A New Deck Glows After Dark | Whitehall, PA

Before this project, the back of this Whitehall home had a small wood deck that had done its job for years but had worn down to bare, grayed boards and a simple railing with no real privacy from the neighboring unit. It was enough space for a table and a few chairs, but not much more.

The plan called for a brand-new deck built on helical piers, decked in Deckorators Summit composite in Boulder with a single-board picture frame border in the same color along the perimeter. The fascia is wrapped in matching Summit Boulder, and the stairs down to the yard are Deckorators Summit as well. Along the perimeter, we installed Wolf Vinyl railing in white with black aluminum balusters, topped with a composite cocktail-top rail cap for a wider, more finished surface along the top rail. Underneath, the deck is closed up with composite board skirting in Boulder, with a dedicated access gate for storage and utility work.

To address the privacy the old railing never gave, we built a composite privacy panel along one side of the deck, running horizontal slats up to full height between black aluminum posts. It closes off the sightline toward the neighboring unit without making the deck feel boxed in. This project also included a full LED lighting package: a transformer feeding LED riser lights set into each stair tread and LED wedge lights mounted on the privacy panel posts, so the stairs and the panel both glow once the sun goes down.

With the build finished, the deck now carries a full dining set, a pair of Adirondack chairs, and a large umbrella, with a fire pit and garden plantings finishing off the yard below. Once evening comes, the stair lights and the privacy panel's wedge lights come on together, turning the stairway into as much a part of the design as the deck itself. If your own deck could use a rebuild along with real privacy and some evening lighting, we'd be glad to walk the space with you and talk through what a build like this could look like at your home.

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