Children are at greater risk if exposed to lead. It’s highly toxic and can affect major organs and in very high levels and rare circumstances lead to death. Children are exposed to lead by eating paint chips or through dust of disturbed paint.

I want to share the top 5 questions I receive about lead-based paint.

Does this mean you should forget about your project altogether for fear of disturbing lead-based paint?

The good news is many pre-1978 homes don’t have any lead-based paint so this should not be a consideration in whether to move forward with desired remodeling plans.

Does this mean your renovation cost will go up significantly to test according to and comply with EPA standards?

There is a fee for testing by a certified inspector and there is a removal cost if lead-based paint is found. The financial ramifications can be between a couple hundred and a couple thousand dollars. However, this should not keep you from renovating or disturbing paint inside or outside your home. I recently worked with a family in Overland Park. After performing testing, there was no lead-based paint and we were able to continue building as planned.

Can any builder test my home for lead-based paint?

No. You will need to work with a builder or contractor that’s trained and certified to work with lead-based paint. That’s why it’s best to choose a lead-based paint certified contractor when doing renovations on a pre-1978 home.

If I have lead-based paint inside my home, is it a guarantee that I have it outside my home as well?

The good news is that having interior lead-based paint does not mean you have exterior lead-based paint.

What’s involved in removing lead-based paint if it’s found?

The certified contractor must follow a specific regiment including area containment, protective clothing and face covering, proper clean up, proper disposal and re-testing. If your building contractor is certified to work with lead-based paint, then you don’t need to hire a second professional for this.

Overland Park AZEK deck by Archadeck Kansas City

When we first met these Overland Park homeowners, they had an existing wood deck that was falling apart. They had a few items on their tick list about their new deck. They wanted it slightly larger, more stylish and they wanted to use low maintenance materials. The request for low maintenance materials is very common these days. They are available for everything from decking boards to railings, to even ceilings and other outdoor building materials. If you’re considering having a new deck, porch, patio or other outdoor living project built, you may be wondering whether these low maintenance products are right for you.

Low maintenance outdoor building materials truly “have come a long way baby”. Years ago you may have heard “plastic wood” or plastic railings to describe the first generation of low maintenance materials. The goal back then was to have building materials that required less cleaning and annual maintenance while being sturdier than wood, having better scratch resistance and better Resistance to other factors such as bugs and molds. While the earlier iterations of low maintenance outdoor building materials couldn’t fit that bill, today there are many choices that can.

Overland Park AZEK deck Redland Rose and Acacia Archadeck of Kansas City

Low maintenance materials have fairly quickly run through a series of iterations in which there were improvements with each iteration. In addition, more companies have entered the arena which raises the bar even further. Now you can get low maintenance products that have a 25 year warranty guaranteeing even issues like fading and staining. As with any high performance product, there is also a correlating price difference. I tell my customers that if they plan on living in their home for the next 15-20 years and they plan on using the deck a lot, then the should really look at low maintenance materials. On the other hand, if you plan on selling your home in 5 years and don’t mind doing annual staining and sealing on your deck, then you may not want to use low maintenance material.

On the Overland Park deck you see in the pictures, we used AZEK which is solid PVC. Here are some of the benefits.

- Stain resistant
- Scratch resistant
- Split resistant
- Mold and mildew resistant
- Durable and long lasting
- Impervious to moisture and insects

Deck builder Overland Park KS with aluminum rail and TimberTech railing post lights

On this deck, we used two different colors. Using color contrasts is very popular right now as it adds to the custom look of your deck. The primary deck color is AZEK Acacia. The parting board and picture frame outline are AZEK Redland Rose. In continuing the design contrast, we used an all aluminum rail by Westbury aluminum. You will notice on the rail posts, we used black TimberTech Radiance railings.

The finished project is a beautiful, low maintenance, spacious deck with attractive design details that will last likely longer than the owners live in the home.

Steve Folsom - Kansas City deck and porch builder

If you are considering building a deck, porch, patio or other outdoor structure for your home, give us a call for a free consultation at (913) 851 – 3325 or email us at kansascity@archadeck.net. We look forward to talking to you.

Before picture

When these Overland Park homeowners called us, they had a nice outdoor area in their back yard but it wasn’t doing what they wanted it to. They had a nice pool they used extensively for grandchildren and family. They had small patio with no shade adjacent to the pool which was next to a gravel landscaping area that wasn’t very attractive.

The outdoor living area had no sun protection so they wanted to have a partially shaded structure for those not swimming to enjoy the pool without as much sun. They didn’t want any screens on the porch, just an open view to enhance the ambiance of their outdoor living. They wanted the porch to match their house and look like an extension of their home.

AZEK pool deck with open porch and bench Overland Park KS

Thinking about the flow from the house to the covered porch, there are a couple of things that are important. One is to have the walk-out from the house at the level of the house. Someone carrying food could easily trip if there’s a big step up or down. Another consideration is whether you want continuous shade or protection from the elements in that transition. To this end, we connected the open porch roof to the house so they can walk directly under the porch from the house.

The patio is well finished. It has ceiling fans, lights, and even heaters attached to the painted beadboard ceiling.

The owners wanted to add an extended outdoor living area with a view of the pool that did not include sun protection. So, continuing from the floor of the open porch is a low elevation deck. The deck and the attached bench are made of AZEK in the brownstone color. This light color also has a cooler surface. The deck is raised slightly so there is air flow under the deck to make the deck even cooler and easier on the feet on hot days.

AZEK brownstone color deck and porch in Overland Park KS

In the design process, our goal is to translate the goals of how you want to live into an area that meets each of those needs whether this includes a light decking color with ventilation for a cool surface temperature or a more elevated roof to a covered porch for a more open an airy feel. Share your outdoor living goals and desires with your contractor so they can truly come up with a custom solution that meets your needs and how you want to live. For a free consultation about creating an outdoor living area or area to compliment your home and outdoor living goals, give us a call (913) 851 – 3325, email us http://kansas-city.archadeck.com/ or visit our website to view more pictures and submit a request for a free consultation.

Olathe KS sunroom with double set of Pella French doors

We have seen a trend in the past few years for the consumer to convert their previous deck space to a roofed room of some type. This may be a screen porch, a sunroom, a 3-season room or a 4-season room.  There are so many choices and so many different names to these structures but generally this is how we look at the various structures. A deck has no roof or walls and thus has exposure to bugs, sun, and rain among other elements. A screen porch includes a roof and screened walls and affords protection from bugs and some limited protection from other elements. A 3-season room generally has insulation and single pane windows but does not have heating, cooling and ventilation. A 4-season room has temperature protection since it includes not only insulation and double-pane windows but it also includes heating, cooling and ventilation. Every design is custom so there can easily be variations on these configurations.

Olathe KS sunroom

These homeowners in Olathe KS wanted to convert their old and tired deck into a room but they weren’t sure exactly what that room would look like. We enjoy the design and specification process where we combine our experience and the customer’s desires to come up with a structure that’s tailored just for them.

In this case, these homeowners knew they wanted to use the room as much as possible in both winter, summer and in all weathers.  We suggested a fully insulated room with auxiliary heat and cooling and with low-e double pane energy efficient windows to maximize comfort and year round occupancy. The owners wanted new French doors from the living room and from the kitchen and they wanted to keep them open a large part of the time. We installed both sets of French doors that you see in the photo to replace older doors. In order to give a unique architectural look to the room, tongue and groove cedar ceiling trim was selected with painted beadboard wall trim. Outside, there is an upper deck for cooking, and a larger lower deck under the room.

Olathe KS sunroom design details

In addition to designing the room, it’s important to use materials that will stand up to both the elements and the test of time. The products we used Were Pella windows and doors, AZEK decking, Fortress railing, TimberTech Radiance rail posts.

To see more photos to get ideas for adding more living space to your home, please take a look at the photo galleries on our web site:

Steve Folsom - owner of Archadeck of Kansas City

Kansas City sunroom photo gallery

Kansas City 3- and 4-season room photo gallery

Kansas City screened porch photo gallery

Please give us a call for a free consultation. Whether you’re thinking about building now or in the Spring, good planning is important and the best time to start planning is now. Call (913) 851 – 3325.

1. Do you plan on dining on your screen porch?
2. Do you plan on having a seating area on your screen porch
3. Do you plan on having both dining and seating?
4. What direction does the back of your home face?

The answers to these questions will help determine the size of the porch, the placement of the porch, and may even help determine the flooring material.

We could go on and on but instead, take a look at a few pictures of screen porches we’ve built in this area over the last decade:

Overland Park KS Screened Porch with Treated Wood Floor and Knee Wall

The devastating Tsunami in Japan seems so fresh in our minds but also so long ago. When we are hit with a major devastation, the feelings and emotions seem so fresh in our minds yet we know intellectually that these events happened much longer ago. I watched an episode of 60 Minutes a week ago that surprised me. Japan is not in the rebuilding stage but yet rather still in the cleanup stage. What this means is that soon raw building materials are going to be in tremendously high demand on the International market. What this means for us domestically is prices are getting ready to increase.

Thirty years ago, prices on raw materials such as wood were influenced by domestic demand. Now, the prices of raw materials in the States are widely determined by world demand. Many of us are staying in our homes because of the challenge in selling our homes right now at any sort of attractive price. We’re also vacationing less because we want our dollars to last longer than the span of a vacation. We want to invest those dollars into creating a relaxing or seemingly luxurious space at our own homes. What better way to do this than to build a porch or sunroom to both expand our home and enjoy a greater view of our yards and a better connection with the outdoors. Visibility to our yards and to more sun has a relaxing effect and our porches or sunrooms can give us the feeling of vacationing at home.

Kansas City Screened Porch with Screened Gable Roof and Sky Light

Prices of raw materials are getting ready to go up. I always tell my prospective customers who are thinking about building in the Fall or Winter that it might be one of the best times to build because of impending first-of-the-year price increases. The material manufacturers not only commonly increase prices at the first of a new year but some get a jump on the annual price increase by raising prices at the end of the year. Where do the rebuilding efforts in Japan come into this equation? Many of us suspect that the effects of the increased demand on raw materials from Japan’s rebuilding have already been felt. Instead, Japan is nearing the end of their cleanup and is forecasted to have a surge in demand at the beginning of 2012 at which time raw material prices may likely increase.

Now is the best time to build your new porch, sunroom or room addition.

In addition to material prices, there are a few other reasons why now is the best time to build your new porch or sunroom.

Least amount of landscape damage

When you are building a backyard structure, there can be literally hundreds of trips from your backyard to front yard. If we are demolishing your old deck or structure or replacing parts of it, the materials need to be carried out of your yard by a person. In addition, the material is carried through your yard with many trips from front to back. The best time for lots of traffic across your yard is when the grass and plants are dormant and the ground is harder. It’s easier for the lawn to recover.

Large Gable Roof Sunroom with Attached Deck in Lee's Summit MO

Easier for the carpenters

We all have this scene in our minds. Carpenters sitting on a hot roof or in a chair drinking a Gatorade and wiping sweat of their face This is not for being lazy. The heat of summer not only necessitates more hydration breaks but it also slows the carpenters down.

Much shorter waiting list

We all know the best people are busy. When we’ve heard about a great new doctor or landscaper, we expect to be put on a waiting list and we’re ok with that. We expect a waiting list from the best. In the Spring, any reputable contractor is going to have a substantial waiting list. If you call in April, it may be highly likely that your project cannot be started until early summer. As a matter of fact, if you call a contractor in the Spring and they can start right away – buyer beware. In the Fall and Winter, reputable contractors will still likely have a waiting list but it will be substantially shorter.

Ability to control your schedule

Now comes the frustrating part of building in the Spring. You’ve signed up to have your project built and you anxiously wait to hear when the contractor can start only to find that’s the week you will be on vacation or the couple of weeks when you are going to have loads of people in your back yard and cannot have builders around during that time. Similarly to the point above, shorter waiting lists mean a better ability to control having the building done at a time makes the most sense for you.

Steve Folsom - owner of Archadeck of Kansas City

When you call for a free consultation, we can help you determine what makes the best sense for you. The disruption on your lives and back yard will be much less. And, you’re likely to pay significantly less.

Call us now for your free consultation at (913) 851 – 3325 or email us at kansascity@archadeck.net.

To see more examples of our work, check out or photo galleries.

Kansas City sunrooms photo gallery

Kansas City 3-season and 4-season image gallery

Kansas City screen porch picture gallery

Screen porch with AZEK double deck and pergola in Leawood KS

Just like in our homes, it’s important to have individual spaces for different uses. There are different and distinct rooms for eating, cooking, sleeping, and relaxing. The same can be done with your outdoor living area as well. At this Leawood KS home, we worked together with the homeowners to build a screen porch flanked by two AZEK decks and a pergola. Each of these spaces fulfilled the need for different types of outdoor living. Equally as important, family members and friends could enjoy time simultaneously in the different areas doing different things. For example, someone could be inside the screen porch reading while another person or small group are gathering on one deck area and another person is separately grilling on the other deck area.

Leawood KS screen porch with custom Pella door entrance

The screen porch

Because this was a one-story home, the porch had a roof connection to the home. Based on the placement of the porch, a new connection was made from the home to the porch. We carved out a large entrance area and installed custom-made doors by Pella. The screen porch adjoins the great room in the home so it’s a nice extension of the great room. This allows the owners to keep the doors open depending on the temperature and allow air flow through the porch into their home.

Leawood KS screen porch builder designed for maximum air flow

The 18′ x 14′ porch’s interior has a custom tongue-and-groove cedar ceiling. The screen porch is designed to allow for a good air flow. Instead of a kneewall, divider walls were used to allow air flow under the divider rail. The gable is open to allow screens for air flow. And finally there is a large ceiling fan to increase the air flow.

Another thing that’s very important to consider is entrances and exits from your outdoor room. This screen porch has three. There is an exit to the decks on both sides and the entrance to the home as well.

The AZEK deck on this side of the porch includes built-in benches and lattice skirting.

The large double decks

Both of the decks are built with AZEK acacia low maintenance PVC decking. The Acacia colors compliments the home’s subtle hues and is also quite popular right now. The seating deck not only has room for a large seating area but also has built-in benches for more seating. The deck is low to grade so no railing is needed but the benches add a nice natural rail area where the landscape would prohibit a walk down to the back yard. This deck also is nicely finished with a lattice skirting.

AZEK deck with pergola and eating area

The deck on the other side of the home can be used for seating and eating and also has the cooking area. In the corner, a pergola surrounds the grilling area. Along with the patio, the family essentially now has 4 outdoor rooms in which to live, dine, relax and enjoy.

As you can see, every design is as different as every home. But the design considerations for youroutdoor structurewill take a good bit more into account than the aesthetics. We will spend time with you identifying how you want to live outside. How many people do you expect will be spending time in each space? How often? How are you going to live in those spaces? Is it going to be an eating area and how large is your furniture? These are just a few of the questions we will ask you when we meet for a free consultation.

Steve Folsom - Kansas City deck and porch builder

Give us a call to schedule a free consultation. We would love to work with you to discuss adding an outdoor living space or spaces to your home. Call us at (913) 851 – 3325 or email us at kansascity@archadeck.net.

To see more photos on our website, please visit a couple of our photo galleries

Kansas City screen porch photo gallery

Kansas City decks photo gallery

Or, visit our website to submit a consultation request.

Kansas City AZEK deck in Acacia color with Deckorator balusters and cedar railing

Curved landscape beds have long been popular. Now we are seeing more and more curved lines built into the hardscapes and structures of our customers’ backyards. These include but are not limited to curved retaining walls, stairs, pool shapes, hardscapes and more. In this situation, these Kansas City homeowners had curved stone walls and retaining walls and wanted to continue this design theme into their new deck as well.

The deck

The owners inherited a deck that was rotting and had not been maintained by the previous owner. The old deck was rectangular and was not aesthetically pleasing and the homeowners wanted to improve the view from the deck to the pool.

The deck design and materials

In addition to adding a curved design component to the deck, we improved the view from the deck to the pool by bumping the deck out between 3-8 feet closer to the pool thus increasing the size of the deck.

AZEK Acacia deck by Archadeck of Kansas City

For materials, the owners knew they wanted to use low-maintenance materials to make upkeep easier. We went with PVC decking made by AZEK in the Acacia color. The Acacia color is a darker brown similar to a dark walnut color. We mentioned in a previous post that darker decking colors are quite popular right now. For the railing, we used reduced maintenance railing, Deckorator balusters and cedar railing.

Large curved Kansas City AZEK deck with small BBQ deck near 2nd story kitchen

The special use barbeque deck

In addition to the main deck, we also built a small deck off the kitchen door for grilling.  You can see the elevated deck as it adjoins to the 2nd story in the left side of this picture. What chef wouldn’t love an outdoor grill a couple steps outside the kitchen door? It’s like having an additional stove in your kitchen.

Kansas City elevated second story screen porch with heavy-duty screen and low-maintenance trim and we wrapped the columns with Smart Trim

The screen porch

The owners also inherited an existing cedar screen porch that was in disrepair. It had some broken screens and trim, some cracked cedar, and a variety of upkeep issues. We stripped off all the screens, railing, and trim replacing them with heavy-duty screening, new railing to match the deck, and low maintenance rot-proof painted trim to match the house which restored this screen porch back to better than new condition.

If you’re considering enhancing, building, or giving a face lift to your back yard; consider calling a qualified licensed contractor to discuss design ideas. Whether you’re thinking about building now or in the new few months, give us a ring to discuss design ideas.

Give us a call (913) 851 – 3325, email us: kansascity@archadeck.net, visit our website: http://kansas-city.archadeck.com/. Also feel free to enjoy many more pictures in some of our finished project photo galleries on our web site.

Kansas City deck pictures photo gallery

Kansas City screen porches pictures photo gallery

Leawood KS Sunroom

When I first sit down with my customers who are looking for a new sunroom, one of the things most people say they want is an all-glass sunroom. There are many reasons why an all-glass sunroom is not a good idea but I will share the top 5 of them here.

1. You will bake

Remember that experiment we all did as kids where we put a leaf under a magnifying glass in the hot sun and if we did it just right the leaf started to shrivel or even get a burn hole in it? Now imagine you with an all-glass roof in a room in the heat of summer. A sunroom should be designed so you can enjoy the view of your yard and a certain amount of sun. But you want to enjoy the warmth and not the baking effect that the sun can have. You want to enjoy light but also want to have a place to hang shades or window cover for when you’re looking for a little more privacy in your sunroom.

2. Your furniture will not age gracefully

Are you considering putting indoor furniture or wooden furniture in your new sunroom? Are you considering having fabric covered chairs, sofas or table covers? Nothing will fade furniture and fabric faster than prolonged exposure to hot sun. Even when the sun doesn’t feel very hot outside, the elevated heat as a result of the glass windows will put your furniture and upholstery aging on overdrive.

Large Gable Roof Sunroom with Attached Deck in Lees Summit MO

3. Working the heater overtime in the winter will work over your budget as well

On the flip side, as much as glass holds heat in the summer, so does it fail to hold out cold in the winter. There is a direct correlation between the number of windows, the low temperatures, and the cold that comes into your sunroom. This does not by any means indicate that you shouldn’t use much glass. There are many things that can be done to still use plenty of glass but to use it in better sizes and in better places.

4. You will have far fewer months of the year that you can use your room

Following points #1 and #3, having an all-glass sunroom may keep you out of your room for a good part of the summer and a good part of the winter. Most of my customers hope to spend 80+ percent of the year in the sunroom. By having a more moderate amount of glass, you will extend the winter and summer hours that you can enjoy your room.

Olathe Kansas sunroom by Archadeck of Kansas City

5. Golf balls, hail balls, falling limbs and other objects will not be your friends

Our hail out here in Kansas City can be very strong. None of us want to think about how a glass ceiling would hold up to hail balls, golf balls or any other falling objects. Limbs and other objects can easily fall on the roof of your sunroom just as they do on the roof of your house.

Here are some things you should consider to afford you the most enjoyment in your room for as much time as possible without suffering the effects of above.

The best “top” for your sunroom is a roof. We will design your roof to match your existing roof style and materials. There are many different roof styles that can be used. To maximize sunlight and give an airier feel, a gable roof is often a nice option.

Consider a knee wall. The knee wall is the solid wall below the window line. This knee wall provides a lot of protection from the cold and gives us a great place to wire your electrical outlets.

Take your contractor’s advice on windows and doors. He can recommend the right glass to control temperature and control price.

Steve Folsom - Kansas City deck and porch builder

Read our blog for more articles and how-to’s. Please send us questions. We’d love to answer them and will get back in a very timely manner.

Contact us for a free consultation (913) 851 – 3325 kansascity@archadeck.net

One of the very first questions customers ask me when they’re looking for a new screen porch is can I make it compliment their home. The simple answer is yes. It can compliment your house. There are a number of factors that go into making this end result happen.

Roof style

This home has both a gable roof and a shed roof. The shed roof matches the shed roof above it.

One of the biggest factors to matching your screen porch to your home is the roof style. If your home has a gable roof, it is ideal to try to use a gable roof with your screen porch. The reason I say ideal is that sometimes the window placement or other factors on the back of your house do not support a particular roof style. For example, if we want to build a gable roof and the height of this roof extends vertically up to the second floor, there can’t be any windows or doors or other architectural features on that adjoining house wall as we can’t have the porch ceiling obstruct the view from second story windows. In this case, we may likely need to choose an alternate roof style.

Wrap-Around screen porch in Overland Park

Sometimes choosing a roof style is even more complicated. Your house may have two or even three roof styles. You may have a gable roof along with a hip roof and possibly even the addition of another roof style. This allows more flexibility in choosing the roof style for your screen porch. As you can imagine, the roof style can make the price vary quite a bit.

Size

Scale is very important when designing a screen porch to match your home. If you have a huge screen porch with a smaller home or a tiny screen porch with a larger home, the simple scale of the two will not compliment the home the way you wish.

Footprint of the back yard

What kind of footprint is in the back yard? There might be jogs and jigs where the kitchen or other rooms jut out. Look at how the shape of the porch will compliment these. Is there any landscaping, trees, or things you don’t want to move? All of these elements help dictate how we can design the screen porch to match your home.

Archadeck Kansas City screen porch matches house

Exterior colors and trim work

Does your home have a particular type of siding? What color is it? Matching the exterior of your screen porch with the materials from your home’s exterior is a huge factor. In this picture, you will see a number of elements that aided in matching this screen porch to the home. You will note that the gable roof matches the gable-shaped window set on the back of the home. The porch trim matches the trim of the house. And, the siding on the kneewall matches the siding on the house.

Elevation

Screened porch with lattice Skirting and pergola in Overland Park, KS

Based on the elevation of your back yard, you may need an elevated screen porch. See how this screen porch in Overland Park is elevated to match the home. You will also notice that no knee wall is used so the elongated vertical screen shapes match the elongated vertical windows of the home.

Outside your porch

There are ways outside of your screen porch design to blend your porch into your home. Landscaping has a big impact on blending something with your house. What it tends to do soften the lines of any addition whether deck, porch, etc. and makes it flow better into your yard’s footprint.

Read More

To read more in our article series on screen porches, here are a few more.

Screened porch designed to fit the home's architecture

The top 5 reasons to build your screen porch in the fall

Is the inside of every screen porch the same?

A screen porch is not a screen porch is not a screen porch

Screen porch or sunroom? Here are some things to consider.

Call us to talk about building a screen porch on your home (913) 851 – 3325 or email us at kansascity@archadeck.net

Please visit our screen porch photo library on our Archadeck of Kansas City website.

Steve Folsom,

Archadeck of Kansas City