We’re not talking splinters here. Decks collapse, and usually they do it without warning. Your kids may be running, dancing, and stomping on your deck one day, and then the next day, the whole contraption might fall completely apart. Inspecting your deck can be a matter of life or death. Just glance over the tips we’ve gathered in the information below. Maybe you’ll decide not to wait until May to carry out your own deck safety check.

So we have this little place out in the country, right? It’s a small house that we built ourselves on a lot of land. Building a deck was as important to us as building the rest of the house. We needed a space we loved to be in, where we could bask in the beauty of all that nature surrounding us. Figuring out what kind of material to use for the deck, however, turned out to be a real thorn in our sides. Don’t get me wrong, it was worth it! And we hope you’ll benefit from some of the information we collected on the subject, in this article.

If your house is in dire need of some outdoor space, adding a patio or deck can increase your square foot without robbing your children of their college educations. Each option offers an area to gather with friends and family, grill out, and relax under the sun (or stars); the option you choose will likely depend on your budget, space and needs. In this article we’ll take a look at the benefits of both patios and decks so your hardest decision will be where to place the grill.

I live for warm southern nights, which around here include Pandora tuned to the Tom Petty station, food on the grill, a glass of wine in hand and my family hanging out on the back deck together, talking and laughing and enjoying the fresh air. Our deck has become an extension of the house; an extra living space on which we spend as much time as we do on the inside.