Given a choice, I vote for the patio as well. My former neighbor had a paver patio. After living next door to him for almost 10 years, he never lifted a finger to maintain it. And it still looks great.

Although there are low maintanence alternatives to the ole traditional wood deck, I would still choose a patio any day. Good luck with your decision.

As a deck builder, I vote for a new deck :-)

steve

One more time,it depends on the look you want, done with the right prep pavers or stamped creet look really good,3' up a well done ipe deck will have no problem with you taking your great grandchild out there on it. John

Deck, deck, deck. Warmer, cozier and adds more value to your property. I love wood though, so my opinion is not impartial.

Maybe you could do both, if your budget and lot size permit of course! Maybe build a small deck so you'll still have one and build a nice patio somewhere else in your backyard.

Ipe tiles would give you the patio look and the deck feel.
Have you thought about them

Thanks for the help. I really like the suggestion of doing both - I should have thought of that - been married long enough. I don't know what IPE tiles are but I'm going to look that up - thanks.

This was our situation last year. Patio it was with a large Trex landing....

Yard, money and preference of course is the major factor. In a suburb neighborhood, everyone is on-display on their deck unless. I suppose the higher privacy blocks might work but are unsightly in my opinion.

Our paver patio is approximately 2 feet below the first floor in our home. I connected it with what I call an egress porch. It is a small deck and the steps are "landing" style to permit older relatives and grandchildren to comfortably travel in-between.

Personally, I prefer the pavers because I like their look. In the several years since ours was built, many new styles and colors of pavers have been introduced so your finished look is limited only by your imagination. Decks, in my opinion, are still going to be strips of wood - though construction goes more quickly.

Photos linked from "My Page".

fnmroberts, I just looked at your patio and I love how you did it - also love your home and the rest of your yard.

fnmroberts - thanks for the inspiration photo - that one's going on the fridge! Your yard is just beautiful. I imagine that you don't spend much time sitting on the patio since everything looks so well tended.

fnmroberts - beautiful place!!!!

Wife and I also love the paver look. Easily integrated (as stated) with a nice landing instead of some typical step type things.

We spent more time designing the landing then we did the patio. Wanted nice size for comfort and small rises on the steps.

Not to steal the post, but also - love the rocking horses.

I assume you made them? Looking to do the same myself. Did you build them with your own plans or buy the plan?

Thanks all for the compliments. Everyone appreciates high fives. We have done all the construction and most of the design ourselves over several years. Still have to build the pergola on the patio but can't resolve all those issues in my mind. For sure, it will shade a 12 x 16 area. Where we live, the city fathers consider a structure with a roof to be a room addition. Most likely our final structure will have a removable canvas covering to beat them at their own game.

Yes, dontknow, I did build the rockers. The horse is quite faithful to the plan but the Harley involved considerable modification to make it look more authentic - especially the handlebars and exhaust. Our grandson is the only one in his play group with his own ride.

There are some very talented do-it-yourselfers on this board. Nice work, I'd hire you.

I had a deck at previous house & was very dissatisfied with it....constant maintenance, things falling between boards (toys, cooking utensils).
We have a large patio now & love it.

I am sooo glad we replaced the funky old deck that was here when we purchased with a limestone patio.
Around here, skeeters hand out under decks and upkeep on decks is a pain in the pocketbook.
Good luck with whatever you decide!

We are at the point of planning our deck or patio and living on a small lot I feel like a patio will flow better than a deck. The deck would be about 9 inches high so IMO it will make my small yard look smaller. I also like the low maintenance that a patio offers. So I'm going with a patio....I think. Does anyone know if they are much more expensive? That could be the deal breaker for me...Thanks!!
jrzygrl

We have an older deck that needs (at least) the deck boards replaced. Two summers ago we installed a paver patio next to it, to take advantage of a sliding door to 'nowhere' rather than extending the existing deck. We love the patio, and are looking at removing the existing deck and extending the patio rather than re-decking. The patio is cleaner, no critters can get under it, and it looks much classier than the deck. Plus, the deck looks massive, while the patio better integrates with the yard and makes the yard look much bigger. My two cents.

Very good discussion. Wanted to comment to fmnroberts re "Where we live, the city fathers consider a structure with a roof to be a room addition. Most likely our final structure will have a removable canvas covering to beat them at their own game". Have a suggestion for you. Build your pergola then use greenhouse shade cloth on the top. It can be stapled to simple 2 x 2 frames and laid over the beams. Easily removed in the fall to enjoy winter sun. The fabric lasts for years and is not expensive.

Hope this helps.
Rosie in Sugar Hill, GA

iinsic I totally agree with you! go for the patio.
For all of you that have a pation already I would love to hear from you. What do you like about your patio surfaces? I have seen alot of patio's with grass separating the pavers, tiles, or blocks and although I like the look I wonder if there is a problem with weeds etc. defeating the purpose of a low maintanence surface.
comments are soo appreciated.
thanks! j

rosiew

Amazing - this post began more than a year ago and has life again.

Thanks for your suggestion. The pergola is under construction now. We did give consideration to using greenhouse shade cloth but opted to install lattice atop. Should the shade be insufficient we'll make a change. Are afraid that the adjacent trees will cause leaves, etc. to be constantly on shade cloth and can blow away.

Have had to downsize the shade area because the city said 12 x 16 is too large (now 8 x 12) - even though they previously approved the footings. The most incompetent, arrogant and disgusting lot of bureaucrats anywhere. No discussion, was told a variance would not be approved, just that everyone must follow the rules. If you ever have a week I'll expound on my true feelings!

Thank you mlacombe for starting this discussion!!!

I am in need of making that decision. So tired of the wood deck maintenance. Especially the location gets the sun light all day long. It seems every 16 months we have to spend another $800 to refinish it. Thought of composite but it is not a good alternative.

My deck is very high above ground, about 10'. Do you think it will work? Do anyone of you still like your patio? I looked at the Ipe tile and not really sure about it. Any other suggestions?

Love the discussion!

I'd hate to walk down 10' of stairs, so I'd opt for the deck with ipe if you prefer the 'wood' look or azek composite if you like the 'painted' look.

We have a paver patio with a pergola on it (it's about 15x25 overall) and now are looking at putting a deck and screen room over 1/2 of it (14x14). It's funny how there is always room for improvement.:) The only time I get to sit down is in the evening, and the skeeters have eaten us alive the last 2 years.

Good luck with your decision. If you decide to go pavers and are a DIYer, check out back issues of Family Handyman. Very easy instructions.