Would you remove this deck?


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Old 07-25-19, 10:02 AM
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Would you remove this deck?

I've been pondering for years on whether to replace the old wood on the deck with composite or tear it out completely. The concrete stairs to the door are still there from what I can see as the built on top of it. No ones used the sliding glass door for years. The deck also wasn't really designed well to utilize the space. You can see the bottom step to the start of the hill only has about 15 inches to walk though, just enough for the lawn mower to pass which has been a pita.

The back yard is very small, so the deck does take away some valuable sq footage. Another reason I thought about removing the deck is the entire lawn is being redone. All the grass has been killed in order to reseed as the lawn was filled with weeds and such.

It would be the best time to remove the deck so the area can be prepped for seed and all done at the same time. What would you all do in this situation? Trying to gauge what the best option is here. Also wanted to build a 3ft retaining wall to the right of the deck as the entire back yard needs some tlc.
 
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Old 07-25-19, 10:27 AM
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Just going with what you have said, I would think it's the ideal time to remove it. You didn't say how much you actually use it, but the fact that you're not using the doorwall to access it says that you're not using it, or, if you are using it you're having to climb down to ground level someplace else and then climb back up to the deck. And going just by what I can see in the picture, the house next door, full tree on that side, and shade from another large and full tree on this side, I'm guessing that you don't have some unique vantage point being on the deck, so no advantage in it being raised. If you don't spend much time in the backyard, seed it and be done with it. If you do spend a fair amount of time out there, or would if it were a bit easier to use, my opinion is that a paver or poured patio would be a whole lot better option. You wouldn't lose anything as far as the view, you could run your mower right over the edge so eliminate the trimming, and I think that it would make your yard at least feel larger because it would be one continuous space with no steps to carve it up. Those are my opinions, for whatever they're worth.
 
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Old 07-25-19, 06:05 PM
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Thank you for your valuable recommendations Pedro. It rarely gets used. Mainly smoking meat once and a while or doing random handyman stuff on it. But it never gets used for what it's intended for. There is a couch behind the glass door so you couldn't even open the door if you wanted to.

If the top platform was as wide as the entire structure I probably wouldn't even consider removing it. The top area is small so there inst much you can do. Its mostly steps, not usable sq footage. Your idea of a paver of a poured patio is a excellent idea. I'm going to look into that. Here is another view of the house.
 
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