Two Tips for Building a Poolside Deck


It's important to put a lot of thought into any deck that you have built beside a swimming pool. Here are some pointers for you if you're going to do this.

Do not pick a type of wood that needs to be stained in order to look nice

If you're going to use wood to build your deck, then it is best to pick a wood whose natural colour you like and to then only coat it with a clear varnish, rather than trying to stain it. The reason for this is that a poolside deck will be regularly splashed with chlorine-laden pool water. This chemical can lighten or remove some types of wood stain.

As such, if you were to add a dark stain to, for example, your pale-coloured birch poolside deck, the stain on the floorboards that are splashed with pool water most often could lighten and start to develop a splotchy appearance, which could then make the deck floor look unsightly. You would then have to re-stain these boards quite regularly, in order to rectify this cosmetic issue.

If, however, you pick a type of wood which has an attractive natural hue and that does not, therefore, need to be coated with a pigmented stain to look good, and you then simply coat it with some clear varnish to protect it, you can eliminate the need to undertake this laborious job.

Give the deck builder any information you feel is relevant before choosing the direction of the deck's slope

Poolside decks are not usually flat; in most cases, deck builders will ensure that these decks are sloped in a specific direction so that the pool water that is splashed onto them does not either simply sit on top of them (which could slowly damage the wood) or get tracked indoors by those who walk on it.

When you reach the point in the construction process where you must decide which direction the slope should go in, the deck builder will not only analyse the area where the deck will be built and the general features of your property but may also ask for your input; if or when they do this, you should try to give them any information that you think might be relevant.

For example, if they suggest sloping the deck down towards the pool, to allow the water that splashes onto its floor to drain back into this receptacle, but you know that the deck will get covered in a lot of soil because you're planning to put potted plants on it, and this type of slope might cause the soil and the droplets of pool water to turn into mud, which will then slide back into the swimming pool and make it dirty, you should tell them this, as they can then come up with an alternative option (such as sloping the deck in the direction of your lawn instead).

For more information, contact a local deck builder today.

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As exciting as embarking on a custom home build with your construction contractors is, laying down the groundwork can prove to be a daunting experience. Getting the chance to have complete control over the various aspects of your new house is liberating but it can also be overwhelming when you consider the sheer magnitude of the decisions that you need to make. Fortunately, that is precisely why this blog exists! My passion for construction led to be curate a collection of pieces that aims to help newbies to the custom home construction process! Let this site be your resource for information pertaining to eco-friendly building supplies, sustainable home designs, architectural inspo and anything else you may need to know regarding the construction process.

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