Our previous entrance was a standard sidewalk leading to the front door. Small and somewhat hidden, I wanted a change. More visibility, more functionality and the beginning of some visual statements upon approaching our home. This deck has a little visual flair to it with the angled board treatment. The extra space next to the front door is very nice. Now, a person can actually stand near our entrance without being crowded - hey, even three or four people. You can take your shoes off and leave the there. And, a planter or two (That's another step in this project in the future - an item to be on this deck. Perhaps a planter / bench, not sure about that yet.)

Constructing this deck was a little difficult, just because I'm me and I wanted it different and made it difficult on myself. But, I'm happy. The area upon which it sits was a "pond" where rain water collected as it ran off our roof. It would flood regularly in the summer as we experience very heavy rains here in Florida. To deal with that problem, I took out all the grass and subsurface where this deck would reside. Then I put down about 4 inches of small gravel to absorb the rains.

I constructed the deck back in my shop. First, the frame was constructed which is a 2 x 6 pressure treated foundation. Within that frame there are 2 x 4 supports all around to hold the eventual top deck boards. Finally, with the frame all prepared, the decking boards were cut individually to fit the spaces as they appeared, angling all the boards.