this is part of my deck taken several years ago. Behind the camera it wraps around the house. Well it’s time to shore it up so we can maybe start a space out back. I do think it could be a DIY but it’s a good 12 - 15 feet high. I’m subbing it out.
Are you thinking of doing a screen porch/sun room? I had a 12x12 (and a patio door) put on my house before I moved in. It is a straight unshaded southern exposure. Maintenance has been tough. I've treated it a couple of times but it needs to be replaced. The bad thing the guy did was to not turn the grain of the boards the right way (some of them cupped.) The good thing the guy did was to install a couple of extra joists so they are on 12" center rather than 16", ready for Trex (which I should have done in the first place.)
@John Brunner there are so many options. I'm looking at awnings, pull down shades (in case ms. C gets randy )but first i've got to keep it from falling down.
I don't know why I did not have an awning installed straight-away. That's a direct southern exposure, and the old house is not very well insulated. When I was looking at houses, such a thing was referred to as "passive solar." Regarding your relationship with your neighbors...you don't need no stinkin' shades
We have a verandah on the back of our home and the carport side as well ….with I simple cement floor …but there again our home is ground level no steps. The verandah is 14x 4 meters as wide as the back section of the house
We only had those pull down blinds installed last summer they make a big difference keeping my special begonias from getting blown or burned by the winds in summer
Southern exposure is a good place for sunroom for growing inside. Sun is on the side of our house. Back is facing east.
We have a large double decker deck. The lower half is shaded by an apple tree so much I have to trim it back yearly. I carve out a space to put a table and chairs inside the limbs. The upper deck is very sunny and hot in the afternoons (west exposure) Hubby wanted to get a sunsetter awning. He does not go outside, even on nice days. So I got him a zero gravity chair and an umbrella capeable of angling. He does not use them either. Complains about mosquitoes. A screen gazebo would be an option but he would not use that either. the house came with the decks. I would have ripped them out but they were too well built. (I tried) The farm house has a double decker deck also which it needs as the house is a bi-level and one door is 6 ft off the ground. I have to restain them every other year, no matter the product.