Here’s a testimonial from a very happy deck customer.
“I hired Steve from Timeline Journey Construction to build my deck because I was having hard time finding a contractor who could my somewhat unusual ideas with a builder’s expertise. I have found that some contractors either have fixed ideas about how a project should look, or they wait for me, the customer, to come up with the entire plan. In my case, I didn’t have a full picture of how it would be or how it should be structured, but I knew I wanted to incorporate some reclaimed materials I had collected, and the final product had to serve several purposes for lounging and poolside activities.
I needed Steve’s input to ensure that everything met the code requirements, plus his ideas about how to best achieve the look and feel I was after.
This is my deck just before the project was completed.
“It is situated over a very steep grade in my backyard. We started with an existing 10×12 upper deck, which was never used because of it’s sun exposure and lack of privacy. Steve built a roof over deck, and added privacy walls with windows, to allow a view and light, but protect the space from weather and overly friendly neighbours.
Here’s a view of the old deck from the backyard. You can see that the trumpet vine was dominating the staircase behind it:
“The deck used to have a long staircase leading to the ground. Steve came up with the idea to have a two-level deck with two shorter staircases. He recessed the stairs leading to the upper deck to maximize space on the lower deck.
“The challenge with the lower deck was to shape it to fit around our above ground swimming pool. I knew we wouldn’t always have this pool so I wanted a design that would also highlight a garden below. Right now we place the pool ladder at the opening in the rails. It’s a perfect setup.
“Some of the reclaimed materials I wanted to incorporate into the design included some twig wall panels, discarded old windows I found by the roadside, and some old barn board from a Mennonite farm.
“Here you can see how Steve used the barn board and twig panels to form a privacy wall at the side of the lower deck:
The reclaimed windows provide some weather protection without blocking the view:
“My giant old trumpet vine was growing next to the stairway of the old deck. Steve had no problem building around it. I placed a planter around the base to make it look like it’s sitting on the deck but the roots are actually five feet below under the deck. The structure supporting the vine will become part of some built-in seating I am planning.
“A few more twig panels with barn board were incorporated on the other side of the lower deck. The winds here are very strong so it works nicely to allow privacy without completely blocking out the view.
“Each year I think of a few more things I would like to do to improve our outdoor living area. When I’ve found the materials I want to use, I call Steve and we get to work. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the way I can describe my ideas to him but he does all the figuring out. He knows the code, he has a lot of building experience, and he’s very interested in new ideas, so his expertise helps me get what I’m after. I get to have the one-of-a-kind outcome I am after with the assurance that it’s all very well built.
“One day I hope to hire Steve for an entire home renovation. For now I can enjoy this beautiful view from the upper deck: