Yard renovation- decking or paved? Ideas please

Kylie

28 days ago

last modified: 28 days ago

Wanting to transform a private fully enclosed front yard.

Looking for recommendations, do”s and dont”s. as i beg the design phase

Extra info …

Looking for alfreso area to extend living area from sliding door-and possible slider in main bedroom which is cuurentky a window shown on left-

full pic of yard looking out from lounge

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Comments (10)

macyjean
28 days ago
Purpose? Budget?

As per your title, it looks low and flat so it looks more like a paved type area than decking, but I've seen decks like that too, though you have to ensure drainage. Think about the ongoing maintenance needs of the different materials too.
dreamer
28 days ago
Where is the decking or paving going? The full yard in the photo or just the hard surface area out from the sliding door? If the area that is being paved receives full sun in summer, I would be doing composite decking, as paving would be hot, visually and physically. Purchase an air conditioning slatted cover for unit. If keeping lawn, create a garden bed under window.
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Are you set on keeping the dirt area for your puppy or are would you consider container gardening? Does the area get a lot of sun? My first thought is there is alot of brick already between the facade of the building and that two story portion shown. But the herringbone paver layout is great. If it were my home I would probably take that Trex decking and extend it over in to the dirt area at an angle and then use pots to make my garden. Really great pots that you can move around and change by adding colorful plants when the season permits and then I would invest in really nice outdoor furniture to make the space. I see you have a small teak table and with a good powerwash it can be made to look new. Then add some outdoor chairs and hang a piece of outdoor art on the brick and that would be a great start but definitely start by just getting rid of all those odd plantings. It will be a lovely retreat. Good luck.
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I hope you don't mind... seeing the external pics I have a totally different idea! But don't worry I don't expect you to actually use it, and it's just a rough sketch. You don't need to extend the footprint at all in my opinion. based on the picture of the front of house your drawing is a bit out... the entry stair actually sits to the left of the front door I think. so there is a little more room there, but i'm not sure if its wide enough. So maybe there is enough room to put a hallway back in and create a master suite upstairs? The front deck becomes a private retreat and I put the bath out there! It's only accessible from the master and bed 4. If you don't need that many bedrooms maybe even leave the master and bed 4 combined and have a huuuuge master area. there's still the study downstairs that could also be a spare bedroom. I thought as the front deck is so private it could be really luxurious. The old kitchen becomes the walk-through robe and ensuite. The new kitchen goes straight under the old, and the kitchenette becomes the bathroom,accessible from the pool. the downstairs kitchen is connected to the dining and living, but the posts define the areas. The kitchen can have a halfwall with a servery-style opening between the posts, and will still have that connection. I didn't draw it in on the downstairs picture, but the entry needs to be pushed a little forward and then the stairs run up from the left corner and arrive where the original entry was upstairs. The downstairs living is accessed straight from the entry at front and opens onto the front patio, under the back deck becomes the back patio. I feel like you have less new to build and retain more of the original layout. in fact the upstairs bathroom is entirely intact.
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Makes way more sense . Now the tricky bit , BUT I'll offer another idea , although probably more expensive , for adding on . The existing bathroom is in the middle of your house , with the laundry to the left . To the right of that is what I will call Bed 2 -- a smaller bedroom . The Rear Right bedroom I'll call Bed 1 ( Master ) and the Left Rear will be Bed 3 . Now , if you extend your floorplan to the Left ( instead of to the rear ) basically enlarging the current laundry , you could make the existing Bath and Laundry and the extra 1.5 metres into your new Master ( Bed 1 ) and ensuite and WIR . This is assuming the walls aren't load bearing except the external wall , and there is a slight advantage that theb plumbing is already there for the en-suite . Across the hall , you turn what I call existing Bed 2 into the primary Bath and also Laundry , OR leave as a Bedroom . With me so far ? Now the 'rear' has also been extended 'leftwards' to approx equal with the existing kitchen boundary , maybe even closer to the boundary , depending on council rules . Across here you either have 3 bedrooms and a hallway , or Bed , Bathroom , Laundry then Bed if you keep the other bedroom as it is . This still gives you some useable back yard , both options will need partial re-roof and new trusses and new external walls -- my gut feeling is this will look and work more logical than adding onto the rear ( as oklouise says , how will you do a hallway without it looking strange and added , for example ) . It looks like a very nice house , so I assume it is worth spending the $$$ -- i.e. it will probably add the $200k or whatever you spend , to the valuation . Of course , the other option is to sell and spend $200k or whatever finding elsewhere , and I guess you have considered both options .
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Kate
28 days ago
Paving is typically impervious so need to consider drainage for water runoff which is greater than decking as that allows water to seep down into the soil below Decking is typically cheaper to install but more maintenance unless you go an eco deck material. What look are you after?
dreamer
28 days ago
I think composite decking would be pleasing to the eye, not paving. If wanting to change window to sliding door, maybe invest in two brand new sliding doors that match.
dreamer
28 days ago
Building the decking up to the level of the bottom door frame height and the full expanse in length from left new sliding door to right hand wall edge.
dreamer
28 days ago
Inspiration
Kylie thanked dreamer
macyjean
27 days ago
Which way does it face? That amount of glazing always makes me wonder. You have the opportunity to improve energy efficiency and comfort if needed. I love the pergola in Dreamer's inspiration picture. I like the slat idea for the aircon too. That reminds me, what's the best way to divert condensate as you don't want that pooling near the house. Is it just a sitting alfresco or will there be more on it, like bbq?
bigreader
27 days ago
It’s a great private space. What are you looking to transform it into? Does it have suitable easy access from inside to ensure it gets used? Or would it just be used occasionally?
Kylie
Original Author
27 days ago
Living room sliding doors access it and potentially the main bedroom with a window to door upgrade. House is a small space do would like to use it often
- outdoor meals area, entertaining, reading chair, morning coffee etc.
bigreader
27 days ago
For that level of use, I’d use decking as above but keep a wide wide perimeter for planting.

Yard renovation- decking or paved? Ideas please

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Yard renovation- decking or paved? Ideas please

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