I had a different post planned for today, but I ordered the materials for The Creek Classic deck this week, and I’m so excited, I just have to share our plans! A friend of the family who has built homes for decades is building our deck for us, and although we initially planned on cedar for the decking and a maintenance free railing (I did not want to be touching up tons of spindles every year, but somehow restaining the deck didn’t sound as bad because I could have used a roller), he convinced us to change our plan. Here’s why we chose Azek (by TimberTech) for our deck.

This is not a sponsored post, I’m just really excited about our deck. 🙂

First of all, the warranty is second to none. Azek is guaranteed for 50 years! The decking material is capped polymer, so it’s essentially 100% plastic, making it extremely durable and able to withstand anything the harsh MN winters (and springs, and falls) throw its way. There’s no way we will be in this house for 50 years, but it’s nice to know that whoever lives here after us will still have a lovely deck to hang out on. Another reason why we chose Azek is that it’s completely maintenance free; all we need to do is power wash it each spring! There are also various color options, and I’m really excited about the combination we chose. So moving on to the pretty stuff…

When we made the call to go with Azek, I initially planned an all white deck with a black and white railing, but the only white decking TimberTech has is more of a whitewashed very off white, closer to sand color, and it wasn’t from the Azek line, which is what I really want. The color wasn’t going to work at all, and I’ve already detailed why we chose Azek, so I needed to find a different color option. Luckily, they do have bright white riser pieces and edge pieces, so I’m still getting a look I’m ecstatic about, and I might even love it more than my original plan. #happyaccident

Originally Adam wanted Coastline, but I’m not a huge fan of gray wood tones with my personal aesthetic, and I tend to gravitate toward warm mid level stains with no red undertones. I was vacillating between Weathered Teak and Cypress, but leaning toward Weathered Teak.

That’s what we finally chose, and it’s very similar to the stain we have on our railings and mantle, which got Adam on board. I love the slight variation in color throughout the boards, giving it more of an authentic stained wood look, without the annoying maintenance.

I actually really love the contrast of the wood look boards next to the white. And I think the wood will look cleaner than white (muddy kid feet, anyone?), so that’s an added bonus.

Our original railing plan was to do something maintenance free similar to the above, but our friend talked us into the Azek and then suggested he build us a custom railing to save money. He’s built them before, so knows he can build it quickly, which will save on labor, and he suggested cedar (which I can paint white before he even installs it) with black spindles, so the entire railing won’t ever need to be touched up, just the white areas. And it won’t get as much wear and tear as the decking boards, so it shouldn’t need to be touched up yearly. He also said it’s much easier to take the railing off and replace it with something else down the road than the deck. So much common sense here… He was speaking my language. 🙂

It turns out that what he wants to build us is super similar to the TimberTech Drink Rail shown above. I will paint the top white too though, so it will look slightly different.

One of our friend’s main selling points on this style railing (besides the ease of install and cost savings) was that it’s a great place to set drinks. What’s not to love about that?!

Now, moving on to our specific layout. We have a two story home on a walkout lot, so our deck will be ten feet off the ground.

Eventually we will put a patio under the deck, but that’s probably not happening until next year.

Our layout will be very similar to above, minus the taller posts and awning on the second level. Also, if anyone knows the original source for the above photo, I’d love to give credit. I couldn’t find it!

So you just have to use your imagination and picture something similar on the back of our house. Hopefully the deck will be done in a few weeks, and I’ll definitely share an update then! Do you invest much in your outdoor spaces? Why or why not?