Decks & Railings in Winnipeg
A Better Way to Use Your Backyard
A well-built deck changes the way people use their backyards. You get a nice place to drink coffee in the morning, eat with your family, and relax outside in the evenings instead of stepping out onto a small landing or patch of grass. SunCo designs and builds custom decks and railings for homeowners throughout Winnipeg and nearby communities.
Custom Deck Design
A deck may look simple, but the structure underneath determines how well it performs over time. At SunCo, decks are planned with long-term use in mind, especially when homeowners may want to add features later, such as a sunroom, enclosure, or pergolas and fixed awnings.
Building the structure properly from the beginning makes those upgrades possible without tearing the deck apart or starting over. The shape and placement of the deck should feel natural with the house and provide comfortable access to the yard.
Decking Materials for Winnipeg Homes
When building a deck, the material you select is often the first major decision. Each choice presents a unique aesthetic, varying maintenance requirements, and differing performance over time.
Some people prefer the traditional feel of real wood. Others choose composite boards to reduce upkeep. The choice of material typically hinges on the intended use of the deck and the homeowner’s desire for ongoing maintenance. After working on outdoor projects in the Winnipeg area for many years, SunCo has seen how different decking materials perform through Manitoba’s seasons. That experience helps guide homeowners toward options that make sense for both appearance and durability.
Pressure-Treated Decking
Pressure-treated wood is one of the most common materials used to build decks. It gives the structure reliable strength and keeps the project’s cost low.
Pressure-treated boards work well outside when they are put together correctly. The chemicals used to treat the lumber give it a maintenance-free performance that resists deterioration from the elements over time. You can stain or seal them to match the house or surrounding landscape; however, that creates a dependency on ongoing maintenance during the lifetime of the deck to keep its appearance new and fresh.
For many homes in Winnipeg, a pressure-treated decking provides a relatively low-maintenance, long-lasting way to use the outdoors every day.
Cedar Decks
People often choose cedar because of its attractive appearance. The wood’s warm colour and unique grain make the deck look more traditional. Typically the grade of lumber provided is higher than the run-of-the-mill pressure-treated lumber, so there are fewer imperfections in the boards. Cedar ages naturally and turns grey over time. The cedar sap is a natural fungicide, so the lumber won’t rot or deteriorate as quickly as untreated lumber from other species, so you can expect about 20 years of maintenance-free performance. That is a significant advantage to leverage when there is a concern with adding chemicals to the surface of your deck for health and environmental reasons.
Cedar feels lighter and looks more polished than pressure-treated wood. Cedar decks can retain their fresh tone for a long time if you seal them with a natural oil, such as tung oil or boiled linseed oil. Those products will allow the lumber to breathe and give you multiple applications over the life of the deck without the common peeling effect that happens when using traditional stains and paint products.
Composite Decking
Homeowners increasingly choose composite decking for a deck that requires little upkeep.
The boards are made from a mixture of recycled materials and wood fibres, which gives them a surface that resists moisture, fading, and warping. Composite boards cannot be stained or sealed like natural wood can.
There are many colours and textures of composite products to choose from, which makes it easier to match the deck with the style of the house and keep its appearance consistent over time.
Since the appearance of the composite in the marketplace about 30 years ago, by now many products and iterations of the “composite family of products” have come and gone; here are a few of the most noteworthy characteristics:
- Typically the initial cost of the surfacing board is higher than natural lumber products
- The boards retain heat from the sun and can be uncomfortable to walk on barefoot
- The deck supporting the composite products require more joists and a higher load capacity from the supporting piles or pads
- When damaged boards need replacement the product may be obsolete or discontinued
- Depending on the grade of the product you select, fading will occur over time
Deck Railings
Railings are an important part of both safety and design. All raised decks above 24” to grade require guardrails, but the right system should protect the edge of the deck without making the space feel closed in.
SunCo considers railing placement early in the deck design process. The position of stairs, posts, and guardrails all affect how the finished deck will look and how comfortable it will be to use. Privacy walls are also an integral part of the railing system and are given proper consideration during the design process of the entire project.
Start Planning Your Deck
A well-designed deck can entirely change how a backyard is used. If you’re considering building a new deck or upgrading an existing one, the first step is a conversation about what would work best for your home.
SunCo has been building outdoor structures in the Winnipeg area for nearly 30 years. We’ll walk through layout ideas, materials, and construction options so you can move forward with confidence.
Thank you,
Gordon B Penner
With the help of our SunCo team, we were able to figure out a perfect landing that transitions from the sunroom into the house. They were also very helpful in explaining the prep work that is involved before the actual addition starts (moving any hydro and electrical lines, getting permits, digging the piles, etc.) Once everything was in place, SunCo sent their team to erect the building. It was all up within a few days. The crew was very friendly and dedicated to their trade. The only issue that we have, which is completely out of SunCo’s realm, is that the winter elements along with the Windsor Park gumbo causes some windows to shift but this issue disappears once Spring arrives.
This addition to our home was the best renovation project that we’ve ever had done. We use it every day, from March to October. As soon as the Sun is capable of warming up this space, we’re in there. Sometimes we help the Sun out by throwing a small heater in there and its top notch! With our growing family, the sunroom is a perfect additional area for gatherings because there’s nothing better than enjoying a nature view while visiting with family and fiends. Weather permitting, our 7 granddaughters love to eat in the sunroom; independently from the adults. My husband has a side job which necessitates clients to drop off or pick up documents, and let me say, it is unbelievable as to how many people have commented on our sunroom. We have recommended SunCo over and over again. If anyone is contemplating on getting a sunroom, we would not hesitate to proceed with Backyard Paradise by SunCo.
Update: After posting this review, Roger, a company sales rep dropped in and gave us some very good recommendations on how to address the shifting issue. Great company! Thx.
We use it as our living room and our view of the nature around us is our T.V.
It is our sanctuary where we can unwind at the end of the day and restore peace to our lives.
When our family is over and our young grandchildren come, we fill it with toys and joy is had by all!
We would highly recommend Backyard Paradise to everyone.
We absolutely love our sunroom!!
We were very happy with the materials and workmanship, so we called them back in 2020 to build our replacement stairs and railing.
We use the sunroom 8 months out of the year. We eat, entertain, and relax in the sunroom. Our favourite is watching the humming birds that come to the plants right up to the door.
The sunroom is my favorite part of the house says our pet dove.
We love being outside without bugs bothering us.
We highly recommend the backyard Paradise by SunCo to build yours.
Happy anniversary.
The professionalism and service we received was top notch.
With this addition to our house, it has added such a nice space to enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning and have company over at night to enjoy a drink and snacks while being protected by the mosquitoes but still feeling like we are outside.
This was a great experience from beginning to end and would highly recommend SunCo for your sunroom needs.
René & Joanne