Monthly Archives: March 2014

Longer Days, Shorter Nights on your Deck

We’ve passed the Vernal Equinox, the days start getting longer and the nights start getting shorter. Something to celebrate when you want as much time in the sunshine to spend outside on your deck in Virginia!

dreamstime_s_4884880With the official start of spring, the last frost dates are on the horizon. Think about getting your plants ready for the warmer months, get your patio furniture out of storage and ready to grace your deck again. Make sure you’ve checked out our handy tips on getting your deck ready for the warmer months.

Late winter/early spring are still great times to enjoy your deck huddled around a fire pit or outdoor heater. So get that fire going and roast up some s’mores.

So get out there and enjoy the last chills of winter and dream of all the great ways you’ll enjoy your deck in Virginia this summer!

Spring Into Your Deck

As we are getting close to the end of the winter season all I can think about is getting back outside.  I’ll just be upfront and tell you, I LOVE BEING OUTSIDE! I especially love to entertain on my deck.  So with that being said it’s about that time to open the deck for business.

Since I live in Clifton, Virginia and the weather is always changing, I decided to go with the Trex composite decking for my material.  It’s amazing, on my old deck it seemed like every year I had to break out the power washer and re-stain my deck before I could even think about getting it ready for spring time and visitors.

Now, I’ll admit that it was a tough choice to go away from the traditional wood but it was, and continues to be, totally worth it.  First of all, it was amazing all the different designs that I had to choose from.  My Trex Pro can basically build anything for me, they even do curved styles – yes I said curved!  Not to mention, I was able to choose a color that looked amazing against my home’s siding.

But that’s neither here nor there.  I am talking about getting ready for spring.  I honestly can’t believe that it was so simple, I mean living in northern Virginia we get a ton of rain and snow through the fall and winter.  With the old deck it was such a pain to clean, but with Trex it was just an easy hose job.  After cleaning the deck off, I was able to place my furniture any way I wanted to on the deck.  Since Trex is virtually scratch free I can mix and match and change things often without hurting my deck.

After all that, it was just a matter of placing the fire pit, stringing up the rope lights and letting my wife put plants wherever she wanted and the Trex deck is ready for Spring and entertaining.  I can’t wait until the first get together!

My Own Personal Deck-In

Ok, I know what you are saying,”What the heck is a Deck-In?”  Well, I have always had fond memories of when I was in high school and going to the drive in was the thing to do.  The cars, the food, the fun.  Now that I am married with kids I would love for my children to experience that atmosphere too.  For quite some time I wondered how I could ever create that experience for my kids.  I am happy to say that thanks to personal projector technology I can now bring that dream to life.

outdoor movieI decided to turn my deck into my very own drive-in, or as I say Deck-in.  There were three aspects that I really thought were going to be a chore.  These problems are seating, atmosphere, and sound.  Well I already have a giant space on my deck that would be perfect and open enough for seating.  But the problem is, I want this to be a drive in.  So what I did was visit the local junk yard and paid them $50 for the entire back seat and trunk of three small older cars.  I was very sure to pic three that did not need any work done to them.  Loaded them up on a trailer and brought them home.  I designed a wheel system using simple heavy duty cart wheels form any home improvement store so they can be moved and placed anywhere.

So, seating was finished now I needed the atmosphere.  Of course I purchased an inflatable screen, yes folks, inflatable……its awesome blow it up and it’s there, deflate and store in the trunk of one of the cars.  I also already have a HDMI projector so playing the movies is easy too.  I went to a dollar store and grabbed a ton of movie style candy…also stored in the trunk of one of the cars.  So atmosphere is set!

Now on to the sound.  It took a little figuring but I went ahead and bought a little dvd player that had its own speakers built in to it.  I was skeptical at first, but man does it crank the sound out!  So, mission accomplished, now my kids and wife seem to use the Deck-In even more than I do!! Lol Well, good luck…..and happy watching.

Planning Seasonal Deck Activities

You want to get the most out of your backyard space, so you made the wise choice and had a deck built on your home in Virginia. Having a deck adds value to your home, and expands your living space into the outdoors. You already know that with Trex composite decking material, your deck in Virginia will be low-maintenance, giving you more time throughout the year to enjoy your deck.

dreamstime_s_21541792You’ve got your outdoor fire pit or heater installed on your deck so you are able to enjoy it throughout the colder winter months, but as the prime deck enjoying season is right around the corner, make sure you get the most out of your outdoor entertaining this season! The month of May gives us Cinco de Mayo and Memorial Day. Two great reasons to have people over to enjoy your deck. Memorial Day is perfect for the great American pastime of outdoor grilling. Try something different for Cinco de Mayo, with a build-it-yourself taco bar or a margarita fountain.

June is the perfect time for pool parties. But, you can also celebrate the official start to summer with the summer solstice, which falls around June 21st/22nd. There are plenty of Midsummer traditions to follow, so invite a few friends over to enjoy your deck in Virginia with a midsummer themed gathering. July’s the month to celebrate America, so kick it off right with a Fourth of July party on your deck. Have some peace of mind knowing your composite deck is safe from the fireworks and sparklers that can cause damage to traditional wood decks.

There are plenty of things to look forward to celebrating in the coming months, so start planning now and get the most out of your outdoor deck space in Virginia!