A deck with all the trimmings
June, 2010
North Jersey Homes
If you're building a new deck or remodeling an old one, consider which finishing touches will make the outdoor living space attractive and comfortable for you. Railings are a must for safety, and other features can add to both the convenience and the aesthetics.
How much will they add to your bill? It depends on the amount, style and type of materials you request.
Railings
When decks were mainly wood, so were railings. These days, many more decks are made of low-maintenance composite materials, and railings often follow suit. However, a composite railing can cost two to three times as much as plain wood.
"A basic wood railing is not real pretty," explained Greg DiBernardo of Bergen Decks, Waldwick (bergendecks.com). "It also tends not to hold up as well as composite, and it usually has a thick baluster that obstructs your view."
When his workers do build a wooden deck, they often use aluminum or steel balusters. "A steel railing system looks like wrought iron but doesn't rust," he said. "And a metal baluster can be much thinner."
Mark Swanson of Leisure Living Inc., Fairfield (leisureliving.com) agreed that composite railings are more expensive, but pointed out, "Everything you lay out is right up front. You don't have to worry about slivers or warping and you won't have to keep painting or staining."
Swanson noted that building codes regulate the spacing of the gaps in a railing, for child safety, and require that a railing going down stairs must have a "grippable" shape. His company has also made gates in deck railings for people with small children.
Bump-outs
A bump-out on a deck to accom-modate an outdoor grill has become a popular request, said Sean McAleer of Deck Medic/Deck Remodelers, Sparta (deckremodelers.com).
"If a deck is just a little too small for grilling, we can add a bump-out and reset the grill into it," he said. "When you think about it, either side of a grill on a deck is dead space. We can even create a faux built-in kitchen by putting some Corian counters around the grill."
Add a built-in planter near the grill, and the chef can even have fresh herbs within reach!
Benches and Planters
As with railings, benches and planters clad in composition deck materials can be expensive, and both need wooden inner frames to hold their shape.
"On a small deck, you don't want benches taking up space if you're not going to use them that often," DiBernardo said. "We typical add them on bigger, more elaborate decks." He described one advantage - "If you have children, you can push a picnic table up to a bench and fit 7-8 kids on that side."
Regarding planters, he said, "Some people want them filled with dirt, but that gets very heavy. It's better if they accommodate plastic flower pots."
The Leisure Living carpenters build all their benches and planters from scratch. "To add a couple of benches and a planter to a deck only costs $300-600," Swanson said.
Privacy Walls
A client may request a privacy wall on a deck, DiBernardo said, to screen out the house next door or something unsightly like an air conditioning unit.
"If the neighbors are very close and you're on your deck, you're on a stage for the whole neighborhood to see," he explains. "We can do a privacy wall about eight feet long to isolate you.
"If it's built from composite, we have to clad both sides, and that gets expensive. But we can do pressure-treated wood or cedar and stain it to match the composite. The customer just needs to restain it every couple of years."
Lighting
McAleer installs mainly low-voltage lighting on decks, concentrating on the rails and stairs. "You don't want a shining spotlight, you want mood lighting," he said.
DiBernardo also does low-voltage on 95 percent of his decks. "It defines the perimeters at night, with no big spotlights to attract bugs," he said. "We put it on the stair risers for safety and on a level change where the deck has a step down."
He praised LED lighting versus incandescent - "There are no bulbs to replace, it's highly resistant to water so it won't short out, and it requires much less voltage to operate."
- EILEEN WATKINS
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HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Railings: The contractors agreed it's hard to price this without seeing the project. "It doesn't work out by linear foot, but by section and how many posts you're putting in," said DiBernardo. "A basic, pressure-treated (wood) system on a 12-by-12-foot deck would run about $600, including labor. On the higher-end of metals or composites, it would be more like $600 per section."
Benches: A basic straight bench, 8-12 feet, costs about $800, depending on the decking materials used.
Planters: A box four feet long by two feet wide and 18 inches deep runs $450-500.
Privacy Wall: At about 8 feet long, in stained wood, $700; both sides cladded in composite, $3,000.
Lighting: "Relative to the cost of the job, it's not that expensive - on a $32,000 deck, the lighting is about $1,700," DiBernardo said.
- Prices from Bergen Decks
PHOTO COURTESY OF BERGEN DECKS
This multi-level North Jersey project by Bergen Decks incorporates several custom benches. The railing and deck materials are synthetics manufactured by TmberTech.
If you're building a new deck or remodeling an old one, consider which finishing touches will make the outdoor living space attractive and comfortable for you. Railings are a must for safety, and other features can add to both the convenience and the aesthetics.
How much will they add to your bill? It depends on the amount, style and type of materials you request.
Railings
When decks were mainly wood, so were railings. These days, many more decks are made of low-maintenance composite materials, and railings often follow suit. However, a composite railing can cost two to three times as much as plain wood.
"A basic wood railing is not real pretty," explained Greg DiBernardo of Bergen Decks, Waldwick (bergendecks.com). "It also tends not to hold up as well as composite, and it usually has a thick baluster that obstructs your view."
When his workers do build a wooden deck, they often use aluminum or steel balusters. "A steel railing system looks like wrought iron but doesn't rust," he said. "And a metal baluster can be much thinner."
Mark Swanson of Leisure Living Inc., Fairfield (leisureliving.com) agreed that composite railings are more expensive, but pointed out, "Everything you lay out is right up front. You don't have to worry about slivers or warping and you won't have to keep painting or staining."
Swanson noted that building codes regulate the spacing of the gaps in a railing, for child safety, and require that a railing going down stairs must have a "grippable" shape. His company has also made gates in deck railings for people with small children.
Bump-outs
A bump-out on a deck to accom-modate an outdoor grill has become a popular request, said Sean McAleer of Deck Medic/Deck Remodelers, Sparta (deckremodelers.com).
"If a deck is just a little too small for grilling, we can add a bump-out and reset the grill into it," he said. "When you think about it, either side of a grill on a deck is dead space. We can even create a faux built-in kitchen by putting some Corian counters around the grill."
Add a built-in planter near the grill, and the chef can even have fresh herbs within reach!
Benches and Planters
As with railings, benches and planters clad in composition deck materials can be expensive, and both need wooden inner frames to hold their shape.
"On a small deck, you don't want benches taking up space if you're not going to use them that often," DiBernardo said. "We typical add them on bigger, more elaborate decks." He described one advantage - "If you have children, you can push a picnic table up to a bench and fit 7-8 kids on that side."
Regarding planters, he said, "Some people want them filled with dirt, but that gets very heavy. It's better if they accommodate plastic flower pots."
The Leisure Living carpenters build all their benches and planters from scratch. "To add a couple of benches and a planter to a deck only costs $300-600," Swanson said.
Privacy Walls
A client may request a privacy wall on a deck, DiBernardo said, to screen out the house next door or something unsightly like an air conditioning unit.
"If the neighbors are very close and you're on your deck, you're on a stage for the whole neighborhood to see," he explains. "We can do a privacy wall about eight feet long to isolate you.
"If it's built from composite, we have to clad both sides, and that gets expensive. But we can do pressure-treated wood or cedar and stain it to match the composite. The customer just needs to restain it every couple of years."
Lighting
McAleer installs mainly low-voltage lighting on decks, concentrating on the rails and stairs. "You don't want a shining spotlight, you want mood lighting," he said.
DiBernardo also does low-voltage on 95 percent of his decks. "It defines the perimeters at night, with no big spotlights to attract bugs," he said. "We put it on the stair risers for safety and on a level change where the deck has a step down."
He praised LED lighting versus incandescent - "There are no bulbs to replace, it's highly resistant to water so it won't short out, and it requires much less voltage to operate."
- EILEEN WATKINS
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Railings: The contractors agreed it's hard to price this without seeing the project. "It doesn't work out by linear foot, but by section and how many posts you're putting in," said DiBernardo. "A basic, pressure-treated (wood) system on a 12-by-12-foot deck would run about $600, including labor. On the higher-end of metals or composites, it would be more like $600 per section."
Benches: A basic straight bench, 8-12 feet, costs about $800, depending on the decking materials used.
Planters: A box four feet long by two feet wide and 18 inches deep runs $450-500.
Privacy Wall: At about 8 feet long, in stained wood, $700; both sides cladded in composite, $3,000.
Lighting: "Relative to the cost of the job, it's not that expensive - on a $32,000 deck, the lighting is about $1,700," DiBernardo said.
