Charlotte Outdoor Living Infused with Luxury and Practicality

Outdoor living in four distinct areas, wrought with high style and functionality by Archadeck of Charlotte.

Outdoor living means different things to different folks.  These homeowners meant to take every possible opportunity to be outdoors, whether in the open-air areas, or inside the protection of the screened porch.  This luxurious Charlotte screened porch, deck, and patio combination will keep these homeowners outdoors for many a day and many a purpose.  Whether private relaxation or entertaining is on the agenda, Archadeck of Charlotte has provided many ways for them to draw full enjoyment and use out of their gorgeous outdoor living space.

Increase your time outdoors with a screened porch and Charlotte outdoor fireplace.

The Charlotte area climate lends itself to plenty of outdoor living time each year, and these homeowners worked with Archadeck of Charlotte to capitalize on milder “out-of-season” temperatures with a screened porch, complete with outdoor fireplace.  This custom outdoor fireplace with stone façade will facilitate warmth and ambiance as cooler temperatures move into our area this fall.  Notice how well the stone façade of outdoor kitchen unit and fireplace cohesively bind the deck and screened porch areas!  Speaking of the kitchen area, the cook will not be left out of the occasion when duty calls.  With a custom bench for friends and family built alongside, the grill master elect will enjoy their time working.

Cook, soak up the sun, and enjoy a conversation with loved ones on your Charlotte deck and patio!

This beautiful Charlotte outdoor living space not only offers many options for entertaining and leisure, but the variety of building materials really set it apart, giving it a truly custom aesthetic.  These homeowners will enjoy the low-maintenance advantages of their new elevated Trex deck.  The deck and fascia material are Trex Transcend Island Mist, which gives a weathered appearance, playing in perfect complement to the darker deck skirting in Trex Transcend Vintage Lantern.  Vintage Lantern is a perfect match to the exterior of the screened porch.  The custom mix of colors, textures, and patters truly set this deck apart!

The custom travertine tile patio provides a beautiful and organic staging area for comfortable patio furniture.  The patio will provide an area for conversation with friends and family, or a private spot of respite.  Imagine a cool fall morning with coffee or tea in-hand, or a starlit evening with a glass of wine!  Patios are fantastic transitional areas and might be staged for conversation or even eat-on spaces when entertaining.

The beautiful array of colors, patterns, and materials all work in harmony with the home’s original brick façade.  Each element – the brick, stone, travertine, and Trex decking materials – lends the whole a feeling of unconventional luxury.  Archadeck of Charlotte can help choose materials for your outdoor living space that will bring an air of custom style with choice low-maintenance and natural stone elements to best suit your design tastes, home, and lifestyle.

If you are looking for luxurious Charlotte outdoor living ideas that will allow you more time outdoors with family and friends, give us a call for a free design consultation at (704) 944-1350 or email us and a Design Consultant will contact you promptly.

What are the problems today with Trex decks?

Through out the years of composite decking, there have been numerous problems with quality and customer satisfaction. Trex composite decking is far and away the best known brand in the category and had its share of challenges early on.

Archadeck of Charlotte built this Trex Transcends Spice Rum composite deck with a composite bench and stone fire pit that is gas burning

 

Trex developed a newer version with enhanced technology to address the common issues found with most composite decking.

What problems are there still with today’s Trex? Next to none! We have installed over  a $5mm in Trex decking in the past few years and have not had call backs. The product they refer to as Trex Transcends has a protective cap stock that prevents fading, scratching, and even staining from occurring. They even provide a 25-year warranty against these issues now.

Archadeck of Charlotte custom designed and built this TimberTech Earthwoods Teak Composite deck and Black Radiance Rail

 

At Archadeck of Charlotte, we could not be more please with the product quality and aesthetics of the product. For all of the negative publicity the category has received over the years, the product enhancements are remarkable and dependable. As a Trex Pro Platinum installer, go to archadeckofcharlotte.com for a great photo gallery of outdoor living spaces.

Do Trex decks stain or mildew? Do Trex decks fade?

There is a lot of bad history and bad press out there on – line. If you don’t know what you are really looking at, it can be very misleading.

Trex Transcends deck and rail by Archadeck of Charlotte with metal Decorator pickets

Trex Transcends composite deck with a hot tub recessed onto a cement pad and composite beching for the ideal relaxing backyard!

Archadeck of Charlotte designed and built this Trex Tropics Spiced Rum composite deck

Trex Transcends deck and fire pit by Archadeck of Charlotte

Trex is the originator of the composite deck industry and in fact, the original product did have these issues. The product faded relatively quickly. It was easy to stain with the spill of any oil based product. Mildew grew easily due to the porous nature of the design.

Along came the invention of Trex Transcends. This was a vast improvement of the original products that solved the major problems consumers complained about. By engineering a cap stock over the original core of the product, the product now has a 25-year fade warranty in addition to protection from staining. The product is so superior that in the previous 7 years, we literally have no callbacks on Trex. So when you do your research on Trex, make sure you are looking at the Trex Transcends!

Click here to see a complete photo gallery from a Platinum Pro Trex Contractor,

Learn more about Trex decks in Charlotte on our Trex web page.

 

Are people building more wood decks or Trex decks today?

Like everything else in life, people want to know the latest trends. Are people building more with pressure-treated wood or composite decking like Trex?

Each year we are building more and more composite decks here in Charlotte, NC. The drivers remain the same, low-maintenance and long lasting investment. We have people moving here from the north all the time who have already had Trex decks and can’t imagine going back to wood.

The only two reasons people select wood decks are a much lower price point or if they just love the feel of real wood. The older objection from composite decking was that is looked like “fake wood”. With all of the technology enhancements, Trex has been able to replicate a real wood grain with a variety of warm colors that appear to be everything from a stained deck to a real Brazilian Hardwood deck.

We are building about 50% with Trex decking this year. The category is only about 20 years old so the increase has been dramatic. To see the most complete Trex photo gallery, visit our Charlotte Trex decks photo gallery.

Trex Transcends composite deck with a hot tub recessed onto a cement pad and composite beching for the ideal relaxing backyard!

Archadeck of Charlotte designed and built this Trex Tropics Spiced Rum composite deck

Popular deck flooring options in Charlotte

What are the most popular deck flooring options in the Charlotte, NC market? For years it was good old pressure-treated southern yellow pine decking. Today, there are many alternatives and some are taking serious market share.

This Ipe deck was built by Archadeck of Charlotte and utilized a powder-coated aluminum baluster by Deckorators with a twist in the spindle for added character

Travertine Tile stone deck with iron rail by Archadeck of Charlotte

Above you will see Brazilian hardwood deck called Ipe. This product is known for its durability and beauty and is referred to often as “Ironwood”. The deck next to it has travertine stone tile overlooking Lake Wylie in South Carolina. This provides a very finished look with very low maintenance. Travertine comes in a variety of colors and sizes as well.

Archadeck of Charlotte custom designed and built this TimberTech Earthwoods Teak Composite deck and Black Radiance Rail

Composite decking such as Trex or Azek has grown substantially in popularity primarily for their low-maintenance characteristics. In addition, the manufacturers have done a great job making them appear more like real wood! To see an extensive gallery of deck options, go to arhcadeckofcharlotte.com

How should I design my deck steps?

Stairways leading from decks to grade can be viewed 2 different ways. One is simply to get from Point A to Point B with comfortable accessibility. The other is to design the stairway to offer architectural flair or make them welcoming and grand!

Archadeck of Charlotte designed and built this lattice privacy screen to keep neighbors view limited

Archadeck of Charlotte designed and built this Trex Tropics Spiced Rum composite deck

At Archadeck of Charlotte, we have been designing and building decks for nearly 30 years in the Carolina’s. When your deck is low to the ground, you can do more interesting designs like the ones above as they do not take up a tremendous amount of space since there few steps needed.

 

Casuwel Outdoor Furniture is the most comfortable and complete line of all-weather furnishings available through Archadeck of Charlotte

By trying to make several steps more dramatic, you can see from the photo above how much space the steps can chew up on your patio or ground! To see a wide array of deck design ideas, visit archadeckofcharlotte.com

 

How do I justify paying more for a deck?

How do you justify paying more for a deck? I recently heard a great line that went something like this: “if I only had paid more it would have cost me less”.

As a consumer, there has to be a solid reason to pay more for our purchases. In the case of a deck of patio, I will share some that may resonate with you.

Located in Charlotte, NC this backyard oasis was designed and constructed by Archadeck. It includes a pool deck, screened porch, covered outdoor kitchen and dining area, firepit and raised spa deck.

1. Customer assurances and piece of mind (insurance, license, warranties)
2. Design (does it fit your taste and is it functional for your furniture and needs)
3. Quality (the materials and labor)
4. Ease of doing business with ( do they have a physical location, are they easy to reach with questions)
5. Add value (is the contractor able to add more to the project with ideas and finished look)

Retaining wall with decorative stone and multi-level in Charlotte by Archadeck

As a consumer, it is never wise to pay more unless you can justify why. The attempt here was to help you think through your purchasing decision of a deck or patio and what you may not have considered when you looked at the “apples – to apples” quotes!

What is the best way to have your deck boards run?

Multi-level deck with stone outdoor fireplace by Archadeck of Charlotte

Trex Transcends deck and fire pit by Archadeck of Charlotte

Customers are wanting their decks to be as much of a fashion statement as they are built well. A common question we get at Archadeck is, “what is the best way to have my deck boards run?”

We typically recommend running the deck boards on a diagonal for three reasons but there are exceptions to this:

1. This will normally allow us to build your deck without splices as most decks are designed wider than the actual projection away from the house.

2. This construction method allows for structural integrity as the boards span multiple floor joists and avoids “racking”

3. The diagonal pattern is pleasing to most of our customers from an aesthetic appeal standpoint.

The exceptions are as follows:

1. When using composite decking, most manufactures recommend spacing the floor joists 12″ on center when using composites due to the weight

2. When you are looking at cutting some cost and the dimensions of the deck are designed for standard lumber sizes to eliminate waste

To see some pretty deck board designs, go to http://www.charlotte.archadeck.com

If you want the best education on Trex composite decking, see our Trex page and Trex YouTube Channel

Archadeck of Charlotte designed and built this Trex Transcends composite deck and rail with architectural steps

Archadeck of Charlotte has been designing and building Trex composite decks for over 18 years! We have so much knowledge and experience with the product that we developed an exclusive page just for Trex information and for our Trex YouTube video playlist on our channel!

We have dedicated an entire space in our web site to a photo gallery, design ideas, and learning we share from our 26 years experience with decks in Charlotte, NC. The You Tube channel has a vast array of designs and color choices for Trex Transcends composite decks and rail.

We even utilize Trex for things like outdoor showers, benches, walkways, porch walls, pergolas, and screen porch trim detail.

Trex Transcends deck and rail with vertical deck skirting and an outdoor kitchen by Archadeck of Charlotte

Lake Norman Outdoor Living Growth

Travertine Tile stone deck with iron rail by Archadeck of Charlotte

Lake Norman is one of the largest lakes in the Carolina’s. Situated north and west of Charlotte, NC, it is hundreds of miles of shoreline with the perfect blend of privacy and happening areas. There are small coves that are great escapes, active boating and fishing areas, and gorgeous lake front homes that rival any wonderful beach front properties.

With all of the development of these homes on and around the lake, the residents want to enjoy Carolina’s ideal year around weather and be outside more and more. Even those with more modest homes are investing in grand outdoor living spaces. The spaces typically include a deck, a patio, a screen porch, an outdoor fireplace or fire pit, and elaborate outdoor kitchens.

The biggest growth seems to be in shade structures where you and your guests can be outside comfortably with a ceiling fan under the covered porch or patio and protected from the hot sun. The designs are endless and with the expanded growth in demand for outdoor living around Lake Norman, the features continue to push the envelope with all of the amenities we are accustomed to inside being designed and built for the outdoors! Go to http://www.charlotte.archadeck.com to see great Lake Norman outdoor spaces.