“Dear Archadeck: We need a deck designer and deck builder because…

... warmer weather is just around the corner and we want to begin planning for a deck and screened porch in time for spring and summer use.  But our yard is wooded and sloping. Can a deck or porch be added to any home in spite of a home layout with a steep lot?”

Our answer is, “most certainly yes”… deck, screened porch or both!

We’ve built hundreds of decks throughout the Greater St. Louis area, including St. Charles County, over the years.  Here are just a few examples of a deck with screened porch combination for homes with steep and sloping lots.

A deck and a screened porch can be side-by-side or even ‘stacked’.  Take a look….

Composite Elevated Deck with Screened Porch in St. Charles for Steep Lot

Screened Porch with Upper Deck in St. Louis for a Sloping Lot

Deck and Screend Porch in St. Charles, Side-by-Side

Give us a call, 636-227-0800.  Archadeck will custom design and build any outdoor structure to suit your special circumstances, budget, personal preference and lifestyle.  Or visit our website, west-county.archadeck.com to see decks, porches, gazebos, pergolas, under deck roofing, pool and spa decking, deck lighting, deck railing and stairs (and more) throughout St. Louis, St. Louis County, West County, St. Charles and St. Charles County in Missouri.

To find an Archadeck location outside of the Greater St. Louis area, visit archadeck.com and enter your zip code.

Screened Porch and Deck Designs in St. Louis

Screen Porch and Deck in St. Louis County

In recent years, decks with screened porch additions have significantly increased in popularity as folks become less interested in moving and more interested in improving the value of their current home.  New low maintenance decking products and creative design ideas have added to the appeal.  It’s no wonder that St. Louis is filled with deck and screened porch lovers!

A screened porch is a pleasant place to enjoy the outdoors with shelter from the sun and heat, rain and bugs.  Screened porches are a favorite place to entertain, read or relax in the privacy of your very own outdoor world.  Combine a screened porch with a deck and you have the absolute best of both worlds for an outdoor living space.  Add porch and deck lighting to stretch ‘outdoor living’ into the night too.

Designing a screened porch and deck include considerations such as:

• Size – best suited for home, backyard and intended use
• Building materials/colors – to complement and blend with home/yard
• Roof style – gable, shed, or hip
• Ceiling finish – rafter, under deck, ceiling fan, lighting
• Railing type – knee wall or open wall; decorative deck balusters and railing
• Door placement —  maximize traffic flow from home to deck to porch to yard
• Flooring – weatherproof flooring for carefree maintenance

Screen Porch and Deck in St. Louis County

Screened Porch with Deck

Deck and Screened Porch in St. Charles

Vinyl Screened Porch in St. Louis, Eureka

Porch with Deck

Screened Porch with Upper Deck in St. Louis

Screen Porch and Decks in St. Louis, Mo

Deck with Screened Porch

Screen Porch and Deck in St. Louis

Archadeck will take you through our step-by-step design process to ensure your screened porch and deck project will complement your personal preferences, lifestyle and budget.

Click here, west-county.archadeck.com to visit our local website with picture galleries of beautiful decks and screened porches throughout St. Louis, St. Louis County, West County, St. Charles and St. Charles County.

If you live outside of the Greater St. Louis area visit archadeck.com and enter your zip code for a location nearest you.

Decks with Explosive Beauty: Tigerwood and Hardwoods

Tigerwood Hardwood Deck in St. Louis, Chesterfield area

Outdoor living structures such as decks, porches and gazebos can be designed and built with a variety of hardwoods including Tigerwood, a handsome hardwood emulating the appearance of a tiger’s coat; thus, the name.  Exquisite in detail, Tigerwood displays vertical striped patterns of brown and red tones mixed with background highlights.

Other ‘exotic’ hardwoods or ‘tropical’ hardwoods – renewable resources imported mostly  from South America –  are also popular and have an equally rich appearance bursting with visual impact.  Like Tigerwood, the benefits of these woods include:

1. rich variances of color, distinctive in appearance
2. easy to maintain and simple to clean
3. smooth, sleek surface and scratch resistant
4. dense, hardy and sturdy; exceptional quality
5. eco-friendly; harvested from responsibly planned/managed forests
6. ‘pure’ and preservative-free; resistant to dulling, decay, rot, insect damage

Just ask Archadeck about the explosive beauty of Tigerwood and other tropical hardwoods.

Tropical Hardwood Gazebo and Deck in St. Louis and St. Charles area

In addition to hardwoods, Archadeck custom designs and builds outdoor living spaces using natural cedar and other wood.  We can also duplicate the ‘look’ of wood and hardwood with today’s vinyl and composite products by TimberTech, AZEK, Trex, Fiberon, EverGrain and more.

Call us, 636-227-0800 or visit our local St. Louis area website, west-county.archadeck.com.

Outside of the Greater St. Louis area, visit archadeck.com and enter your zip code for a location near you.

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Archadeck is a premier deck designer and builder.  We serve all areas of St. Louis and St. Charles counties in Missouri and parts of Illinois.  Our other specialties:  screened in porches, gazebos, pergolas, covered and front porches, patio covers, under deck ceilings, arbors, deck railing and stairs, benches, deck lighting and much more.

Wood Decks in St. Louis and St. Charles… porches, pergolas, gazebos too

Cedar Deck in St. Louis, Wildwood area

Are you planning an addition for your backyard such as a deck, porch, pergola or gazebo?

Archadeck can help you get the process started with project ideas and material samples.

Whether you begin with a deck or choose to combine several elements for a larger project, we keep the process simple no matter the scope of the job.  We’ve been doing this a long time, so we can offer plenty of local support and expertise for deck building in St. Louis and St. Charles.  It’s all about designing the right structure with the right materials to fit the homeowner’s preferences, budget and lifestyle.

Shown here is a classic cedar deck that complements stone accents and wooded landscaping near Wildwood, Mo in St. Louis County.  Wood, composite or vinyl decks can be a great place to start living outdoors.

Visit our local website to see special offers and beautiful decks, porches, pergolas, gazebos (and more) in St. Louis, St. Louis County, West County, St. Charles and St. Charles County in Missouri.  Or call us, 636-227-0800 for a free estimate.

Outdoor Living Structures — The Most Affordable Way To Improve Your Home’s Value

Reblogged from St. Louis Decks, Porches, Pergolas and Gazebos:

Archadeck of West County and St. Charles County  helps homeowners make improvements to their home’s outdoor living space with upgrades, remodeling, or expansion. And today, many homeowners are adding outdoor living structures such as a new deck, pergola, porch or gazebo to their list of home improvements in order to increase their home’s value. When determining a home’s value, an appraiser looks at factors such as lot size and square footage, age of the home, number of rooms, type, condition and …

St. Louis Decks: Spotlight on EverGrain Decks

EverGrain Golden Oak Vibrance Deck in St. Louis, Fenton area

With the EverGrain option, our customers find that a custom deck designed and built by Archadeck is affordable, durable, authentic and attractive.

Emulating the appearance of ‘real’ wood, low maintenance EverGrain composite has color variations including:  Oak, Birch, Cherry, Grey, Redwood, Weathered Wood and Forest Green, each weathering to a softer, lighter shade over time.

Combine two or more colors in your deck’s floor board design and trim for a truly custom design, unique to you.  Next, add EverGrain’s coordinating railing and hidden fasteners for a smooth deck surface with a unified ‘look’.

With custom design options and a full array of composite colors, your deck or porch will certainly complement your personal taste and blend beautifully with your home and backyard.

EverGrain Color Samples

EverGrain is a popular choice in St. Louis for custom decks and porches — a cost-effective product that lasts for years.

Archadeck uses decking and railing products — from traditional to state-of-the-art – including pressure treated lumber, cedar, other woods and exotic hardwoods, composites and vinyls.  Archadeck partner manufacturers include TimberTech, EverGrain, AZEK, Trex, Fiberon, Deckorators, Ipe, Tigerwood and more.  Call us at 636-227-0800 for a free estimate. 

Visit Archadeck of West County and St. Charles County to see more pictures of decks, porches, pergolas, gazebos, stairs and railings from America’s #1 deck builder.  Locally we serve all of St. Louis, St. Louis County, West County, St. Charles, and St. Charles County in Missouri as well as parts of Illinois

Spotlight on EverGrain Decks in St. Louis and St. Charles… a slideshow

EverGrain is a popular choice for decks and porches with its beauty, affordability and durability.

Watch the slideshow below to see examples of EverGrain decks in St. Louis and St. Charles.  Deck design and deck building by Archadeck.

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Archadeck – America’s #1 deck builder.

We design and build decks, porches, pergolas, gazebos (and more) for all areas of St. Louis and St. Louis County, St. Charles and St. Charles County and parts of Illinois.  Call 636-227-0800 for a free consultation or visit our website, Archadeck of West County and St. Charles County today.  Start enjoying the outdoors!

The Great American Porch by Archadeck… a slideshow.

Welcome Home.  Stay Awhile.  A porch by Archadeck is stylish hospitality at its finest.

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Visit our local website and let Archadeck of West County and St. Charles County custom design a porch for your home.  Or call us, 636-227-0800.  We build decks, porches, pergolas, gazebos (and more) in St. Louis, St. Louis County, West County, St. Charles, St. Charles County and parts of Illinois too. 

 

If you live outside of the Greater St. Louis area, visit Archadeck.com and enter your zip code for a location nearest you.

The Great American Porch is Making a Comeback

Front Porch with Lattice Skirting

Many of us are re-evaluating lifestyles with a growing desire to ‘simplify’… getting ‘back to basics’, reducing stress, improving health, spending quality time at home with our family and friends.  To address this frame-of-mind, the old-fashioned charm of the American porch is making a comeback.

A charming front porch — or back porch — is as American as apple pie.  And with the design and building experts at Archadeck, adding a porch is ‘as easy as pie’ too!

A front or back porch improves the appeal of your home, in an inviting way, while providing a shaded entry and a casual seating area for relaxing, visiting with neighbors or just watching the world go by.  Best design techniques ensure the porch size complements the architectural style and size of your home.  With exceptional design, a porch addition says “Welcome Home” to your family and ‘Please Stay Awhile’ to visitors.

AZEK Front Porch with Vinyl Railings and Columns in St. Louis

The Great American Porch is a perfect picture of hospitality and good taste which will never go out of style!

 

Let Archadeck of West County and St. Charles County custom design a porch addition for your home. 

 

Contact us by phone, 636-227-0800; by email, weststcharles@archadeck.net; or visit the porch photo gallery on our local website for pictures of porches, including screened porches, throughout St. Louis, St. Louis County, West County, St. Charles and St. Charles County. 

 

Or for an Archadeck Outdoor Living location outside of the Greater St. Louis area, visit Archadeck.com.

2012 Deck Safety Check-Up

The economy has left many homeowners delaying the inspection and repair of decks and other outdoor structures such as porches, gazebos and pergolas.  Take advantage of Archadeck’s new “Be Safer” campaign, offering tips for homeowners to ensure deck safety.

According to a press release by Archadeck, “As homeowners review their budgets for this year, many are considering where to spend money to maintain and update their homes.”  The local deck and outdoor living experts at Archadeck, serving St. Louis and St. Charles, are reminding homeowners to check their decks for safety concerns to prevent accidents.

To ensure safety, particularly for decks that are older than 10 years, here are seven deck safety guidelines:

• Boards:  Inspect the condition of deck boards.  Over time, minor splits or cracks are expected for wood; however, deck boards should be free of damage and safe to walk on.
• Connections:  Check every connection on the deck, fasteners and metal hardware connectors, to ensure they are corrosion-free.
• Structure:  Posts, beams and joists are a deck’s structural framework and should not display sagging between supports.
• Attachment:  It is imperative that the ‘house band’, where the deck is attached to the home, has structural integrity with properly installed bolts for strength and water protection.
• Foundation and Footings:  Foundation and footings support the weight on a deck and columns that bear on them.  No sinking or sagging allowed.
• Exits:  Deck exits usually involve deck stairs.  Inspect handrails, lighting, treads and risers for material and structural conditions for safety.
• Rails:  It is essential that deck rail posts and deck railings aren’t wobbly or loose.  Deck railing balusters (or pickets) should be securely fastened and correctly spaced.

If you would like a professional deck safety inspection in St. Louis, St. Louis County, West County, St. Charles, St. Charles County and parts of Illinois, please call our local office 636-227-0800 or visit our website.  If you live outside of the Greater St. Louis area, contact Archadeck.com for a location near you.

Deck Safety in St. Louis and St. Charles. Structure, Posts, Beams, Stairs, Lights, Railing, Connections

Safe and Secure Porch Ceiling in St. Louis County

Safety Check. Solid Porch Railing with Open Deck Railings in St. Louis

Safely Drain Water with Properly Installed Under Deck Ceiling in St. Louis and St. Charles area

Composite Deck over Patio in St. Louis County. Beautiful example of safe and secure construction.

Solid and Sound Deck and Screened Gazebo in St. Louis and St. Charles area