Creative Decks

Your Outdoor Living Specialist

"Design Drawings and Construction Plans"

Framingham, MA

508-877-1060

Decks

The Dog Friendly Deck

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Part of great deck design is making sure the deck is a fun, safe space for everyone who will use it. This certainly includes your canine companions! Dogs spend a lot of time on decks, especially during the warm weather months. When you’re talking to your local deck contractor about having your deck built, you’ll want to keep the following tips in mind:

Everything Needs to be Non-Toxic – Especially if You’ve Got A Chewer

Dogs chew when they’re anxious, when they’re bored, when they know you have company coming over…the list is endless. You don’t want them chewing on anything that will make them sick, so make sure your local deck contractor knows how important it is to use non-toxic building materials. This means no pressure treated wood or any other building product that contains arsenic. If your dog is a big-time chewer, look into spray on cribbing solutions – these are often sold in the equine section at farm stores. These coatings make wood taste bad, so your dog won’t chew.

Dogs Need Shade

A sunny deck is great -if you have the ability to leave it whenever things get too warm. If your dog is going to be confined on the deck for any period of time, it’s important to make sure they have a shady place to get out of the sun’s hot rays. It’s also nice for them to have shelter from any sudden rainstorm or other weather event.

The Rails Need to Be Close Together

Tell your local deck contractor that it’s important that your dog not be able to squeeze their body between the deck rails – something a determined pupper might do if they see a squirrel, another neighborhood dog, the mailman, or an opportunity to go exploring. This is particularly important on upper level decks, as not all dogs understand that they will fall a great distance if they try to escape!

Deck Contractors in MA: Who Can You Trust?

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This winter and spring has been pretty rough on homes throughout Massachusetts. Storm damage from high winds, water, flooding, ice and snow was widespread. Anytime this happens, a number of new contracting companies appear, eager to do business. If you’re looking for a deck contractor in MA to repair your existing deck, or to add a new deck to your home, you’ll want to know you’re working with someone who is professional, reliable, and trustworthy. Here are some tips for finding that person:

Does Your Neighbor Have a Great Deck? Ask Who Built It

When you’re going through the community as part of your daily routine, pay attention to the area homes. If your friend, neighbor, or community acquaintance has a great deck, ask them who built it. This is often the easiest way to find a deck contractor in MA: the work recommends itself.

Use Social Media – Strategically

Let your online friends know you’re looking for a deck contractor in MA. Facebook has a ‘looking for recommendations’ feature that’s very handy. If you belong to any community based Facebook groups, they can also be a great source of information on local contractors. Bear in mind that some people online will be recommending either their own business or that of their friends, so you’ll want to do a little more research before moving forward, but it can be a great starting point.

Do an In Person Interview Before Saying Yes

You want to have a meeting with any prospective deck contractor before they start working on your home. During this meeting, you will discuss what you’d like your new deck to be like, as well as your timeline and budget. Use this opportunity to ask the deck contractor about their experience, licenses, insurance and so on. It’s also a good time to get a sense of if this contractor is the type of person you want to have around your home. You’re not obligated to say yes to anyone, so if you don’t feel right about someone, say no until you find someone who is right for you.

Summer Is Better With A Screen Porch

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Screen porches are the best. This is particularly true in the Framingham area, where we have four distinct seasons. Each one is beautiful in its own way, but each one has its own particular ‘charm’ that can make enjoying the outdoors tough. We’ve just gotten over a tough winter, so there’s no reason to talk about that. Spring brings its share of heavy rains – being under the roof of a screened in porch means you can enjoy the fresh air without getting wet. Summer in Massachusetts means sunshine and more than a few mosquitos and flying biting insects. A screen porch provides a nice place to keep your family safe from West Nile, Zika, and other insect borne diseases. The fall is all about glorious color. It can get chilly fast. The screen porch provides a space sheltered from the wind, that can warmed with heaters to keep everyone comfortable.

As a Massachusetts screen porch deck company, we’ve seen increasing numbers of families choose screen porches. They’re particularly popular when there are younger children or pets who need a safe place where they can be easily supervised. Older family members also enjoy the screen porch a great deal, as they are easy to get to and provide shelter from the sun’s harsh rays.

Some families choose screen porches that can serve as a summer time bedroom. Designing a screen porch for this purpose means taking into account the natural need for privacy while maintaining the open, airy feel of the screen porches. We’ve had clients who use their screen porch as a home office: working from home has never been more awesome.

If you’re thinking about a screen porch for your Massachusetts home, but you’re not sure of how it would look or what a screen porch would cost, let us know. We’d be happy to go over your options with you!

A Creative Deck Designer is Your Partner in an Awesome Summer

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“I don’t want to be all dramatic about it, but this year, I had a health scare that made me realize it’s time to focus on what’s really important to me,” Ron said. “My kids are growing up so fast. Our oldest is in middle school and that doesn’t seem possible. It feels like she was born yesterday, and she’ll be practically ready to move out tomorrow.”

As part of his determination to really spend time with his kids, Ron decided to have a deck added to his home. “I’m thinking of this as our command center. You want to eat – the grill’s up here, I’ll cook you a burger. Want to hang out? We’ve got this awesome hammock and a screen room where you can play on your phone.” Ron shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t even care what we’re doing, as long as we’re doing it together.”

Ron has lots of ideas for what he wants his summer to be like. “What does that mean in terms of deck design? I have no idea,” he said. “That’s why I sought out the best deck designer in Framingham, MA. I tell them what I want and they figure out how to fit all of those pieces together in a way that makes sense. They came up with a couple of plans, all of which were great, and my wife and I picked the one that we liked best, that fit our budget. It was really an enjoyable process, and that’s what working with a creative deck designer should be.”

You don’t have to know exactly what you want when you decide you want a new deck added to your Framingham home. It’s more important to understand how you’d like to use the deck and what would make that space enjoyable for your family. Tell us that, and we’ll do the rest!