Outside Landscaping....

[Abigail]

If you have a deck, what do you have under it? Is it made into a shed or did you leave it grass or put down concrete? We're buying a house that has half grass, half dirt under the upper level deck and I'm wondering if we should put concrete down under it for a place to do chalf and basketball and ride on toys?

Does anyone have any type of concrete in their fenced in area and how big is it??? We have a wide paved driveway, but I don't want to bring the kids to the front unless I only had a few that day. The yard is decent sized and has a lower level deck as well, but no ride on toys, etc allowed on that! I will also have to make an area for a "fall zone" for next year when I save enough money to put in outdoor equipment. We're lucky we're one of the few on the block with a tree in our yard! It's about 15-18 feet tall and it only gives shade before noon since it's on the east end but it does give off about an 8 by 8 foot area of shade so not too bad!

[Abigail]

Anyone have a deck? I'm at a total loss as of what to put under it! Grass, cement, mulch? Fencing in the deck isn't an option now as it would ruin a great view of the backyard from the windows under it.

[SilverSabre25]

I don't have a deck but I do have a concrete area--it's a good sized area, about 300 square feet I think? That's where we do ride-ons and chalk and have the step 2 rollercoaster.

If your deck is high enough off the ground (second story height) I think concrete would be a great option. I LOVE having the hard surface in the back to play on!!!

[Zoe]

Our deck is higher off the ground. It's closed off by trellis. Not sure if that's how you spell it. It is a nice idea to put concrete under it but ours is a little gross from the previous owners. It is used as storage right now. We use the ride on toys on the actual deck.

[MyAngels]

Before we moved to our current house (a ranch) we had a two story deck, the bottom level was concrete and our lower level (the daycare area) opened out onto this area. We used it for sidewalk chalk, ride-on toys, we had a picnic table there, etc. I loved it. I don't remember how big, probably 16 x 16 or so.

[DCMom]

I have a concrete patio that runs the entire length of my house under the deck. We poured it specifically for the daycare. I love it! Before our trees were big enough to provide shade, it was the only shady spot in the yard.

[Abigail]

I'm glad to hear some have concrete. It is a second level deck, well, I can walk under it and still have a few inches before I would have to watch my head. Right now it's just half dirt with cracks and grass. I'm sure the ground is super dry so cracks are showing. I was thinking my options were rocks or mulch like most of the neighbors have with fancy lawn-mower friendly edging or to put down concrete. Do you put edging around the concrete slab?


I will have to post a picture and get your advice. It's starting to get so late in the year and snow will hit in another month so it will probably just be a project for next spring. Either way, I like knowing what I should do!

[MNMum]

We just built our house and are putting in the deck next week. We plan to do plain poured concrete under the deck (12x16) and a colored/textured poured concrete about 1/2 of the lenghth of the house (20x16). We haven't decided yet what we want to do with the other 1/3 of the lenghth of the house, maybe a patio with sand box in the middle, that way when they get the sand out of the box, it would just fill in around the pavers... Under the deck I envision a couple baby swings off the bottom of the deck, and storage for the ride on's and toys. Right now everything is in the garage. I don't think we are planning edging around the slab. It is quite spendy. I had no idea!

[Abigail]

We just built our house and are putting in the deck next week. We plan to do plain poured concrete under the deck (12x16) and a colored/textured poured concrete about 1/2 of the lenghth of the house (20x16). We haven't decided yet what we want to do with the other 1/3 of the lenghth of the house, maybe a patio with sand box in the middle, that way when they get the sand out of the box, it would just fill in around the pavers... Under the deck I envision a couple baby swings off the bottom of the deck, and storage for the ride on's and toys. Right now everything is in the garage. I don't think we are planning edging around the slab. It is quite spendy. I had no idea!

If you put baby swings under the deck don't you have to have a soft landing underneath "just in case" for safety? I think we do. Anything more than 18 inches off the ground needs cover for fall height safety. Are you pouring concrete the length of your home for ride on toys? Would you have anything besides daycare things on this concrete once you put it in?

[SilverSabre25]

Do you put edging around the concrete slab?

Nah, I wouldn't. That would just make it a tripping hazard it seems.