If you can afford a home in San Diego with $1M views, can you afford a glass cleaning service?
Consider unobstructed wow factor view (glass) versus…meh…cable / railing as far as impressive sales pictures.
Here is my opinion… I am terrified of heights, but I dream of living on the top of the world, and I always request the highest floor possible when I check in to hotels. I will never live in a house with a deck like this with anything but solid glass panels. Horizontal cable railing would make me run for the exit or run a calculation of how much it would cost to replace the rails with something sturdier…
OK, I’m sold. I just researched and they sell a glass railing kit through Home Depot that has the iron posts and top rail with the glass panels for about $120/every 6ft section. That is very doable. However, the glass railing systems are mounted on top of the deck (rather than mounted to outside fascia) so we would lose about 6" of depth of the deck, but the deck needs to be expanded anyway.
The current idea is that we will expand the length that is outside the living room area and then slant back to the existing balcony size across the master bedroom. It will give some visual ‘design’ to the deck and save money from having to build a skyscraper structure across the whole back of the house
This is exciting cb! Makes me (us) feel like we are contributing to the design of the makeover.
I personally am not sold on the glass railing concept, but no matter, the group has spoken and you took our input.
I like the idea of the diagonal. I agree that you’ll gain the additional space but it will add an interesting design, and undoubtedly be less expensive that making the entire deck a huge rectangle.
I also need to run a gas line all the way along the outside of the house to the corner of the deck so that a grill can be connected out on the deck. I always consider that really important… setting up all electrical, plumbing and gas lines wherever someone might need them in the future. It’s just the right thing to do, even if Buyers do not really notice it.
For example, at Guizot, I ran a gas stub to the new view deck and to the interior courtyard, plus a lot of new outdoor receptacles to plug stuff in, if needed. But, what I forgot to do, and should have done for the buyers, was run a hose bib to the outside view deck so it would be easy to wash it down. Did anyone notice??? NO
I am just joining this thread and caught up on the adventures of house #4. I feel like I just closed on a house and just helped take it down to the studs for its makeover. Looking forward to this!
The frame-less ones mount on the outside, and look super-cool, but I can’t find any cost info: http://www.houzz.com/frameless-glass-railing
I’m not sure why running a gas line for a grill is that important. Don’t most people use propane tanks? That’s what we use, and it’s not a big deal. Plus that way the buyer could put a grill where they want it and not be restricted by where the line is.
Does the building code in SD even allow grills on a deck?
coralbrook and notrichrichenough ,
I come out 50/50 on the gas line. We have a gas grill and it’s hooked up to our gas line, but that’s because it’s customary to have a gas line here. But, to be honest, H prefers to be able to be able to relocate the grill depending…, which is not possible with a grill hooked up to a gas line.
I’d also be more worried about another gas line in earthquake territory (my parents lived in the Bay Area for a couple of decades and were there during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake).
We have a smoker which uses charcoal, so no gas line. The rest of my sibs use small refillable propane tanks with their grills, so they don’t have gas lines either.
I use propane tanks in my Weber. Unless there is an outdoor “kitchen” with a built in grill, I don’t see the value in putting in a gas line. Buyers can do that later… I would though put in a hose bib and some electrical outlets.
Darn CC, now I’m hungry for BBQ
I’ve been reading along and rarely have anything of value to contribute, but we have a grill hooked up to our gas line and we love the convenience! There is a 6’ rubber(?) hose connecting the grill to the pipe which allows us some flexibility in positioning the grill.
Thank you @coralbrook for sharing your oftentimes tumultuous journeys through the stages of a real-life renovation. Your work is impressive.
Love my gas line to my grill. We have a huge propane tank that is also used for our fireplace. Those little propane tanks are a pain if you have gas anywhere else. So nice never to worry about schlepping tanks or running out. We have auto refill. With natural gas it would be even better!
I guess folks around here are used to the propane tanks, since none of us have gas lines for outdoor grilling, so hard to say. There Rent even any gas lines in some of our subdivisions and the only way to get gas is if you the homeowner wants s huge tank somewhere on your property. That’s what we were told for our house when we asked.
I love my natural gas hookup for the grill.
While I love the gas line hook up to our grill, I keep a small propane tank (in another location on the property). If there is an earthquake, the gas will be shut off. With the propane tank, we could cook/boil water. For me, the gas line to the grill is not a “must have”. I would look for electrical outlets on the deck (holiday lights, etc) and a hose bib. But that’s just me.
People are washing their decks instead of using a broom in this severe drought? Really?
While I don’t have a deck we have flagstone and our state is not in a severe drought IMO there are a lot more highly wasteful water choices made every day.Spraying down a deck once in awhile just doesn’t make my list …
Yes, in San Diego we should not be washing down a deck. However, I’m hoping that San Diego will not always be in a drought for the rest of our lives. Meanwhile, it is helpful to have a hose on the deck to help water potted plants.