If you have the skills, the tools and the do-it-yourself kind of attitude, you can design your own deck. Hiring a decking contractor is also an option if you are not comfortable working on your own. Whether you build your own deck or hire someone to do it for you, there's a lot of planning involved. We'd like to share with you a few tips that tell you how to design your own deck.

1. The "Why" of it:

First off, you might want to identify the reasons to build your own deck. These could be anything from increasing the living space to avoiding the high costs of a brick and mortar construction or simply taking advantage of the nature outdoors. When you design your own deck, you get exactly what you want while also experiencing a sense of achievement.

2. Visualize:

Think of how you would like your outdoor timber decking to be. What features you would like your deck to have? Will it be a large airy structure with separate play areas for children, a separate entertainment zone? What about accessing the kitchen from the deck during outdoor parties or barbeques or the seating arrangements? Make sure that you visualize your requirements in a deck and design it accordingly.

3. Research:

Once you have identified the reasons to timber deck plans and visualized how your deck should look like, do your research. Check out magazines and books on deck architecture that will show you how to build your own deck and give you other relevant information that could help you with your deck building project. The internet is also a great source of information; quite often you might be able to design your own deck just with the help of this info and at a fraction of the cost you might have imagined.

4. Decking Design:

If you are not sure how to design your own outdoor wood decking, it might be a good idea to ask a draftsman to do it for you. Based on what you are looking for, the draftsman will draw a design for your deck. Once your design is ready, decide on the materials to be used on each section of the deck and note them down. This will help you estimate the cost while also giving the outdoor wooden decking canberra (if you hire one) a clear idea of the decking specifications.

5. Estimating Costs:

When you design your own deck, the biggest advantage is that you can easily estimate how much it will cost. For this, you might need to visit a Pergola Builders to decide on the type of material suitable for your deck and work out the estimated cost. If the expenditure goes beyond budget, you can either modify your deck design or, you also have the option of selecting materials that cost less but are equally durable.