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We have a new second story deck (12 x 12). My husband and I don't know what to do underneath as far as a finish...mulch? rubber chips? stone? PLease help me before my non handy husband does the wrong thing???!!!!

My vote is for wood mulch or stone if you don't want to plant shrubs. Rubber "mulch" is an environmental hazard.

that space can be turned into a covered patio area. sorry, i don't have any how-tos but maybe a google search will turn something up. my son has lattice around the bottom of his raised deck & they use it for storage but i'm trying to convince him that he's wasting valuable "pretty" space; they have a shed for storage!

I agree w/Jewel. Anything but rubber mulch which leaches into the soil & our ground water!

Under a deck can have some very pretty (and low maintance) planting. Depending upon where it is cited on your lot it could be shady or sunny or a combination.

Thanks for in the info on rubber mulch...did not know it wasn't environmentally safe....don't they use this stuff in playgrounds? Thats just scary!

We have a 2nd story deck, too. We have the ability to walk out under it. It has a concrete floor and extra "room".

I saw a program where rainwater was caught under the upperdeck and drained into a rainbarrel from it. This is something I'd love to add to our space. This way we'd be able to keep our lower patio dry.

Just another something to consider.

We have a 2nd story deck and under it we installed two rope swings. The flooring is just little pebbles but eventually we want to do a paver patio and extend the pavers under there. We were going to use the space as a utility/storage area but DH likes to sit under there.

quote:

....don't they use this stuff in playgrounds? Thats just scary!

A lot of schools & other facilities that had it have removed it. Some were having some major problems with kids w/allergies reacting to it.

You may also use wood because it'll look nice and refreshing to your sorroundings.

you can also visit http://NMLandscaping.com

cousin did a whole mini landscape under hers...did a water feature for sound control, some shade loving plants, and finished with a pea gravel (tiny round rock..easy on the grands bare feet) they can bring out chairs if needed...(hers does have an access...)

I built a two level potting bench under my second story deck. It tucked nicely into one corner of the space. I set pavers on the area where I wanted dry feet. The other half of the space is false lamium groundcover. Can't imagine not having this space tucked away in an area that was previously unused! I even hung small pieces of chain above the bench to make filling hanging baskets so much easier.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 3Dlady*,

Great use of that space. And you are so tidy

Late to the party here, but if you're still interested I found this pic the other day. A great use of space.