The very first deck I ever built was in 1987 in a suburb outside of Louisville, Kentucky. I was attending a building construction school nearby and working with a classmate who needed some help on a remodeling project he was working on.  The project consisted of the removal of an exterior wall and an addition to the house which had French doors leading out to large deck.

The deck on this house was pretty awesome. It was approximately 12’ x 20’ and had the outside bayed which gave it a great look. The flooring was 5/4” board pressure treat pine with rounded edges. The railing consisted of 2” x 2” wood pickets that were nailed into the side deck bands… and sandwiched in by 2×4’s on each side at the top and a 5/4 board piece of decking for the railcap.

Twenty two years later, when I look back at this first project, I find it amazing the difference in the work we did on that deck and the work we do today. The Atlanta decks and screened porches that are put up today are simply incredible.  The materials, the technology, the processes, everything…seems to have progressed in leaps and bounds over the years.

And Atlanta, being in my opinion the “hotbed” of decking, is such a great place to create them.  The weather is nice 9 months out of the year.  And people just want to live outside and enjoy their yards which are so beautifully landscaped.  While economic times may be challenging, it’s hard to deny that we’re practically living in a decking fantasyland.