When Lance Sniatkowski builds a deck, it won’t be ordinary.
“We’re a custom deck company,” said Lance, owner of Deck Innovators of Midlothian. “We don’t just build decks; we innovate them.”
Lance’s custom decks often feature multiple levels and spot lighting on steps. Some even feature custom curved edges. “Composite and PVC decking materials will bend, allowing the construction of a radius deck,” Lance said.
Other custom elements can involve merging the deck with ground-level hardscaping, such as a patio, or choosing man-made materials in a variety of colors.
Every Deck Innovators project starts with a site visit and consultation with the customers at their home. “I like to see the site and the property, get measurements, and design around that,” Lance said. “Plus, it’s a little more personable for the customer.”
Lance offers three types of decking material – wood, PVC and composite – but prefers and recommends the manmade materials. “I don’t like building wood decks for families with children and pets, because of the splinters,” Lance said. Because decks made of wood are cheapest to build, they’re often requested by builders who come to Lance’s company for the deck portion of new home projects.
PVC decking is made of recyclable plastic materials and produce a durable, long-lasting structure. One high-end product, Timber Tek PVC, offers the advantage of a cooler surface temperature, making the deck more comfortable in summer when people go outdoors in bare feet.
Composite decking, made from a variety of materials that resist fading, staining, scratching and mold, will hold up longer than a wood deck, and with minimal care. Higher-end composite products will look like wood; lower-end products won’t, but come in many attractive colors and are priced similar to wood.
Bruce Ensley met Lance while researching low-maintenance composite materials and seeking an authorized dealer to rebuild the 8-year-old original deck on his Charter Colony home.
“There were design challenges,” Bruce said, referring to his sloping back yard. “He was able to overcome that, and we liked his design. That was the differentiator for us.” Lance’s design worked within the original deck footprint and accommodated the slope by constructing two sets of stairs and a catwalk, to connect the new deck to the patio below. The Ensley deck was completed last summer.
“We like the deck very much,” Bruce said. “It affords us the ability to have family come over and to social distance.”
While Deck Innovators has operated in Midlothian for just the last several years, Lance has been in construction and remodeling since the 1980s. His first job was as a laborer for a construction company that employed his father, who also worked as a shop teacher. He continued in construction in Arizona and then in New Jersey, where “I taught myself remodeling by watching This Old House.”
In addition to decks, Lance’s company offers total kitchen and bath remodels, working with cabinet and countertop contract partners. But decks make up the bulk of the business, fueled lately by strong demand as clients seek to expand outdoor living and entertaining spaces due to COVID. “It’s a good selling point,” Lance said. “We like doing decks and being outside.”
