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Porches & Decks

Ideas other than trex or pavers for backyard deck?

12 years ago

Hi, we are in a new build house and are looking to start working on our backyard. Because of budget we will do one space at a time, starting with the area directly outside of our sliding door, off the kitchen.

This area is about 16 x 15. It's about 3 ft to the ground as you come out the kithcen sliding door. So far, we've gotten estimates for paver steps down to a paver patio, and for a trex deck at the same level as the sliding door.

Trex deck - way out of budget for that small of a space! Pavers were more reasonable, but I'm not sure I'd be happy with the steps down to the yard level. Thinking that something level with the sliding door would be more ideal.

Don't want to do a wood deck since the upkeep drove us crazy in our last house. So my question is - are there any other materials/types of patios I could look into that we could build level to the sliding door? Concrete? Any budget-friendly ideas would be appreciated! Thanks

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Comments (4)

fnmroberts
12 years ago
I'm sure you don't want concrete so the choices you are already considering are the most durable.

I understand your not wanting steps onto the patio - we had very similar concerns, primarily with carrying items in/out and for elderly guests safety. Our solution was what we term and egress porch. It's 4 feet wide with landing-style steps. With a paver patio we enjoy the best of both.

Something to consider since you have a new build, how long ago was the foundation built? It takes several years for the backfill to totally settle and pavers or concrete might be affected if you install too soon.

Here's a photo of our egress porch. Complete album is linked below. Good luck and enjoy your outdoor space.

{{!gwi}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Back Yard and Patio
jenniferPA
Original Author
12 years ago
This is a great idea, and the photos of your backyard are beautiful. This is sort of the look I am going for, with a lot of "nature" mixed in. Thank you for taking the time to post this.
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fnmroberts
12 years ago
Thank you for the compliment. The porch also provides a place to mount external speakers and the railing serves as somewhere to rest items while opening the door. Noone ever has condern about footing on the large steps which are illuminated after dark.

Don't know if you saw the informational comments following several of the photos, but we designed and built the patio ourselves. It took DH and our son most of a summer working primarily weekends. Prior to building the patio, footings for the egress porch and pergola were set ready for construction in later seasons.

We engaged a local landscaper to design the flanking gardens plus specify plants suited for the exposure and native soil. This was a worthwhile investment. Very few plant failures have happened. I mention this as our home was also new and it took several years before everything in the photos was constructed. Small plants experience less transplant shock allowing them to mature more quickly so in a few seasons are actually fuller than beginning with larger ones.

DH signs on here too and will be able to answer more technical questions about the build should you have any.
Amy Austin
10 years ago
fnmroberts, I'm in the same situation as the OP and would love to see your photos! Seems the link is broken?

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