How do You Increase Your Home’s Value by 10 Percent? Build a Deck.
By Lucas on May 21, 2014
By Carson Arthur
I may offend a few die-hard gardeners out there but I am one hundred percent committed to the belief that an amazing backyard is built around the useable space. If you don’t have a spot to sit outside with family and friends and enjoy the roses, then those blooms are a wasted opportunity!
Finally the numbers are starting to back me up! Homeowners are investing in their backyards and seeing great results!
Remodeling Magazine (2014) released a study showing that the return on investment for a wood deck is 87%, surpassing all indoor renovations. This means that for every dollar that you spend on a deck, you’ll get up to .87 back. That’s really important when deciding where to spend the renovation budget. I use the following guideline when describing how a potential buyer reacts to a home. The front yard gets a buyer excited; the inside of the house is the meat and potatoes of the meal; and the back yard seals the deal…just like dessert.
According to the Gallop Organization, a good deck can increase a home’s perceived value by up to 10% by increasing the available living space. A potential buyer will often consider a home with a smaller square footage if they know that they have the use of an outdoor room. This is an important number for another reason as well. If you can rely on a 10% increase to your home’s value by adding a deck, you now know exactly how much you can spend when adding more to your backyard. I tell homeowners to never spend more than 10 percent of your home’s value when creating outdoor useable space. Why spend money that you’re not going to get back?
When it comes to costs, decks will always be the “less expensive option” in creating an outdoor living space when compared to patios. Even if you choose high-end materials, the labour required to install a deck is less, helping to reduce your overall cost.
Installation is also a big benefit for choosing a deck. The way a deck is built allows you more creativity in location. Because the actual structure is built above the ground, tree roots, wet ground, even big slopes can be easily overcome. Even a DIY’er can have great success installing a simple deck structure with plenty of easy to follow how-to videos online.
Unfortunately, wood decks don’t mix well with the elements as compared to some other outdoor materials like stone and concrete. Sun, snow, rain, ice and hail can all deteriorate unprotected wood, reducing its lifespan significantly. Traditionally, the lifespan of a wood structure is about 7-8 years if its not cared for. The good news is that this average is getting longer with more options coming into the market like composites and all weather stains. Even pressure treated wood is seeing new technology in products like MicroPro Sienna which uses smaller molecules in the stain to get the rich brown colour deeper into the wood; preserving it longer.
Ultimately, we all want a backyard that looks great. When it comes to aesthetics, decks are the best option for blending with fences, pergolas and arbours, which are traditionally made of wood. With great patterns and intricate details, using wood in a backyard has never looked so good or made so much sense financially.
Carson Arthur
When not in the dirt with his eco-friendly landscape design company, Carson stays busy building, planting, writing or designing as a featured guest on CityLine. His new show Critical Listings is currently airing on HGTV Canada. You can check him out at http://www.carsonarthur.com
