Multi-Level Decks in Mount Washington, OH

Mount Washington (ZIP 45230) has many ranch houses with doors and windows on more than one side of the back. A deck serving them often turns the corner of the house in an L. When that deck has two levels, the step has two possible homes, and one works far better.

An L-shaped deck has two arms and a corner where they meet, and each part can do its own job. One arm runs along the main door and the kitchen. The other runs past a second door or a row of windows. The corner, shared by both, is the natural heart of the deck.

It is tempting to put the step at the corner, where the arms meet. It looks tidy on a plan and feels awkward underfoot. A step at an inside corner has to turn, so people cross it at an angle, and the step at the turn narrows to a point. So we run the step straight across one arm, a little past the corner. The corner square stays on one level and becomes the hinge of the deck, and the table usually goes there.

Anyone heading for the far door crosses the step once, straight on, onto a full-depth step. The doors decide which arm drops. The arm that holds the main door keeps its floor level with the sill, and the arm running past lower windows steps down. The framing follows the same simple logic. The corner square and the upper arm are one frame, and the lower arm is its own frame starting at the step, with one straight beam under the change. That keeps the step level and square in both directions.