Wooden Decking Construction in Houston

We want to work a wood deck into our landscape. What does Exterior Worlds think about this idea?
By its nature, wood has a warm texture to it and brings natural beauty to your landscape design. Wood decks invite friends and family out-of-doors, thus expanding your living space.

Wood decks enhance any landscapes, but work particularly well with these garden themes:

• English garden design. The English garden design is the essence of an informal garden and a wooden deck complements that informality. In an English garden, colors and textures in wild profusion draw you in to create a feast for the mind’s eye. Because plants are chosen for a strong mix of color, wood decks make a pleasing backdrop.
• Urban landscaping. An urban yard or garden usually presents difficult challenges, like unsightly utility easements or pint-size spaces that are all straight lines and right angles. The goal with urban landscaping, as with all landscape architecture, is to create spaces in which the home and architectural elements harmoniously integrate with their natural setting. Wooden decks fit neatly into this relationship.

• Japanese garden design. In this tradition, the garden is a microcosm of nature, therefore a deck design using wood fits in perfectly. You can create a conversation between it, the fences and gates, other elements important to a Japanese garden with its underlying philosophy of enclosure. The fence protects us from the outside world, the gate provides the threshold, and the wood decking connects us to our natural selves.

• Modern landscape design. This style, known for it fluid point of view, uses geometric shapes such as those found in the wood planks of a deck. Horizontal and vertical planes create a modern sensibility while colors and plantings evoke a warm, welcoming feel. To enhance the visual feast, water and light are often used, as in artfully-lit outdoor water fountains. It is the juxtaposition of linear and non-linear, soft and hard, free-flowing and restrained that defines modern landscape design.

What are the different woods we should consider?
Pressure-treated pine is the most popular choice for wooden decking in this region. It stands up well to our weather and damp soil.

However, cedar and redwood have natural resins that protect them from weathering and rotting, too. Cedar works well for decks because it possesses dimensional stability and a natural resistance to decay. These woods provide a firm base for many types of stains and paints.

Can Exterior Worlds help us with maintenance and ongoing care?
Moisture and the ultraviolet rays of the sun, something we have in abundance here in the Houston area, are the two biggest enemies of wooden decks. We help our clients address these issues with services included in our landscape maintenance contracts.

For regular cleaning, wood can be cleaned with a special cleaner and, for especially stubborn mildew stains, a small amount of household bleach diluted with water will work.

We suggest that wooden decks be protected every two years or so with a penetrating, clear wood finish or stain. We also check for protruding nail heads and any rotten areas, especially on stairs and railings.