Two-Tier Composite Deck, Stone Patio & Front Entrance

This was a fully custom project from the ground up, and it came with a date that could not move. The homeowners were hosting their wedding celebration at the property, so the backyard had to be finished and ready for guests. Everything we designed and scheduled worked backward from that day.

The scope covered three connected pieces. Two tiers of composite deck with a landing off the back of the house, an adjoining patio in Cheswick stone, and a new composite landing and staircase at the front entrance. We started by tearing off the old deck and landing and breaking out the existing concrete pad, then graded and excavated the footprint before any structure went in.

Underneath, this deck is built for central Alberta. The substructure sits on helical piles driven 4 feet down to get below frost, framed in treated 2x6 with rows of solid blocking every 4 feet to stop twist and add rigidity. Every joist is wrapped in G-Tape joist guard so water never sits on the framing, ledgers are fastened to the house walls, and the landings carry double-ply 2x8 beams on treated posts with Simpson Strong-Tie engineered hangers throughout. Extra joist structure was added at every edge to carry the picture framing and the railing posts.

The surface is TimberTech Prime+ in Dark Cocoa. The field boards run in three sections divided by square edge boards, all set with hidden fasteners so there is not a screw head visible anywhere on the deck. Picture framing with mitred corners wraps the perimeter and every stair tread, with fascia and riser boards covering the stringers and joist structure so the whole build reads as one finished piece. While one part of the crew worked through the stairs and steps, another laid the Cheswick patio on a filter cloth and stone dust base so the two surfaces came together at the same time.

Regal Ideas black aluminum railing finishes both ends of the project: around the back landing, returning down the stairs to the deck surface, and along the window side and stair run of the new front entrance. The result is a low maintenance backyard the homeowners could hand straight over to their guests, with no staining or sealing to think about in any season that follows.