For many people, getting together with family and friends is important, and once the weather is nice in the spring and summer, gathering outside on your deck can be enjoyable. Hiring a custom deck contractor to put together the perfect outside living space is often the best way to go, and if you have a pool or other feature you want to incorporate, it can typically be done. 

Starting From Scratch

One of the best things about building a new deck from scratch is that you can design it any way you want. A custom deck contractor often has a designer or engineer on staff that can help layout the deck and create a set of plans to work from that will create a solid structure that meets your needs and will stand the test of time. 

The deck contractor may be an engineer and do the design portion of the work themselves, which makes it easier to work with them to layout the deck. If the contractor is designing the structure, there is no middle-man; it is just you and the contractor discussing the options and determining the best design.

Incorporating Features

When you are designing your deck, take some time to look at custom decks online or in magazines before you get started. If there are features you like in those designs and would like in your deck, talk to your custom deck contractor about what can be added and where you would like it. 

Things like planters for small trees or custom seating can be part of the design, but it is essential that you include it early on so the structure can have the right support in the right areas to hold the weight of a tree and the soil or to support people siting on sections of the railing. 

You may want to have your deck raised or lowered in some area, and incorporating a pool deck or a hot tub into the deck can add a lot of versatility to the deck design. 

Understanding Critical Construction

It is crucial that you are working with a deck contractor that understands how critical the structure of the deck is. When the construction begins, the deck needs to have the proper support under it so that the deck will hold the weight of the things on the deck and the people that are using it. 

Let your custom deck contractor know how many people you anticipate having on the deck at one time so that they can design the structure to support the load and last you for many years.