deck? patio? both? please help

7 years ago

We are removing the existing two tier deck and are trying to decide if we should replace it with a deck or patio or a combo of both. One landscaper suggested we do an 11x11 deck similar to what we have now (refaced with new material) that steps down to a 20x20 patio area. The solution was suggested because of the 3 different door heights (they lead to sunroom, mud room and garage) we will have to address. The slider needs a minimum 3’ landing apparently. We figured that many sets of steps will take up a lot of room on a patio so we may as well have a large deck/landing. We considered doing a two level patio but it was cost prohibitive.

My thought was we could just do one larger deck to the end of the garage. A couple of steps from the house and elevated a step or two from the yard. My husband really wants a large ground level patio however.

We both want to maximize usable space to fit a dining area for our family of 6 as well as a sitting area with a gas fire table. If we do two levels i think we’d keep the grill on the top level but not use it for much else.

How do we decide which design is best for our house? Attached a a few photos taken from the backyard. I tried to capture the 3 doors and varying heights.

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Comments (2)

PRO
Yardvaark
7 years ago
If you have to connect to the two upper doors, and have a lower patio, I don't see how you can avoid having a transitional deck portion that connects to the garage door.

Presently there are 5 steps between grade and upper patio. By elevating the patio slightly, you could eliminate one step, which would improve ease of use.

A stab at an arrangement ...
kim k
Original Author
7 years ago
Thank you so much yardvaark! So our thought is to not have the second transitional deck only to have stairs from the first deck and garage door (they might connect?) leading to a (20’x20’ish) patio which will go to the end of the garage. So where there is currently landscape (a tree in your rendering) we will have all patio.

The new patio’s depth will extend about 6’ into the yard past the current deck. We don’t want to eat up too much of the yard since the kids use it often. We also have a sport court and gravel area with swing set adjacent to the grass (where i was standing while taking the photo).

We’re debating having the end of the patio that extends past the garage curve so we could possibly do a fire pit or fire table with comfy seating... maybe even an outdoor tv at some point. we also have pricing to build a rectangular pergola over the patio portion and would install a shade cover option with it.

We’re feeling a bit lost in this process though and it’s frustrating that deck and patio has to be done by two separate companies! I’m clueless how to bring it all together. So far no one has offered up drawings... which seems crazy for such an expensive project.
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