Backyard needs some love

[Slateman]

Hey guys, bought a new house. Well condo. But it has a townhouse sized back yard. And it's pure crap. Spent the last couple days simply cleaning up debris and weeds. Really need to rip out the deck, but before I can do that, I have to submit a description and plan to the HOA.

Here's what it looks like now:


From the kitchen door


From the edge of the deck, looking back at the house


Deck is rotting and needs to go


Diagram



So, here's what I want:
A small area for the dog to piss/crap in the grass/mulch in the morning/late evening.
An area to store a small grill (probably by the bedroom window).
An area to pull out the grill and grill some food.
A space for a small table and 3-4 chairs
Maybe a small fire pit/bowl.

I really don't want a deck. I think it looks crappy and not sure it's worth the work. I was thinking about some paver sand and some paver stones taking about half the space the current deck is taking. I don't want a lot of grass as I am uninterested in cutting it. Not sure how I feel about pouring concrete as a patio.

Thoughts OT?

[HalfSmokes]

I'd at least throw down some stain/sealer and put some putty on the rot - that deck looks awful, it's not much work and you may end up having to keep it because HOA.

My wife loves stained concrete and it's no work (I'm probably going to have to go that route next year)

she and her friends are obsessed with http://www.houzz.com/photos/outdoor for ideas

[Natsinpwc]

We have no HOA--when we moved in  in 25 years ago the previous owner had painted the deck--kept it up as best I could by stripping off what paint I could and then putting on sealer and stain.  Ended up replacing about 12 years ago now.  Yours does not look that bad really.  Good luck.

[mitlen]

I put Behr's Deckover on my 22 year old deck.    Worked like a charm to a) make it look better and B) help resolve some of the splintering issues.    I can now walk on my deck in socks/barefeet with out worrying about being snagged.     By your drawing, I'd say 2 gallons would cover it with one coat.     For the amount of the Deckover, you may find that's a cheaper solution than alternatives.    If you don't like it, you're only out two gallons.    The stuff is thick (helping cover splinters, etc.) and work to apply with a brush but is worth a try.

[Slateman]

We have no HOA--when we moved in  in 25 years ago the previous owner had painted the deck--kept it up as best I could by stripping off what paint I could and then putting on sealer and stain.  Ended up replacing about 12 years ago now.  Yours does not look that bad really.  Good luck.

When it rains, you can tell it's been warped and destroyed. The previous owners did not take care of it. If I was going to keep it, I'd probably have to redo quite a few planks. I'm not opposed, I just want to know if there are better options.

[HalfSmokes]

along the same lines, has anyone tried deck helmet? I was thinking about replacing our wood with composite (I really despise the maintenance) but the estimate from Long for a composite deck was about what we paid for our last car

[1995hoo]

along the same lines, has anyone tried deck helmet? I was thinking about replacing our wood with composite (I really despise the maintenance) but the estimate from Long for a composite deck was about what we paid for our last car

We used them because my wife's boss knows the owner. Our deck looks excellent and has stayed in terrific shape since we used them. I think their ads are a little misleading, though, because as far as I can tell they don't really transform your deck into a composite deck with some kind of special coating. Rather, it looks more like multiple very thick layers of paint. But our deck looks great and I could safely walk on it barefoot if I so chose (I seldom do). So it's not a case of their not doing a good job because they do; rather, it's just a case of the ads making it sound like a much more super-duper process than it really is. (But I have not had to powerwash nor seal the deck since the work was done.)

We had the work done in May of 2013. Here are two pictures from before and after, the first with the squirrel from December 2011 and the second with the cat from July 2014. That white stuff on the deck railing in the squirrel picture is Christmas lights. Our deck was built along with the house in 1993, BTW (I'm the second homeowner, bought the house in 2001.)

 

[mitlen]

We used them because my wife's boss knows the owner. Our deck looks excellent and has stayed in terrific shape since we used them. I think their ads are a little misleading, though, because as far as I can tell they don't really transform your deck into a composite deck with some kind of special coating. Rather, it looks more like multiple very thick layers of paint. But our deck looks great and I could safely walk on it barefoot if I so chose (I seldom do). So it's not a case of their not doing a good job because they do; rather, it's just a case of the ads making it sound like a much more super-duper process than it really is. (But I have not had to powerwash nor seal the deck since the work was done.)

We had the work done in May of 2013. Here are two pictures from before and after, the first with the squirrel from December 2011 and the second with the cat from July 2014. That white stuff on the deck railing in the squirrel picture is Christmas lights. Our deck was built along with the house in 1993, BTW (I'm the second homeowner, bought the house in 2001.)

(Image removed from quote.)  (Image removed from quote.)

That's similar to the result I got with the Behr's product. 

[HalfSmokes]

That's a lot better than I get with regular wash then stain

[mitlen]

That's a lot better than I get with regular wash then stain

Oh yeah.    I washed and stained mine for years.    Every year, I had to do something.    I applied the Behr's in May, 2013 and haven't done a thing to it since   ....   hose it off once in awhile to get rid of the bird crap from my feeder.

[HalfSmokes]

I think that may be my plan this year

[mitlen]

I think that may be my plan this year

BTW, it comes in a lot of colors.

PS   I did powerwash the deck before applying the Deck Over

[1995hoo]

That's similar to the result I got with the Behr's product. 

Might be, but I'm not enough of a handyman to have had either the time or the inclination to do all the work myself (had a couple of boards replaced as well—the third and fourth ones to the viewer's left of where the cat is standing in the second photo) and I'm certain that if I'd done it myself I'd have gotten stuff on the bay window surround and on the siding.

I need to do something about the lower level of our backyard. I ripped out all the ivy that had overrun it earlier this spring, although some is starting to come back (I'm reluctant to use Roundup because I don't want it running off into our neighbors' yards—the first has a really nicely landscaped backyard and the second has three little kids who might put things in their mouths). I'm kind of at a loss for what to put back there since the tree canopy has gotten denser over the years. Maybe hosta along the fence. Either way, I think it might as well wait until the HVAC system is replaced in the next month or two because workmen will be going in and out back there to install the thing.

[mitlen]

Might be, but I'm not enough of a handyman to have had either the time or the inclination to do all the work myself (had a couple of boards replaced as well—the third and fourth ones to the viewer's left of where the cat is standing in the second photo) and I'm certain that if I'd done it myself I'd have gotten stuff on the bay window surround and on the siding.

I'm retired.   

[blue911]

Tear it out and put in concrete pavers.

[Slateman]

Tear it out and put in concrete pavers.

Maybe. But I've been looking at stamped concrete and I like the look.

[mitlen]

Tear it out and put in concrete pavers.

Putting green

[imref]

hot tub?