Congratulations on working tirelessly to build your composite deck, which surely looks great. Apart from feeling a sense of accomplishment and pride, there is a consistent thought about what you’ll do with leftover composite decking. Throwing them out seems illogical while storing them feels like a waste of good materials you can put to use. Which projects can you build with leftover decking?
On average, there are seven great projects you can do with leftover composite decking, and they include:
- Outdoor bench and furniture
- Dog house
- Kids’ playhouse
- Privacy screen
- Birdhouse
- Decking steps
- Planter box
However, the project you take will depend on the amount of leftover composite decking you have.
That’s not all, as you still need to know whether decking projects use all the decking and more about the seven exciting projects you can do with the leftover composite decking, which you will learn if you read on.
Do Decking Projects Typically Use All of Their Decking?
On average, it’s common to have leftover decking after completing a decking project, no matter how small the pieces appear. However, the number of leftover pieces will vary depending on the project’s complexity and whether you took measurements beforehand.
To make sure that you don’t have a lot of leftover composite decking, try and use these tips:
- Always take measurements of your project beforehand.
- Exercise caution when cutting.
- Double-check the measurements before cutting.
- Try and see if you can combine two pieces of composite decking instead of throwing them away.
What Can I Do With Leftover Composite Decking?
After completing a decking project, you can choose to store the leftover composite decking and use them later on a different project or for repairing the current deck in the future. However, you can still put it to use by creating other small projects on your property.
If the leftover decking comprises large pieces, you can choose to start small projects such as working on a kids’ playing house. However, if the pieces are small and irregular in shape, it would be hard to put them to use, and most people prefer throwing them away.
7 Useful Projects You Can Do With Leftover Composite Decking
It’s easy to go from enjoying the accomplishments of completing your decking project to worrying about what to do with the leftover composite decking. However, with a little effort and a bit of creativity from your side, you can turn these leftovers into some unique small-scale projects to improve your backyard or for recreational purposes. The projects are also simple to complete and are things that we often take for granted.
Here are seven useful projects you can do with leftover composite decking:
Build an Outdoor Bench and Other Furniture
You might have patio seats that you use whenever you’re in your backyard, but it doesn’t hurt adding a bench either. Making a bench is not complicated, especially for someone who is handy and has excellent carpentry skills.
Constructing a bench doesn’t require many materials, as a few leftover composite decking will do the trick. Start by sorting the materials out based on their length and shape. The closer they get to rectangular shape, the better.
In case you don’t have long pieces, try and see whether it’s possible to join several pieces of the same shape. A bench offers more seating space for people, and in case there are more materials left, you could try making small tables to complement the bench.
Make a Pet House
For someone who is capable of completing a deck project and be satisfied with the job, making a pet house should be a walk in a park. Of course, you’ll need to draw it down and plan for it, but making a pet house is one of the best ways of using leftover composite decking.
It’s critical to markdown correct measurements of the pet house so that you can know if the leftover composite decking will be enough. It doesn’t have to be a sophisticated pet house either.
Depending on the type of pet you have, make sure you design something they would feel comfortable walking in and out of or laying in.
Construct a Kids’ Playhouse
Have your little ones been curious about their surroundings and developed a need for adventure? If so, they have entered a phase where their imagination runs wild, and the best way to show them support is by building a kids’ playhouse for them.
Kids’ playhouses come in different designs and sizes, and you don’t have to make them fancy either. Make sure they have enough rooms to walk around the house and some shelves to put their things. The playhouse will also complement the decking, adding an aesthetic appeal to your backyard.
Build a Privacy Shield
We all love our privacy even when we’re in our home, and privacy shields come in handy. A privacy shield is a small structure made of small pieces of wood where you can enjoy your drinks or an evening event with your family.
A privacy shield is very easy to construct, as you only need to plant composite decking vertically to the ground. However, there are other designs you can adapt, and you’re only limited by your imagination. This works well if you have enough space in your garden to spare.
Construct A Bird House
You don’t necessarily need to have birds as pets on your property to make a birdhouse. You can have the structure specifically for decoration purposes, and the composite decking will complement well with the deck. You can also set the birdhouse near the roof, hoping to attract birds from nearby trees. It doesn’t hurt to have a feathery neighbor after all.
If you’ve never built a birdhouse before, you can follow a simple guide online or find a DIY YouTube video. The project would also require a few pieces of composite decking to complete.
Build a Planter Box for Your Backyard Garden
Unless you have enough space in your backyard to turn into a garden, a planter box is the closest thing you can get to an actual garden. It acts exactly like a garden and makes it easy to organize your backyard and how the garden should appear.
It’s also straightforward to make, even for someone who has never done it before. All you need to do is model it to a box that can hold and contain soil. However, watch out for the height, as you’ll need to fill it up with soil.
Before making a planter box, make sure you take proper measurements of the space you plan to put it so that you don’t waste any space or overestimate the quantity of the materials you need. It would be best to sort out the pieces according to how you believe they can fit your side project. Also, try and find a guide you can follow when designing a planter box, with YouTube videos being the easiest to follow along.
The location you choose for the planter box is also as crucial as the design itself. Since you’ll most likely be planting flowers, it would seem necessary to keep the planter box somewhere the flowers can get access to natural sunlight. The best place would be near the house and close to the deck.
Build Decking Steps
You might have completed the decking project, and everything looks great, but have you taken time to wonder whether adding a few steps is possible? Although it’s not a requirement, it would allow people to access the decking area if you added a couple of steps to it.
The trick is finding the area of the deck that is high enough to require some effort to get on it. This would be the perfect place to add the steps. With a little bit of effort on your side and a few more hours, you can manage to improve the look of your decking project without needing new composite decking.
Additional Project Ideas
You can also use leftover composite deckings to build other projects, apart from what we have already mentioned. Although not as common as the ones we have covered, these additional project ideas can go a long way to adding an aesthetic appeal to your compound. They include:
Make Trash Bin Enclosure
We’re so good at concealing our trash from outsiders, but unfortunately, we cannot hide the trash bins. However, making a trash bin enclosure is the closest you can come to hiding your garbage, and you can do so with a few hours of work.
Collect some pieces together that you’re confident can fit into one another and take proper measurements of how you want the trash bin enclosure to appear. Composite decking is solid and durable, making it perfect for withstanding weather elements. It’s also very easy to clean in case it gets dirty.
Since composite decking is smooth and beautiful, it adds an aesthetic appeal to your home while still hiding the trash bins.
Create a Stylish Side Yard Path
A lot of effort goes into decorating our yard to try and bring our ideas about it to life. That’s why many people adopt different decorative styles to try and be unique. The best way to ensure your yardsticks out is by decorating the side yard path using leftover composite decking.
Start by joining several pieces together and then cut them into whichever shape you like. Some people have been known to turn them into footprint shapes or butterflies. You’re only limited by your imagination.
Build a DIY Tree Swing
Remember how that tree swing kept you busy during your childhood? Now you have a chance of giving your little ones the same excitement. The tree on your compound can be used for something more than just a shade provider.
All you need is a rope, a few pieces of composite decking, and a few more tools to set up everything. The excitement and joy that you’ll provide to your kids are priceless, given that you’ll only sacrifice a few hours of your time.
Outro
Completing a decking project can leave you with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. However, those good feelings can disappear once you see the amount of leftover composite decking you have at your disposal. While you might be tempted to wrap it up and squeeze it in your storage room, you can still build an impressive project using leftover composite decking. However, depending on the number of leftovers you have at your disposal, you can turn it into a backyard bench, kids’ playhouse, a pet house, a privacy shield, a birdhouse, planter box, decking steps, trash bin enclosure, side yard path, or a DIY tree swing.
You’re only limited by your imagination, and many of these projects take only a few hours to complete.
If you want to make something useful with your leftover composite decking materials, look no further than All Pro Decks. Get a free in-home estimate today.
