Composite Deck with Built-In Firepit & Pergola

This Bateau Bay backyard was a sloping patch of lawn that nobody used. The owners entertained often and wanted a single space that worked for summer barbecues and winter evenings, without the maintenance load of a large hardwood deck.

We built a level composite deck platform across the slope, then framed a purpose-built firepit surround into the deck itself with the correct non-combustible separation and clearances around the fire. A pergola was set over the dining zone to give shade in summer and definition to the layout, so the deck reads as two connected outdoor rooms rather than one large flat area.

Composite boards were the right call here for a family with kids and a firepit — no splinters, no annual oiling, and no dark patches where furniture sits. Structural framing is treated hardwood on adjustable stirrups, which let us take up the fall of the block accurately without over-excavating. The finished deck is now where the household spends most of its weekends, and it added real resale appeal to the property.