Getting started

I discussed the deck idea with a builder friend of mine. This deck will be 6' off the ground. The cover will be 16'. It's up there. The county would require plans and load calculations. My friend recommended an engineer.

So, I made the first call to the engineer back on Jan 15. Here's the picture I sent him describing what I wanted.


The plan is to have a 38x13 deck with a cover over the whole thing. Trusses will be built coming off the house, out 14'.

A plan hatched

When M and I moved into our house 6 years ago, we never thought about the fact that it has a south-facing back yard. We quickly learned that it is a problem if you have no shade. In the summer, its way too hot to enjoy "sitting out back". The existing 12x14 deck is raised 6' off the ground, making the sun exposure even worse. It basically bounces off the high back wall of the house and bakes you like you're in an oven.

In the winter, the low angle of the sun shoots through large windows into our main living area. It's a bright shock to the eyes, typically requiring closure of the wood blinds. Now we can't enjoy looking out the windows.




So, I'm not a fan of the south-facing back yard. Over the last 4 years, we'd discussed several options to create some shade. We never acted on it because we were afraid to spend a large chunk of dough on a house we might move from soon. The "what if we decide to move" question paralyzed us. This year, we resolved to do something and build the covered deck we'd dreamed about, to make the back yard usable. If we move, so be it. We're gonna enjoy the time we're here.