you want a quick way to add livable space to your home – you need a deck. Decks provide opportunities for grilling, parties, or simply catching some sleep on a sunny afternoon. If you’re ready to build a deck, you need to choose what material to build it from. There are several choices, but there’s one that stands out. Let’s review seven reasons why wood should be at the top of your list.

Seven Reasons to Consider Wood Decks

You Can’t Beat the Beauty of Wood

Of all available building materials, wood is arguably the most beautiful. Wood is timeless, comes in many varieties, and makes for a gorgeous deck. Composites and plastic decks have their benefits, but they look artificial and aren’t considered elegant by any means. Wood is a classic choice and is easily stainable to give you what colors you and your family want.

Wood is Affordable

Despite its unique and favorable qualities, wood is one of the most affordable deck building materials available. The cost of your deck depends on customization, scale, and what type of wood you choose (wood can get expensive), but in general, medium grade materials and an average residential deck are affordable for most homeowners.

Wood Lasts Longer Than You Think

We’ve all seen our neighbor’s rotten wood deck, but old wooden decks that fall away over time are no issue if you choose a reputable decking contractor. Decking contractors use high-quality, weather-resistant lumber for decking, and will seal the wood with unique sealants to defend against weather and time. A well-built and properly maintained wood deck could last upwards of twenty to fifty years, depending on the wood installed and continued maintenance.

Wood is All-Weather

Wood can be found in all parts of the country, which means wood can be installed in all corners of the United States. Wood has been known to stand up to driving snow and rain, ice, even hail storms. If you’re worried about wood in an extreme environment, rest assured that a well-maintained deck can function anywhere.

Wood is Easy to Repair

Wood is affordable and easy to install, and it’s also easy to repair. Wood decks are strong, but poor sealing, wet leaves left on wood, or storms can create damage to your wood deck that needs to be repaired. Luckily wood is quick and easy to repair since in most cases you only need to cut the offending piece out a reinstall a matching replacement.

You Can Easily Customize Your Wood Deck

It’s not hard to make wood match whichever dimensions you’re wanting. Wood is easy to work with building material, so you can design the custom deck you’ve always wanted. You can deck in a certain pattern, add shelves, or play around with your railing. Other materials don’t afford you the flexibility that wood does.

Wood Ties into Natural Surroundings

Have you ever seen a gaudy plastic deck that stuck out like a children’s playground set in the middle of a beautiful neighborhood? Wood blends into natural surroundings much better than other artificial deck surfaces and lighting and can make it feel like your property sweeps right into the outdoors. No plastic or composite deck material will jump into the surrounding environment like wood can. For further inclusion, wood can be stained to match the natural tones of your surrounding property.

If you don’t want a wood deck after these seven reasons, it may be best for you not to get a deck at all. Wood decks carry many unique benefits including longevity and beauty that makes wood one of the most popular deck building materials on the market. If it’s time for your family to expand its living space with a deck – go for wood and give Centennial Custom Decks a call today to get started.

How to Build Lighting Elements into Your Deck

Decks extend the livable space of your home and are ideal for hosting parties, grill-outs, or even doing amateur science experiments with the kids on a lazy Sunday afternoon. If you’re looking to spend a lot of time on your deck, you want it to be accommodating, comfortable, and fun. There are many ways to upgrade the standard deck from built-in storage to the latest grill, but lighting is one of the quickest ways to transform the ambiance of your deck and entire outdoor space.

High-quality lighting can bring a new dimension to your deck and can be used for creating an atmosphere at a party, allowing you to see what’s going on around your deck at night, and creating a different and fun environment. Let’s review types of outdoor lighting, the technical side of outdoor lighting, and where to go for ideas. Lights on your deck can light up the party.

Types of Deck Lighting

  • Perimeter Lighting: As the name implies, this style of deck lighting runs along the perimeter of the deck. This lighting can be fastened to deck or handrails, or around the deck’s structural elements. This can provide a fresh atmosphere to your deck and outdoor area. You can also place floodlights on nearby landscaping in combination with perimeter lighting for a great outdoor space.
  • Privacy-Screen Lighting: Lighting along the tops or bottoms of privacy screens. Provides ambient lighting to the whole deck and can make your deck apparent to arriving party-goers or visitors.
  • Sconce-Lighting: Lights can be concealed in structural elements, eaves, coves, and other areas to shield the source of light but allow the ambiance to shine through. Sconce-lighting creates a clean look but can usually only be accomplished by deck professionals.
  • Custom Lighting: The good news about deck lighting is that there are no set rules or regulations. If you like it and its practical – you can have it installed on your deck. Creating a custom deck lighting project takes the help of a deck professional.

Deck Lighting Options

Years ago, you only had a few energy-sucking outdoor lighting options, but that has changed with new lighting technologies. These are the most popular types of outdoor lights.

  • LED Lights: LED is not a new technology, but it has recently transformed the lighting industry. LEDs are efficient, bright, and go years without needing a change. LEDs are a great option for any deck lighting installation.
  • Solar Lights: LED lights are environmentally-friendly but solar lights are even more so since they only use the energy of the sun to light up your deck. They are very easy to install but do your math and make sure you have enough for ample illumination.

Can I Install Lighting Elements Myself?

If you’re not messing around with electrical components, many DIY-minded homeowners can install lighting elements on decks themselves. Pick up the proper fasteners that will minimize damage to the deck and lighting elements and work carefully from a design or drawn-out plan.

Large-scale deck light installations or complex lighting installations, especially those involving adding electrical components, should only be handled by a deck professional. A large-scale or high-end lighting design takes years of training to plan, install, and make your deck look great.

Getting Ideas

The internet is filled with great ideas, instructions, and step-by-step DIY guides to turning your dark deck into a lit paradise. Don’t guess if you’re doing a DIY install – use these resources! Try typing ‘outdoor lighting ideas’ or ‘deck lighting ideas,’ and you’ll be set up with hundreds of potential ideas and resources.

Lighting is a quick and easy way to add a whole new dimension to your deck and outdoor space. Make sure you choose the right type of lighting and the right type of light and use a professional if you want a large-scale installation. Lights on your deck are one of the best ways to make your deck the life of the home.