Do you find yourself walking out to the patio a little less often than you used to? When you first built it, you promised yourself that you would be out there every afternoon and evening. You would invite friends and family over and have the backyard parties you always dreamed of. You would spend lazy Sundays enjoying the weather, listening to the radio or reading a great book. And you lived up to that promise for a while. But then you got bored. You not only got bored, the custom deck you spent so much time designing has started to feel the effects of aging. It's time to put that spark back into your baby. Here are some ways to improve custom decks for outdoor relaxation.
Resurfacing
One of the quickest ways to improve the look of your patio is to simply clean it. You let one or two leaves stay and before you know it, the entire platform is covered in Autumn's leavings. It seems like a paradox, but it is difficult to care about custom decks that you haven't cared for. Get the broom out and take the first steps towards resurfacing the patio. Once you've got it clean, you may want to go a step further and get rid of any rust and rot and use sandpaper to remove any flaws that have developed in the wood. Staining and sealing the surface with a protectant will make it look like you had thousands of dollars worth of restoration done.
Minimize Flaws
When it comes to construction tricks, one of the best things you can learn is how to minimize flaws and accentuate the positives. As applied to your patio, this means taking a long hard look at some of the damage that has accumulated over the years. As long as there is nothing structurally unsafe about the platform, you can get away with simply hiding the problems. As a kid, you pushed your toys under the bed when you wanted to make quick work of a room cleaning. As an adult, you can use little tricks like turning boards upside down to hide their imperfections. You can even arrange your furniture in a way to hide flaws.
Install a Grill
Custom decks will always be a wise investment when it comes to building equity in your own home. But they should be more than that. Chances are you didn't choose to build it solely to make your house worth more money. No, you wanted to spend time out there. To get some of that enticement back, you might consider installing a built-in grill. If you're anything like most people, you love the taste of freshly grilled hamburgers and steaks. Putting a grill in is tasteful, practical, and will make your patio the prime destination for outdoor entertaining.