Garages in Saratoga Springs fill up fast. Between bikes, lawn mowers, kayaks, camping gear, snow shovels and patio cushions, there’s rarely room left for the car. Meanwhile, many homes here have a raised deck with a big, empty space underneath. With some planning, that space can become one of the most useful parts of your yard.
How much space do you have?
What you can do depends mostly on the height of the deck.
- Low decks and porches, a couple of feet off the ground, work well for storage you reach from the side: hoses, cushions, kids’ toys, a lawn sprayer.
- Mid-height decks, where you can crouch underneath, can hold a mower, bikes or yard tools behind doors.
- Second-story decks over a walk-out basement have room to stand up, so the space can become a full storage room, a covered patio, or both.
Skirting and doors
The simplest storage upgrade is skirting: panels that close in the sides of the deck so the space underneath is hidden and protected. Add a door or two and it becomes a storage area.
Our back porch with built-in storage is a good example. We skirted the base of a raised porch and built cabinet doors with a diagonal board pattern, so the space underneath works as storage and the porch still looks finished from the yard.
Skirting can match the deck’s fascia, use the same composite boards as the decking or go with lattice or slats if you want airflow. Leave enough ventilation so moisture doesn’t get trapped under the deck.
Keep it dry
Water is the main problem with under-deck storage. Rain and snowmelt drip through the gaps between deck boards, so anything stored underneath gets wet unless something stops it.
For a second-story deck, a drainage system like Trex RainEscape catches the water just below the boards and sends it to a gutter and downspout. That keeps the area underneath dry enough for storage, furniture or a finished ceiling. Read more in our post on Trex RainEscape drainage.
For lower decks, where full drainage isn’t practical, store things that can handle a little moisture, or use sealed bins and shelving that keeps items off the ground.
The ground underneath
Bare dirt under a deck stays muddy, grows weeds and invites critters. A few better options:
- Landscape fabric and gravel for a clean, dry floor that drains.
- Pavers if you want a solid surface to roll a mower or bikes onto.
- A concrete slab for a full storage room or patio.
Slope the ground away from the house so water drains out, not toward the foundation. Utah’s clay soils hold water, so drainage matters.
Think about access
Plan the doors around what you’ll store. A mower needs a wide, level opening. Bikes need room to turn. Seasonal items you only reach twice a year can go in the back. If the deck has stairs, the space under them is a natural spot for a small cabinet or bin storage.
Keep critters out
Open space under a deck is attractive to animals looking for shelter in winter. Skirting that goes down to the ground, with a mesh barrier at the bottom where needed, helps keep them out. It also stops wind from blowing snow and leaves under the deck.
Protect the framing
Storage areas close in the space under a deck, which can trap moisture against the framing. That’s one more reason to protect wood joists with G-Tape joist tape, or to build with Fortress Evolution steel framing. Leave a way to get in and inspect the framing and ledger every so often.
Code and safety
Enclosing the space under a deck doesn’t usually change the deck’s structure, but it can affect access to things like gas meters, dryer vents, window wells and electrical panels. Don’t block those, and keep any required clearances.
Plan storage with a new deck
The easiest time to add storage is when the deck is built. Footings and posts can be placed to leave open bays, drainage goes in before the boards, and skirting and doors can be framed in from the start. We’ll show the storage area in the 3D rendering once the job is booked, so you can see it before we build.
See more deck add-on ideas or our Saratoga Springs service area page, and contact us for a free estimate over the phone.