Integrating fence into deck or patio

Particularly in urban environments, decks that are bordered by a fence, or decks that integrate the fence component into the design are common.  There are a variety of advantages to coordinating fence enclosures with your deck that contribute to that appeal. 

A border that flows easily from one backyard structure to another provides an aesthetic advantage, which makes a standalone structure less intrusive. Landscaping that further amalgamates various elements of your back yard provides a smooth transition from the natural environment to the man-made modules.

Continuing the construction design of a deck with a fence constructed of similar materials provides cost and construction savings, as well. However, disparate materials and accents can provide a focal point for specific features that you wish to highlight.

When designing the layout, materials and visual impact of your fence and deck combination, you should view the package as an extension of your inside living space since, indeed, you are expanding your home by adding this seasonal outdoor living feature.  Consider, carefully, how you have utilized your outdoor space in the past, what your social entertainment needs for the space may be, and how you would like to use this space to greatest benefit.  Rather than attempting to emulate a design that you saw in a magazine or at an outdoor living show, adapt your plan to meet your individual wants, needs and preferences. Having a large deck with a host of accent pieces, fancy accessories and so on may look great in the showroom or in a magazine, but may not meet your personal needs.

By integrating the fence into your deck design, you will be able to isolate this outdoor living space more effectively, and develop features that blend well. For those of us that prefer to hold larger social gatherings in our back yards, consider a more Spartan design, with fewer adornments.  The open, Spartan feel will allow for greater freedom of movement by guests.  In that instance, a simply designed fence, with clean lines, will suit your needs.  But if you prefer more intimate gatherings, consider building alcoves or seating elements into the perimeter enclosure, turning the fence into seating and areas more amenable to one-on-one conversations.  If you prefer to use your backyard as a place of privacy and contemplation, consider deck swings and softer bench designs that blend into your fence and deck, and allow for the two of you to contemplate your surroundings peacefully.

Practical considerations are important in planning the layout of your fence and deck combination, as well.  For decks that are elevated 24 or more inches above ground, building codes in your region may well require a fence that meets minimum standards.  On a ground-level deck, a fence may act as an impediment rather than an attraction.  If children or pets are involved, you may need to provide a fence that offers security and a safe enclosure.

The design and integration of a fence into your deck and patio should not be a casual consideration, but undertaken only after considering the use to which the area will be put, and your specific needs or requirements.

Deck Gardening

Gardening on decks  has made a comeback that rivals the comebacks of Brett Favre, George Foreman or Evander Holyfield.  The new “green” movement, combined with the 100-mile diet has stimulated backyarders and urban farmers to rejuvenate their green space into black and green (as in soil and veggies).

But the new gardening enthusiasm has opened myriad new prospects for petunias and venues for veggies.  Across urban North America, rooftops are blooming with flowers, glowing with grass and topped with trees, as green roof technologies offer an assortment of benefits.  Indoor gardens, hydroponics and soilless systems grace countertops and coffee tables.  Even patios, verandas and decks relinquish space to pots and planters of all sorts.

This gardening phenomenon (don’t call it a craze!) offers even more opportunity for avid green-spacers.  Built-in growing stations – larger than pots, and with watering or light-guiding systems – are found on deck edges and parapets of balconies.  One of the most novel approaches is to design eco-friendly fences with recesses and alcoves for favourite flowers or fruit bushes. 

More than decorative, these planting spots add a chance to include fresh fruits and vegetables to your city diet, fresh from your own city farm. 

Some of these planters have been incorporated into wooden fences, offering a break from the visual straight-line perspective that conventional walled fences present.  Others have been built into stone retaining walls, or dry-stack fencing.  Still more fit nicely into cinder-block or split rail fences.  Indeed, planters constructed into fence lines can be included in any material system, from wood to PVC. 

Planters that have been included in the integrity of a fence also may add stability, offering reinforcement against wind load, and a solid footing for longer lines of continuous-run fencing.

But garden fences offer the ability to combine a variety of fence styles and materials in one run.  Simply by including climbing vines, like clematis, grapes, hops or scarlet runner, the galvanized chain link fence, open horizontal board fence or even split rail fence is provided with a decorative façade that hides the plainness of these materials.

Constructing these fences, though, requires a professional touch and a personal flair for eye appeal.  For this reason, homeowners are urged to work with a quality fence builder, to ensure that their dreams and mental images are realized in the final design.

While the days of back lot vegetable gardens are not likely to return to the prominence that they had in the 1940s, the new gardener sees significantly more options and avenues to explore his own inner gardener.  And fences, no longer, are a barrier to garden growth!

How to Use Deck Pads

The term “deck pad” actually is an inappropriate term for a construction product that most often is used inappropriately, largely because of its name.

Many of the cement blocks used as deck support blocks actually are nothing more than 15 by 15, 18 by 18 or 24 by 24 inch patio slabs.  These slabs are generally 1.5 to 2” thick, which is insufficient for most deck applications.  Rather, a thickness of 3 or more inches on a pad is needed to bear the weight of most deck posts.

In addition, because deck pads seem so simple to use, they are often installed incorrectly.  A deck pad for any sized deck needs to be installed only after a level area of the surface soil has been scraped away and a layer of one inch of sand per square foot laid down and packed in place, to allow for proper drainage.

By installing the pads in a manner that is not solid or level, excess weight bears down on a smaller area of the pad, and can contribute to the pad breaking.  If the pad and deck are installed on a sloped surface, the posts (generally 4 by 4 inch) rest unevenly on the surface, and may actually slip downward over time, resulting in partial or complete collapse of the deck.

One of the better deck pad designs “traps” the four by four post in a raised square of concrete, preventing it from slipping.  However, where the height of the deck exceeds two feet or more, those four by four supports become nothing more than free-standing stilts, relying on whatever anchor is used to hold them to the deck framework.  With repeated vibration, or even strong winds, those pillars may shift.

The most appropriate use for deck pads is where the deck is not elevated at too high a distance from the ground, and where the deck is not excessively large. In some situations, deck pads may be used to support small extensions, or in between piles that are secured in the ground.  In this manner, they act as supplementary supports.

Deck pads also can be used where the deck is securely anchored to the building, and where there is no angled pressure or weight on the pad.  Ideally, deck pads work best where the cupped square opening allows the deck beams to rest fully in the cradle, rather than on a short or long post.

In softer soils, deck pads will rise and fall with varying moisture content, resulting in uneven deck plates.  For this reason, they must be installed on packed porous surfaces.

Many cities specify, in their building codes, where pads may or may not be employed.  If you are in doubt, and if your region does not have its own building code, review that of a nearby city, to determine what they see as the minimum standard for the use of deck pads versus footings, piles or foundations.

Ground Screws Versus Piles

The use of ground screws in fence construction has been a widely accepted practice for more than a decade, yet the use of ground screws for decks has not been as well embraced.  However, these innovative products offer significant advantages over conventional piles & posts or pad and post systems.  They have evolved considerably in recent years, with a wider array of types and widths.

Consumers are well advised, however, to either consult with a knowledgeable supplier or research the best type of screw to use with each specific application, to avoid the risks associated with employing a screw, pile or post that is inadequate for the task.  Many do-it-yourself decks are supported, in large measure, on good faith and not good foundation!

Simple, one-level smaller decks may well be adequately supported by a 4 by 4 post on a concrete deck pad.  Even then, though, improper levelling can lead to unbalanced load distribution and shifting.

One step beyond pad and post supports is pile or pile and post supports.  Piles offer the advantage over pads of distributing the weight into the soil below the deck, and providing an underpinning that is less likely to shift with varying soil moisture content and heavy deck traffic.  In most cases for larger or multi-level decks, pile systems are the minimum standard to ensure stability, durability and strength.

But ground screws go beyond pile or pile-and-post construction, particularly for the home handyman.  Simple ground screws can be easily removed and repositioned, unlike piles. With no digging, significant manual labour is eliminated.

Ground screws act in a similar manner to wood or metal screws.  Their spiral allows for less force to be needed to insert the screw into the soil, while the increased surface area of the screw face provides more stable contact with the binding soil.  This results in decreased frost heave and shifting due to dry or wet soil conditions.  On the other hand, the screw is not suitable for some soils, such as those with lots of rubble, loose compact such as gravel or sand, shale, sandstone, dense or frozen soils.

In spite of these drawbacks, though, screws are more adaptable, and casnn be inserted in close proximity to overhangs, where piles could not be driven.  Screws can be easily installed on slopes, and the light-weight equipment used for most applications is less disruptive than heavy pile-driving machinery.

Less digging and soil disruption means less waste left over and less cleanup and less noise during construction.  Both screws and pre-cast pilings can be subjected to structural load immediately after installation, whereas poured-in-place piles require drying time.

In spite of the numerous advantage of screws, though, factors such as cost, building code requirements and aesthetic considerations need to be factored into decision-making.  To ensure that your deck supports are properly designed, we advise that you consult with a building professional, to determine the application that is most appropriate.