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237137002 C O N T E N T S Many factors go into gardening Water features make a splash in landscape designs Some home improvements can improve your health Tour of Remodeled Homes lineup Elevate your gardening success with comfort Microclimates easily spotted New color trends in home exterior Tips to get your lawn mower ready Your Guide to Homes, Home Improvement, Lawn & Garden and MORE! A publication of the Waukesha Freeman and Oconomowoc Enterprise • May 2014 Spring Home & Garden Special Edition Enjoy the outdoors with a new deck By Kevin Passon HOMES PLUS CORRESPONDENT BROOKFIELD – Blue skies and summer breezes will eventually lure us outside this year, and what better way to spend that time than on your new deck? But like any home improvement projects, there are options to con- sider, choices to make, costs to be incurred and professionals to hire. Do it the right way, and you'll enjoy your deck for years to come; do it the wrong way, and you'll spend your summer trying to fix the mistakes. At Kirch Improvements LLC in Brookfield, operations manager Jaclyn Kirch said the use of PVC for decking materials is the latest trend in the area. "We're seeing higher amounts of PVC decks, a lot of it due to the low maintenance and the fact that it doesn't stain," she said. "Kona, brownstone and slate gray are the popular colors we're seeing." Azek and TimberTech are the brands offered by Kirch, and Azek decks specifically are stain resist- ant, scratch resistant, split resist- ant, mold and mildew resistant, and impervious to moisture and insects. Nick Kerzner of Kerzner Remodeling and Construction in Oconomowoc also said composite materials are the wave of the future. "Composite is certainly the top choice," he said. "Very few people are even looking at wood." However, Kerzner said the aver- age homeowner remains in the same home between seven and 10 years, so someone looking at adding a deck with intentions of moving in a few years may consid- er wood as a way to save some money. "They figure they can maintain it for a few years before they move elsewhere," he said. The cost of composite material can run 30 percent or more than wood. "The composite and PVC decks do cost more than wood, so you need to consider that," Kirch said. Wood has the advantage of being less expensive and can be stained in a wider variety of col- ors, but it requires annual mainte- nance and will not last as long as the other types of materials. Kirch said a lot of customers first indicate a desire for compos- ite materials, with the assumption that anything that isn't wood is Building options include materials, colors and accessories Submitted photo Kirch Improvements of Brookfield installed this Azek deck in Pewau- kee. It features post cap lighting, a custom-built bench and skirting around the perimeter of the deck. See Decks/Page 2

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