Build a Deck to Add Living Space to Your Home

We wanted to expand the amount of space that we have for entertaining. We did not want to complete a full addition on our home, so we decided to increase the size of the deck off of our dining room. The existing deck was only large enough for two deck chairs. We wanted an area that would be large enough to accommodate an outdoor patio set as well as a grill. The deck is accessed through a French door off the dining room so this would lend to convenient use.

We had a local contractor take a look at the project. The small deck was made of redwood however we wanted to make the larger deck out of cedar. The contractor said that he would have use for the redwood decking and would subtract this from the cost of the project. We explained that we wanted to have enough room for an outdoor patio set that could seat eight people and also a grill. He suggested adding a built in bench along the side of the deck. He would design storage in the bench for the cushions from the outdoor patio set. The bench would provide extra seating during the summer months and would also provide a place to sit during the winter months when the outdoor patio set would be in storage. He also thought there would be enough space to have a small patio fireplace.

We liked the ideas that he had and the cost of the storage bench and fireplace would be covered by the redwood decking he was buying from us. He had just completed one project and had another one cancel so he was able to start immediately. There was ample lighting and outlets on the outside of the house so there was no need for an electrician, or any other professionals that needed to be coordinated with. We went to a lumberyard with the contractor to pick out the wood and other supplies. We made arrangements for things to be delivered the next day. The contractor took the items that he would need to start the project the next morning.

On our way home we stopped at a furniture store to look for our outdoor patio set. The sets this store had were very nice, but the chairs did not stack so it would take a great deal of space to store. We stopped at a home improvement store and found that they had the perfect outdoor patio set for the space. It featured a table that had a leaf in it to expand it to accommodate eight people. Without the leaf the table sat six. We thought we could place six chairs around the table and two by the fireplace. We made arrangements for the outdoor patio set to be delivered in three days.

The project was completed and the outdoor patio set was in place three days later. We love our added space.