Why We’re Renovating Our Deck: Creating a Functional and Beautiful Outdoor Space

The Never Ending Outdoor Renovation continues

If you’ve been following along with our backyard renovation since last year, you know we tackled a lot when it came to our outdoor space. Seriously, it was a whirlwind of projects! We built a patio, gave our brick and concrete a fresh coat of paint, I have the full tutorial here, and even created an Instadeck and pergola by the water. Oh, and let’s not forget installing a fence that stretches all the way across the pond. It was a major transformation, and looking back, I’m amazed at how much we accomplished.

WHY WE ARE TEARING DOWN THE WHOLE DECK!

This year, we took a big leap and decided to completely tear down our screened-in porch and deck. It wasn’t an easy decision, but after some thought (and a little dreaming), it made total sense. Here are the four big reasons behind our decision.

THE VIEW WAS NOT IT

The posts from our screened-in porch completely ruined the view of our beautiful pond in the backyard, and honestly, I was over it. I wanted to enjoy the scenery without feeling like I was looking through bars, so this was a non-negotiable for me.

OUT OF CODE

The way the deck was originally built wasn’t up to code anymore, when it was built in 2000 it was but in some parts over engineers and not thought through in my opinion. Lucky for us, we had the opportunity to partner with Deck South to tear it all down and rebuild it to have an elevated design and be up to code. We decided to keep the ceiling of the screened-in porch—it’s one thing we loved and didn’t want to redo—though that came with a few extra steps to preserve it.

Stairs .. Why are there no stairs?

The original setup didn’t include stairs to get down to the backyard unless you went ALL the way around the retaining walls, which made it feel disconnected from the rest of the outdoor space. I hated it. I wanted direct access to all the places the kids would play and not to mention it would be ideal for everyday life and entertaining. Adding stairs was a must to make everything flow and function the way we needed it to.

Making space for all the grills

My husband has a serious love for grilling, and let’s just say we’ve accumulated a lot of grills over the years. We needed more room to create an outdoor cooking area that could handle all his grilling dreams (and maybe mine, too). bonus! We are planning to do the outdoor kitchen of our dreams and I truly can’t wait. I’ve been dreaming this up for almost a year and its finally becoming a reality and I can’t wait to watch it unfold.

THE DESIGN

Here’s where we are now and a sneak peek at the design moving forward! I worked with Deck South and 33 North Design to get the perfect design of our dream backyard! After a lot of conversations and picking out materials we’re replacing all the deck boards with durable, high-quality materials from MoistureShield, upgrading the railing with stylish options from RDI Rail, and installing brand-new screens from Barrette Outdoor Living. This project is shaping up to be a complete transformation, and I can’t wait to see it all come together! If you want to see the video on the design you can check it out here!

It’s going to be so much fun watching this space come together! We are looking forward to so many amazing memories made out here when its done! Stay tuned @livingononepercent because tearing down the deck is next!