Expand your living space into the outdoors

Choosing Between A Deck Or Patio

What's the greenest way to build a deck? Would it be okay to utilize pressure-treated lumber? What's the simplest way to add on to your house? What type of decking is regarded as being sustainable, and what is the best way for attaching boards to the framing? Should the surfaces be finished? What product should I select? These are a few of the questions I hear about when designing outdoor living spaces.

Generally, the greenest deck is often a patio. Sure, wooden decks or balconies will be the only options should they have to be significantly above ground level, although there are masonry- and petroleum-based options that can be used in place of true lumber.

Outdoor living is a great way to expand our living space without increasing the level of conditioned space: it gets us out into the open air, to the nature we’re looking to preserve using the green building movement. But asking any “green” material to face up to the environmental exposure a deck is meant to is asking a lot. When the outdoor living area is going to be at or near grade, a patio-the masonry equal to a deck-can be a greener choice.

 When the word “patio” conjures images of dirty concrete with weeds sprouting up  through cracks, there are better options. Harvesting “urbanite” for reuse by breaking apart that old concrete into manageable pieces is one example; overlaying a drainage layer and topping it with permeable surface material. An intricate recessed patio can be assembled using salvaged granite stones from an old  foundation.

 Commercially ready, cement-based, interlocking modular paving blocks is definitely an affordable choice, although I'm partial to square concrete pavers occur a bed of crushed stone for any more formal look, or flagstones (flat, natural “cleft” surface fieldstone) for a rustic feeling. A designer I know built an extremely interesting patio using a mix of broken stone countertops, tiles, and glass. Slate roofing could be recycled into patio paving, but, like tile, the little, thin pieces would not be stable underfoot unless set into a bed of mortar. Stacked closely together on edge, though, the thin edges would create a unique, usable surface.
Brick, an old time patio surface, is hard to beat because of its combination of warm color and texture. Bricks could be locally made in most parts of the country or recycled from fine old buildings. Durability is definitely an issue in areas that freeze, though; search for “hard” bricks, tempered to be used as paving, or perhaps be prepared for them to disintegrate with time to their original type of clay particles.

Drainage options will be different based on several factors. If the patio sits over a well-draining site, it will likely be best and easiest to use a permeable base layer for instance crushed stone and leave gaps within the paving material to allow stormwater to drain through. The gaps could be filled with exactly the same material, or planted with moss (if it’s shady) or thyme (if it’s sunny). Weeds can be simply killed having a 50% solution of vinegar, or scraped out having a brush created for the purpose. Personally, I would not make use of a chemical for example Round-Up or burn the weeds having a flame, but those are other options, probably forget about harmful than standard deck maintenance techniques. If the site doesn't drain well, start with a well-compacted base of gravel with graduated particle size so the particles lock together. On top of that, construct a drainage layer using crushed stone, with a drain tile (4-in. perforated pipe is effective) to direct water to another the main site if necessary.

 Keep the size to roomlike dimensions, and when in doubt, make the length 1.6 times the width for any pleasing proportion. Patios require a sense of enclosure to feel inviting; masonry walls or shrubs and plantings produce a sense of containment. Whenever a tall wall looms over an abutting patio, bring the scale down with a trellis or pergola, or pull the patio from the house a little and plant a tall shrub or small tree between it and also the house. Full sun can make a patio (or deck) uncomfortably hot; a patio umbrella or perhaps a trellis engrossed in vines provides respite.

Consider low-level lighting and a source for cooking fuel-wood or gas-in the look stages. Outdoor cooking appliances keep heat out of the house (look for Energy Star models) and may be connected to gas or large propane tanks, if on site. Or, develop a fire pit or an outdoor barbecue. Your kitchen has had over the indoors as the heart of the house, the main gathering spot; duplicating kitchen functions outdoors will guarantee the patio is well-used.