Holiday weekends are the calendar year’s greatest gift to homeowners. With an extra day added to the roster, the possibilities are limitless. This Labor Day weekend, tackle a project that never seems to fit into the standard Friday-Sunday timeline, and still have time for a family BBQ or two.

As homeowners are looking to extend their outdoor living space, contractors that are informed and offering trendy suggestions are in hot demand.  Your clients will probably have a few ideas printed off the Internet from popular sites like Pinterest, HGTV and Better Homes and Gardens. Showcase your knowledge of what’s hot for this year by reviewing some current trends in deck building.

HGTV is a premier source for home-related inspiration, instruction and entertainment, and we can bet that many consumers have browsed hgtv.com for deck design ideas. So let’s take a look at a few trends they suggest that take decks from functional to fantastic.

It may still feel like winter in certain areas but sunnier and warmer days are not too far away. If a new deck is in your future, or if you are going to be contracted to fix or build a deck for a homeowner, then now is the time to start thinking about key features to suggest for deck designs.

The 2001 viral video “The Evolution of Dance” was at one time the most viewed video on YouTube. We think the evolution of deck fasteners is almost as exciting…almost!   What isn’t exciting about taking a product from its most basic state and designing it to reduce both time and cost while creating smooth decking surfaces free from any visible fastener heads? 

About 85 percent of all single-family homes in the U.S. include a deck or deck-like structure, which is equivalent to roughly 30 million decks. Sixty percent of all new homes are constructed with a deck, while nearly 2.75 million decks are replaced on an annual basis.  That’s according to Cintrafor.org’s research… and that’s a lot of decking!  So naturally there are a lot of opinions on the best way to build a deck.