Outdoor Living

When you have a nice private backyard like this one, it's so important to create an outdoor living space to enjoy it.  But it turned out to be a big job.  The original house had a deck and we thought it might just need some simple updates - but that was a pipe dream!!!  We discovered broken joists and a broken footing, so it ended up getting a major refresh.

Rear of house and deck - Before

And since we were doing such a major update, I wanted to do it right.  In keeping with the low maintenance approach for the exterior of the house, I wanted a decking material that wouldn't need a lot of work.  I had seen a composite decking material at a Hammond Lumber new product show last year and decided to look into it more.  There's nothing I like better than a good Made in Maine product and the decking is a perfect example!

Duralife is a composite decking system that's made in Biddeford, Maine.  I love that 90% of the decking is made from recycled materials and all of the raw materials come from within a 500 mile radius.  They were kind enough to send me a few photos of the manufacturing process.  This is the color we choose - called Slate - coming off of the extruder.  It's guaranteed not to stain, fade, mold or mildew for 25 years.  So that's about as maintenance free as you can get! (BTW - there is no kind of paid endorsement here, I just like that it's made locally!)

Getting ready for shipment

But before we could start installing the decking boards, the guys needed to rebuild the basic structure.  That's done with pressure treated lumber - which is in extraordinarily short supply during the COVID pandemic.  Maybe because everyone stayed home this summer, they built their own deck???  We ended up having to order different sizes than we originally planned - but were grateful we could get the lumber (oh and you've probably guessed, but the prices have skyrocketed!).

The decking went on pretty quickly.  The deck boards were 20' long and installed with hidden fasteners.  A pretty great look!

But to really finish a deck, you need to trim it out properly.  I just love this bright, white AZEK trim.  It requires zero maintenance and is such a great look!

Can you believe how much the back of the house has changed?

And while the rest of the house isn't finished, I just couldn't resist putting a few pieces of furniture out there to stage the deck.  Doesn't it look inviting?

The deck is so big, I don't have enough furniture to stage it!!!

I just love that wall of windows and doors!

Isn't this the perfect spot for an al fresco meal?

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