Deck for Rear yard (Tamarac, Jupiter: houses, landscaping, live)

[alsidw]

I have a shady spot in my rear yard that will not grow grass and I thought about adding a deck. Originally I thought of a patio but with numerous trees providing the shade I reconsidered. How might I find a deck company and better yet has anyone had direct experience to guide me through the process.

[pslhomie]

It could be a soil and drainage issue. I had the same problem on the side of my house due to a vacant lot next door and all of the pine needles piling up. What I did was to raise the area with cheap soil to get the water to drain away. To fix the soil issue I put down lime and let that sit for a few weeks and then put down sod over some turf builder soil I got at home Cheapo . So far the grass has mostly grown back. Some of it was due to a fungus that was caused from all of the rain we got last year. I had to treat several areas for this problem. It's not fun and it takes a long time for the grass to grow back without sod so you have to be patient. If you have floratam in your yard it should do ok in shade. This is the wrong time to sod though. You need to wait until at least the end of March.

How about a rock garden. It's cheaper LOL

[HarryWho?]

Decks don't seem overly popular in this part of Florida. I'm not sure if it's because they would have to be cleaned often or what. I do know I put pavers in a shady part of my yard and I'm hitting them with bleach every 3 months or so.

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by HarryWho?

Decks don't seem overly popular in this part of Florida. I'm not sure if it's because they would have to be cleaned often or what. I do know I put pavers in a shady part of my yard and I'm hitting them with bleach every 3 months or so.

Right. I've worked in TONS of homes here and can't remember a single one with a deck. And they didn't all have lanais or pools either so that wasn't the reason.

I think it's the constant moisture and blazing heat that people worry about. I HAVE heard on that talk radio show about houses that they recommend something called "ipe decking". A certain type of hardwood.

I think even the Vero Beach boardwalk at the ocean is composite decking, though.

[alsidw]

Thank you for the insight. I am probably overthinking the subject and since money is always tight I am attempting to come up with a solution that is lasting and cost effective. I have a dozen or so trees in my small back yard and the area that is shaded is because of the oak trees and two palms surrounding the area and I was thinking that tree roots would quickly lift any pavers with the result an unsightly mess in a few years. On the other hand if adding a deck will be a negative should the time come when we can no longer take care of our house( two senior citizens) then that might be a good reason not to go ahead with the project. Now the area has some wrought iron furniture, a BBQ and a smoker and affords a lovely place to sit and relax even in the summer as the prevalent east wind blows across the area most days. I know decks are popular elsewhere where the weather is more temperate but those areas also have snow and cold weather and the decks cannot be used at all. I was thinking overall the weather here nicer year around a I love the outdoors. I plan to have some electricity installed nearby to run a fan if the bugs get to be a PITA or to blow away any smoke from the BBQ. Although I am going against popular opinion I see a patio as short lived and a deck with manmade surface materials longer lasting, but I am open to further discussion as I am a newbie to Florida and may not be taking all the facts into consideration that I should to make an informed decision. Also deck builders are a scarce breed and I am not up to doing it myself.

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by alsidw

Thank you for the insight. I am probably overthinking the subject and since money is always tight I am attempting to come up with a solution that is lasting and cost effective. I have a dozen or so trees in my small back yard and the area that is shaded is because of the oak trees and two palms surrounding the area and I was thinking that tree roots would quickly lift any pavers with the result an unsightly mess in a few years. On the other hand if adding a deck will be a negative should the time come when we can no longer take care of our house( two senior citizens) then that might be a good reason not to go ahead with the project. Now the area has some wrought iron furniture, a BBQ and a smoker and affords a lovely place to sit and relax even in the summer as the prevalent east wind blows across the area most days. I know decks are popular elsewhere where the weather is more temperate but those areas also have snow and cold weather and the decks cannot be used at all. I was thinking overall the weather here nicer year around a I love the outdoors. I plan to have some electricity installed nearby to run a fan if the bugs get to be a PITA or to blow away any smoke from the BBQ. Although I am going against popular opinion I see a patio as short lived and a deck with manmade surface materials longer lasting, but I am open to further discussion as I am a newbie to Florida and may not be taking all the facts into consideration that I should to make an informed decision. Also deck builders are a scarce breed and I am not up to doing it myself.

Coming from Philly, I'd be thinking the same thing. And yeah, the ROOTS are the issue. I lived in Jax with OLD OLD trees too, and can't remember a single deck or PATIO directly under those trees. I've also lived in WPB, Jupiter/Tequesta, Ft Lauderdale, Boca and Tamarac LOL. NO decks.

Even if you jury rigged some type of raised bed with mulch I'd worry about killing the roots of those trees and ending up with a huge problem in exchange for sticking some chairs outside.

Maybe start listening to that radio show, it's really good with objective opinions AND advertisers as guests. Saturday or Sunday, I forget.

I don't remember the channel or times though. Either WTTB 1490 AM or the other one 1240?

I think they stream or have podcasts on the internet, too.

OH HERE: I maybe found it: (there may be others, though, too because I seem to remember the host is in Florida and this guy doesn't seem to be)

There is another guy on radio who talks about landscaping his entire show, too.

Gary Sullivan on WMMB-AM

I can tell you one thing, as a dog walker I end up in ankle high watery sopping wet grass in people's back yards ALL THE TIME daily when it's rainy. I can't imagine that would be good for decks and even though I don't know about building them they must have concrete pillars underground for support which MUST damage your tree roots AND be impacted by all the rain we have.

Remember, even REBAR at the beach goes bad from salt air...I realize you don't have beach air there but still...you have a water table underground.

You may want to consult an ARBORIST or someone from an extension before a landscaper or deck expert!

[SeetheUSA]

All I can think about is the underside becoming a snake paradise!