Favorite Deck Renovation features: Plantation Shutters, 6×6 posts, finer finish details for railings

This home is a love story for me.  I was asked to sell a home on my street in Old Town North of Alexandria, years ago.  It is a favorite neighborhood for all who have lived here.  Only blocks from Braddock Road Metro, a similar distance to our beloved Potomac, and 12 blocks to King Street, the heart of Old Town. 

My first project, to sell this circa 1940’s Row House, began by gutting much of the interiors and renovating with contemporary materials and finishes for the original owners, neighbors and friends who became clients, 4 homes now.  The home sold in one day and for a good amount over asking, back in the day when you hardly paid asking price.  

This second project was with the buyer who bought it.  She is now a neighbor and dear friend, and ever since has hired me to do her additional projects and updating.

Her first large project was to update and rebuild the deck.  She had hired a handy man to create a feature for her cats that would keep them from crossing into the neighbors yard and porch.

BEFORE

Most staircase widths are 36″wide as shown here.  I have always built 42″ or more.  

This screen did what it was intended to do, keep her cats from crossing over to the neighbors, but it became an eyesore and was hard to maintain.  

Part of the exterior project was to replace the dated go-to style fence back in the day.   I selected the new fence design and it was installed first, before the the deck project.  The fence became so popular that both of her neighbors wanted the same fence.  

AFTER DECK 

Both photos illustrate how much better looking a railing is with a small detail edit when you increase the size and scale of the wood. 

Beveling the edges of the top handrailing improves the look and is a smooth touch for hands.  

This shows the visual and useful improvement by making the steps wider to 42 “

As you can see this neighbor has the former fence and not our new design.  What a difference the update makes. 

In this photo one can see the effect of the finished detail of the railings, both top and bottom, shared on each side of the railing.  Also notice the difference the 6×6 post size makes.  Much more substantial, and it lasts double the life.  

After six months we stained with a natural, non color stain.  Eventually it fades to a Teak like color.