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danni_in_pdx

Decks in Oregon are DUMB!

danni_in_pdx
11 years ago

First world problem, I know. But my DH and I are at odds over replacing and ugly, rotting pair of awkward decks off the back of our house and I am saying, why bother with another deck? Our house is a 3000+ sw ft Colonial on a bit of a slope. Our lot is a 1/4 acre. I want a spot for a hot tub, a screen porch so we can eat in peace, and a sunning deck for our teenage kids and their friends. We also eat outside-a ton and we have family over all the time (so dinners for 12 routinely.) But I am also the one who every year has to clean, restain, repair, the *&^$ing thing, and guess what? all that stuff goes right into the ground over the course of the year, and I am no environmentalist, but that is just bad news. So what are the options? I have yet to see an attractive (be honest) fake wood decking product, and the african varieties seem to be quite un-PC (something about having chil laborers deforesting whole areas there, not cool)... We are talking about a deck that will run 60' or so along the back of the house. So LOTs of whatever we use. Everyone here just builds decks, but it rains SO DANG MUCH is just seems like a bad idea. Suggestions please. My best outside living arrangements in previous locales were cement floored patios with overhangs, or one had that plastic (ugly) roofing over one half (where you could stay dry/cool and store furniture in the winter) and the other half had 2 x 4's on their thin sides for filtered light. My husband seems to want the 'height' of a deck, and to be sure, walking out our backdoor, you are four feet off the ground. But we aren't overlooking Mt. Hood, just a lush green yard and greenspace. I'd love to see pictures or hear ideas or suggestions. Oh, and our deck faces the HOT sun. So it is impossible to enjoy from 11-6 in the summer without shade near the house. The yard is shaded by trees. An inexpensive gazebo has saved us these past years, but it is time to be grown-ups and find a permanent solution to our deck situation.

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