Recommend an online deck/patio design tool?

[DaveD]

Hey folks, I'm fixin to get a small bit of decking installed in the back yard beside the patio, first step in a gradual process of establishing a more dedicated outdoor cooking zone. When I google up "online deck/patio design tool" I get zillions of hits, and was just wondering if y'all have a favorite to suggest?

To be clear, this is just for basic planning purposes, not to make actual design drawings, I'll leave that to the pros. And what I'm getting built is just a simple rectangular surface, not even any railings, where I can sit my gas grill and SnS kettle and - oh darn! - there will be room for an additional cooker, I reckon. So definitely not rocket science here

Thanks!

[RiverJeff]

Like to help Dave, My designs all come from the voices in my head, They all are saying now, water supply, gas lines waste lines and power lines.

[DaveD]

RiverJeff Yep, had thought of that too, that would be the likely next step, so I'll be sure whoever does the job knows to include that feed-forward feature.

[Johnny Booth]

If you are going to plan your concrete and utilities for future build, make sure you take lots of pictures and get it inspected. Avoids future hassles with the city/county when you expand to a roof or walls.

[DaveD]

Johnny Booth Have no fear, I'm definitely not doing anything that involved. Simple composite deck, no plumbing or electric etc. No brain, no headache.

[Jfrosty27]

Try SketchUp. I use it in my woodworking.

[yakima]

The best online tool is a healthy checking account.

[WI Bubba]

I used SmartDraw for my remodel project, and it worked well. It has a ton of different options, and not too bad of a learning curve.

I love SketchUp for doing detailed plans, but it has a much steeper learning curve and would probably be more than you need for just a rough layout.

[Jim White]

Paper, pencil and ruler. Followed quickly by a call to the pros.

[Steve R.]

Seems like a job for good ol' fashioned graph paper.

But I have used this or something very similar Lowe's had years ago for a deck project: https://www.lowes.com/l/about/deck-designer-planner

[DaveD]

Many thanks folks! I tried out several of those and they were either a) way too complicated for what I needed or b) pretty much useless. So I did the equivalent of paper and pencil, and fired up an Excel spreadsheet, made my cell sizes appropriate for the scale, and just drew the rectangular deck using the rudimentary sketching tools. May as well show you the space since I know plenty of folks here will have excellent suggestions.

The area in question is here, in front of our kitchen window, which is almost exactly 10ft/300cm wide. I want something at ground level that matches up with that width, coming out from the house 9ft/275cm. That distance is limited by where the minor but recurring runoff happens in our yard. We are just off a local topographic high, and for the most part water runs away from our property in all directions (which is AWESOME). But there is a little swale running across the yard, where any runoff we do get ends up concentrating, so that's as far as I can go.




It's very hard to see in these pics, but it's just at the right edge of the lower photo. So I want the deck to come out about as far as where the edge of the stone patio begins its sharp left turn. (BTW the kettle now sits where the gasser is in these shots, and the gasser now is where the chimineya sits.)

The one complication is that the natural gas main supply and meter are right next to the window, and the main supply pipe enters through the wall about 2ft/60cm from the ground.



We'll have to avoid all that stuff of course, so either the edge can go only to where that pipe enters the house, or perhaps the corner can be "dog eared" - whatever it takes to allow complete access to that hardware.

Here's the basic sketch I have at this point. The elevation change from "west" to "east" is probaby about a foot/30cm, and I envision the "east" edge being all low steps/risers - won't take but a couple to get to the patio level - with some kind of gravel bed transition for whatever space is left between the steps and patio. Railing along the entire "west" edge and along the "south" edge, transitioning into handrail wherever the steps end up being. Very simple.


The Pit Boss vertical pellet smoker will remain in its current spot on the patio because it needs to be near the power outlet, but the SnS kettle and Weber gasser will move onto the new deck, freeing up a lot of space on the main patio. (I know, it's hard not to notice that big expanse of white space in this diagram... )

After Christmas I'll get a few outfits over to take a look and work up estimates. Hopefully not too expensive given the simplicity and small size. Thanks for checking it out!