August 17, 2022 | Exterior
In a recent study, 21 percent of homeowners said that they wanted more outdoor and recreational space in their next home. A deck addition can be a fantastic way to expand and improve your outdoor living space. And you might be surprised to learn it can actually be one of the most cost-effective improvements to your home.
There are a number of reasons decks can add so much value to your home. Read on to learn more about how a deck addition can improve your home value and how much you should expect to pay for one.
Expand Entertaining Space
One of the biggest benefits of adding a deck to your home is that it can allow you to expand the available entertaining space. People want more space to host their friends and family, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to abate. We’ve spent the last two years in isolation, and we’re ready to see everyone we love in one space again.
Having a large backyard is all well and good, but that space doesn’t really allow you to entertain. There’s nowhere for people to sit or put down drinks, and you can’t set up decorations in the middle of a lawn. A deck gives you space for people to relax, eat, drink, and enjoy their time with you, as well as an area for hosts to cook and decorate.
Add Family Space
Of course, your new deck will be a fantastic addition to your home every day of the year, not just when you’re throwing parties. Many families dream of watching their kids play outside or soaking up the sunshine on long summer evenings. A deck can help to make all of those idyllic dreams a reality for the family who buys your house.
Having a deck out back will make it easier for families to spend more time outside with their kids. The parents will have a place to sit while their kids play, and the kids will have some place to rehydrate and reconnect. Parents may also be more likely to suggest outdoor playtime if there’s a gorgeous deck calling their name.
Create an Outdoor Escape
Whether or not the next owner of your house has kids, a deck can make the perfect oasis in your home. Everyone needs someplace to escape from the demands of everyday life, and spending time outside can reduce stress levels and improve mood.
A deck can go a long way toward making your home an outdoor paradise that future owners will love escaping to. You can set up bench seating and lounge chairs designed to sink into, and a few area rugs and large plants will make the space feel welcoming. You could even add a fire pit or water feature to truly transform this into a backyard oasis.
Incorporate Outdoor Décor
When you’re prepping your home for sale, one of the most important pieces of advice you’ll get is to improve your curb appeal. Curb appeal is your home’s handshake – it gives the first impression of your home and can make or break a sale. You want to make sure your home looks amazing inside and out in order to give it the best chance on the real estate market.
Adding a deck can go a long way toward improving the curb appeal of your home. Although it may be in the back, a deck can make your home feel more luxurious and valuable. It also gives you an opportunity to incorporate some outdoor décor, such as deck chairs, pillows, plants, rugs, and lighting to finish your home’s look.
Update Your Home’s Look
On the subject of your home’s look, one of the biggest challenges homeowners face when selling their homes is updating the exterior. Unfortunately, over time, some exterior styles just get outdated and don’t show well. A coat of paint can help some, but exterior paint is expensive, and your home may still feel dated.
A deck can help your home feel more updated without you having to spend tens of thousands of dollars on an exterior remodel. Because decks provide so much space for décor, you can use them to completely change the tone of the house. An added deck will make it easier for potential buyers to overlook some of the less desirable, more outdated elements of the exterior décor.
Expand Storage Space
One thing all homeowners could use more of is storage space. It’s hard to find a good home for all the little odds and ends that go into a household, and these days, people want clutter tucked away out of sight. Outdoor storage space can be especially hard to come by unless you have a shed or garage that you aren’t using to park your cars.
You might be surprised to learn that putting in a deck can actually help to expand your storage space. If you build in benches, you can put the seats on hinges to create storage in the empty space underneath. You can also add outdoor cupboards, storage lockers, and other options, depending on your space and needs.
Skip the Maintenance
When you’re making improvements to your home’s exterior, you want to make sure they won’t come with too much additional maintenance. For instance, adding a pool can be a huge draw for some buyers, but it creates a lot of extra work for you. In fact, most homeowners wind up paying between $1,000 and $1,800 a year in pool maintenance costs.
The great thing about a deck is that it’s almost maintenance-free. You will have to keep it clean, and depending on how long you have it and what material you use, you may need to refinish it in a few years. But for the most part, an annual power wash will be more than enough to keep your deck looking great.
Reduce Landscaping Headaches
One of the most maintenance-heavy home improvements you can make is landscaping. Landscaping can do a ton for your curb appeal, but it requires constant upkeep from the moment it’s finished. You have to mow, fertilize, weed, trim, and replant annual flowers every spring for continual color.
Adding a deck to your home can reduce the amount of landscaping upkeep you have to do. Since the deck will take up a good amount of your yard space, you won’t have to worry about keeping a healthy lawn or flowerbeds there. The deck will look just as nice (or even nicer) and will require much less maintenance.
Work with Any Terrain
On the subject of landscaping challenges, depending on where your home is located, landscaping can be a problem. If you live in the desert, for instance, maintaining a grass lawn may not be feasible. There are ways to get around that, but you may not have those options if your home is on a steep hill or somewhere with a lot of clay in the soil.
The good news is that you can install a deck in just about any terrain, no matter where your house is located. Desert or swamp, forest or mountain, you can put in a deck that will stand up to the elements and look great no matter how little (or how much) it rains. Decks can be installed in any soil and on any slope, as long as they have the proper support under them.
Avoid Lengthy Construction Timelines
Another major downside of many home improvement projects is how long it takes to do them. If you’re having your kitchen or bathroom professionally remodeled, you may be looking at days or weeks of contractors in your home and a disrupted living space. If you’re doing the work yourself, you can expect for things to be out of order for weeks, months, or even a year or longer.
Putting in a deck, on the other hand, is a quick, relatively simple project. If you have a deck professionally installed, you could be done in as little as a few days. And even if you decide to take the project on yourself, as long as you have the proper tools and training, it should only take you a few weeks on the outside.
Build a Foundation for Later Improvements
Installing a deck already goes a long way toward improving the value of your home, but did you know it can also set you up for other home improvement projects? Once your deck is in place, you have a foundation structure for all sorts of outdoor features. As you save up more money for additional improvements, you can keep building on that solid foundation of your deck.
You can add a pergola or other roof structure to your deck to provide protection against the weather. You could add an outdoor kitchen, complete with a grill, pizza oven, and even a bar area. You can also tackle smaller improvements, like adding benches and other seating or living plant walls for added ambiance.
Keep Your Investment Low
Any type of home improvement project is an investment in your property and will likely be relatively expensive. But some projects take a bigger chunk out of your budget, with kitchens and bathrooms being especially egregious offenders. Most people spend between $25,000 and $65,000 on a kitchen remodel, and some spend upwards of $150,000.
If you’re looking for a home improvement project that doesn’t demand so much from your budget, a deck is the perfect choice. Most decks cost under $20,000 to install and could be as inexpensive as $10,000. You’ll be able to get away with a much smaller investment than with a kitchen renovation and still get a strong return on your investment.
Average Cost of Building a Deck
We mentioned that most decks cost around $18,000, but what factors into that price? Overall deck pricing can range from $15,000 to about $20,000, with a lot of the cost depending on the size of your deck. It should come as no surprise that a bigger deck will cost more, especially depending on the materials you choose.
Materials like composite decking will drive your initial investment up, but they’ll last much longer than traditional lumber. Some of your prices will also depend on the particular terrain around your house; decks that need more structural work will cost more. Your price will also vary depending on what area of the country you live in and which contractor you hire.
Average ROI
Now that you know a little more about what goes into the cost of a deck, how much of that expense can you expect to recoup? Most home improvement projects actually have a very low return on investment. In fact, adding a pool will only earn you 8 percent of your investment back, and adding a large primary suite could lose you money.
Deck additions, however, tend to sit on the higher end of the ROI scale when it comes to home improvements. Most homeowners will get back about 75 percent of the money they put into the investment. This is a solid way to invest money in your home and recoup the maximum value.
Discover the Benefits of a Deck Addition
Adding a deck can improve not only your home value but also the quality of life in your home. You’ll have more entertaining space, more storage, and less lawn maintenance to do. Best of all, you’ll be able to recoup about 75 percent of the money you invest in building a deck, making it a fantastic financial choice!
If you’d like to discover the benefits of a deck addition for yourself, check out the rest of our site at Michael James Remodeling. We can handle kitchen, bathroom, basement, or entire home remodels. Experience home renovation the Michael James way with North Georgia’s favorite luxury remodeling specialists.
