Composite and natural hardwood decks that get you out of the house on the level, detailed to meet the hardscape rather than sit awkwardly beside it.

A deck solves a problem stone cannot. Where the finished floor of the house sits well above grade, a paved terrace means either a retaining wall and a great deal of fill, or a walk down before you are properly outside. A deck puts you level with the door on the first step.

There are two good answers to the material question. Composite decking holds its colour under light at altitude and does not want sealing every second summer. Natural hardwood such as ipe brings the grain and warmth of real timber, and is dense enough to stand up to wear and weather. Which is right depends on the house, the exposure and how the deck will be used.

Composite and natural decking

Light at 5,280 feet is harder on a deck surface than the winter is. Composite boards hold colour and stay dimensionally stable through the freeze-thaw swing without an annual sanding and sealing cycle. Natural hardwood such as ipe is one of the densest decking timbers there is; left alone it weathers to a silver-grey, or it can be oiled to keep its colour. Either way, board direction and joint layout are set against the sightline from the door rather than run out from whichever corner is convenient.

Framing and structure

What holds a deck up is what determines how long it lasts. Footings taken below frost depth, a ledger flashed so water cannot track behind it into the wall, and joist spacing matched to the decking rather than to a default. A deck that bounces underfoot in year one is a framing decision, not a surface one.

Rails, stairs and transitions

Railings are code-driven, which means the question is how to satisfy them without walling off the view. Cable, slim metal balusters and glass each read very differently from inside the house. Stairs down to grade follow the same discipline as stone treads — consistent risers, treads deep enough to take a real stride.

Where deck meets hardscape

Most decks fail visually at the edge, where the boards stop and the property starts. We resolve the junction as part of the design: a deck stepping down onto a paved terrace, planting brought up to soften the frame, and levels worked out so the change reads as intentional rather than as two projects meeting.

Shade and cover

A deck facing west is unusable at the hour people most want to use it. Pergolas, louvred structures and roof extensions bring the space back into play, and sizing them against the house — rather than against the deck — keeps the addition reading as part of the building.