By Mark Clement
Drain the rain.
Once of the many things I love about raised decks is that they not only create the obvious space above their deck boards, but also usable space below.
The challenge, however, can be that the below-deck space only stays dry if you live in the desert. Otherwise rain passes through the deck boards and into the space below, sometimes leaving rain lines in the shadow of the deck board in whatever turf or surface is beneath.
But what if you want to utilize that space? For a patio outside a basement door; or for storage of bikes, toys or the lawnmower that's taking up too much space in the garage?
Amerimax Home Products' DrySnap looks like a smart and relatively easy-to-install under-deck drainage system that'll keep your gear dry. And it's for use with just-built or existing decks -- a nice feature.
The system is essentially tongue and groove (T&G) vinyl panels that install on tracks that run perpendicular to the deck joists. Spacers added to each successive course of track deliver the pitch required for water to roll downhill and evacuate water from the system. You can daylight rainwater straight off the front of the panel or channel it into a gutter and downspout.
However you divert the water, the bottom line is a dry space beneath your deck -- for you, the kids or even Fido. DrySnap, with its simple components, retro-fit capability and 10 year guarantee, looks like a contractor-friendly solution to max out your deck space.
www.McFarlandCascade.com
Mark Clement is a remodeler and author of The Carpenter's Notebook and The Kid's Carpenter's Workbook, Fun Family Projects! Check out his books and current projects at his new website.
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