4 minute read
Outdoor Spaces
More than 200 Exhibitors under one roof!
What’s at the Show... Outdoor Spaces
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The David Suzuki Foundation’s 30 x 30 Nature Challenge website (which encourages participants to spend 30 minutes outside for 30 days in a row) states:
Photo courtesy of All-Craft Decks & Sunrooms
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The website explains how time spent outdoors fosters curiosity and physical fitness among children, it reduces the likelihood of obesity and depression, and can even have a profound effect on neighbourhoods – think about how neighbours are more likely to spontaneously drop by if they see you around the outdoor fireplace or sitting out on the porch.
Heath Pierson, owner of Blue Ridge Builders, sees first-hand how a quality outdoor space encourages homeowners to spend more time outdoors. “If you just have a little stoop or not much outside to be able to enjoy it then you tend to not go out as much,” he says. “But if you have a nice deck or backyard retreat, and put out a barbecue or some patio furniture, then people tend to use it more.”
Pierson should know, as he upgrades homeowners’ outdoor spaces frequently. A quality exterior in the front of the home is also important, he says. “It’s curb appeal of course. The front of your home is what everybody sees when they’re driving down the road and when they’re coming to your house. You would want to see a nice front porch or deck.”
At The Real Home Show, Blue Ridge Builders will be focusing on educating consumers on deck projects. “The first couple questions I would ask (people that come by the booth) are what they want done, if they’re looking for something maintenance-free or a wooden deck, if they want a front or back deck, and see exactly what they want to do,” says Pierson.
But you can ask about other services too; Blue Ridge Builders also does framing, garages and indoor and outdoor renovations. They can come to your home to do free estimates.
All-Craft Decks and Sunrooms, a full service outdoor living renovation contractor, will also be returning to The Real Home Show. At their booth you can talk to staff about all aspects of creating or renovating decks, sunrooms, gazebos, screen porches and more, from design to completion.
“The most common question is about getting the design completed for a client’s new outdoor living space prior to construction,” says Brian Johnston, All-Craft’s project consultant. “We have a full design service that provides a client with numerous options, either completed on plan drawings or as full 3-D colour renderings if they need to see a life-like image before the project begins.”
At The Real Home Show, All-Craft will be showcasing a variety of products, from outdoor LED lighting systems to a “full display of alternative decking and railing products,” says Johnston. “There are numerous different railing systems available today. People are now not looking for just the normal wood baluster rail, but anything from aluminum balusters to a full aluminum railing, tempered glass railings and manufactured PVC and composite railings.”
All-Craft will additionally be displaying a full-size deck made with Trex composite materials, and they will have samples of Goodfellow Terra Earth Tone decking, which Johnston describes as “the natural wood product now becoming the most used.”
The All-Craft team would be happy to discuss the maintenance involved (along with options) and cost differences between wooden and composite decks as well. “The way to compare whether you spend the additional cost on building a composite deck, such as a Trex composite deck, is looking at the long term,” Johnston says. “The upfront cost is going to be quite a bit more. But if you look at it over a 20-year period, with a wooden deck every year you’re putting a water sealant to it, or you’re staining it or something. If you add up your material costs of treating it and staining it every year, plus your own labour, it’s going to be pretty equivalent over a 20-year period to your upfront costs of the Trex composite deck.”
Johnston adds, “Many homeowners know they don’t want just a square deck anymore. But what they can have added to their house that fits their style and pocket book, that’s where we come in.”
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Heath Pierson Owner Phone: (902) 209-9418 Fax: (902) 861-1023 Heath@blueridgebuilders.ca www.blueridgebuilders.ca
