Two errors often made by people who decide to have decks built

People who decide to have decks built on their commercial or residential properties will often make one or both of these errors during this process.

Tearing down a feature they love to make space for the deck without consulting their decking builder

If there is a fixed feature on a person's property that they love (such as a carefully tended rosebush or a beautiful stone water fountain) that is in the area where they need to build their deck, they may decide to tear this feature down without talking to their decking builder first. This can happen if the person in question mistakenly assumes that there is no way to retain this feature and that it needs to be sacrificed if they want to have their deck built.

However, a talented deck builder could enable a person in this situation to have their deck and to keep the existing feature that they love so much. For example, if there is a square water fountain in the construction area, the builder could create a square-shaped gap (whose dimensions are just slightly larger than the fountain itself) when laying the deck's floorboards so that this feature can remain in place. In addition to helping the property owner to hold onto their favourite feature, this approach could give the deck a much grander look and reduce the time that the person has to spend prepping their building area before the deck construction can begin (as removing a stone fountain would take a lot of time).

Using salvaged timber that's in bad condition to build the deck

Sometimes, environmentally conscious or frugal individuals who want to have decks built will sometimes decide to use salvaged timber instead of new wood. This is not always a terrible idea but can be a mistake if the timber that they use has not been cared for properly and is in bad condition because of this.

The reason for this is as follows: any timber structures erected in outdoor locations will take a battering. They are not only continuously subjected to changing weather conditions but are also under threat from wood-boring pests like bark beetles and termites. As such, if a person insists that their deck builder use secondhand timber already in a state of deterioration when it is first installed, the chances of the deck they make with this wood being able to withstand any weather or pest-induced damage for longer than a year or two will be quite low. In these circumstances, it would be better, in the long run, to build it with new timber than is in perfect condition and will, therefore, remain intact for many years.