Need opinion: Stone or Deck (for steps) out to a Paver Patio?
dtay_us
14 years ago
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reyesuela
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Stone or deck (4'x10') for patio steps?
Comments (3)John Hyatt - $950?? Wow! I take it you're definitely not in the NoVA (metro DC area) market? I'm guessing it's a regional pricing difference with the labor being the difference since most of the quotes that I've received are in the same ballpark, if not higher. How much would it cost for you to come out and build me a deck? :) :) :) Anyway, since we're talking about what pricing here in this area costs, here are some more examples: one contractor even came back with the price $3980 for the 10x4 deck area with steps (for a Trex)! The lowest price ($2394, from another deck contractor) that I've received is for either TT Twin Finish or Earthwood and if I want the XLM upgrade, it would be an additional $360 ($2709 total). He mentioned that for XLM, it's $10 sq. ft. and $9 sq. ft. for Earthwood. Another fairly large and well known contractor here in the area quoted me $2950 for AZEK or XLM and $2750 for Earthwood. As you can see, the NoVA/DC/MD market definitely commands a higher price premium, and let's not get started on how much houses here cost! Anyway, my wife and I are still trying to decide between stones vs. steps. In your opinion, what are the differences, pros and cons, between going with a stone vs. a deck? One realtor (a neighbor) suggested going with a stone since it does provide a greater ROI and value over a deck material and in terms of first impressions and appearance, a stone makes a bolder statement over a deck. Thoughts?...See MoreSteps for a paver patio
Comments (1)Stunning retaining wall. Hopefully you will have a place to enjoy a view of it too. The photo below really doesn't provide a good picture of our porch but I built what I call an egress porch from the door to the patio. It is really sort of a deck, though free-standing. I wanted a safe way to transport food and for senior citizens to travel between the inside/outside. Concrete piers for the posts were poured below the frost line prior to installing the pavers. If you are wanting stone (paver) steps, consider pouring concrete steps, then cementing pavers onto them. If your home is new, make certain the backfill settling is complete first. Good luck and enjoy the new patio. Here is a link that might be useful: Egress Porch...See MorePatio Pavers below a deck are a disaster
Comments (23)@germainetoo I hear your frustration. Obviously this is based on some internet pics and some guessing/inferring, but here are my thoughts as this discussion has progressed: I'm coming back to "it's wet quite a bit" under the deck, and also "it constantly is wet". Is the sole source of your water woes what's coming through the deck, or is this a low area? are the gaps between your deck boards crazy wide or something? What was under the deck previously? If it was bare soil, were there visible erosion lines that matched up w/ the decking? Is the patio pitched appropriately to shed water? how much time elapsed between poly sand installation and first rainfall? If rain is coming within the first 24-72 hours the patio will need covered to another poster's point, if an under-deck ceiling were a requirement for a below deck patio, we'd see about a quarter as many as we do. We generally do them as a way to 1) keep the area totally dry and 2) make it not feel like you're... under a deck. It's hard to say if a ceiling could work in your situation without seeing the whole area, as we generally pitch away from the house and towards the deck beam. That gets collected in a gutter mounted to the beam, and that water exits via a downspout run down a post and ideally piped as far away as possible. Bottom line, there may be an oversight or there may be other factors at play here that weren't discussed or brought into the scope of work....See Morehonest opinion on wood deck vs stone patio
Comments (22)I'd do a deck. I hate weeding between pavers. Some advice: Our deck is about 10" off the ground, and we get suckers from our plum tree that pop up between the planks. It's low enough to make it really hard to trim under there, and thick weed cloth doesn't stop those things. If you have certain kinds of trees nearby, make sure something is put under it to stop suckers. Also, I cannot over emphasize how much I HATE maintaining the wood. I strongly suggest something like Timber Tech vintage collection (that brand in particular because it's more realistic looking than the other brands). We have that for our front porch and it's super easy to keep clean, and super grippy when it's wet. (edit: I see this is a very old post. seriously people, start a new thread if you have a question.)...See Morelaag
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