Sandy Wanted an Outdoor Space Worth Using. We Built Her One.

The Before

Before Ecocare arrived, the area outside Sandy's sliding doors in Ferrymead was bare concrete edging and compacted dirt, a patch of nothing. It sat right off the main living area of her home but was impossible to use as anything other than a mud trap.

Sandy wanted to change that. She had the space. She just needed someone to build something worth having.

What We Built

We started from the ground up. First came the groundwork: levelling, compacting, and setting the concrete edging frame in a gentle octagonal shape that would give the deck its character. The footprint wraps the corner of Sandy's home, connecting to the sliding door entry and opening out toward the lawn.

Then came the timber. We built a full hardwood deck in warm-toned treated timber, laid in clean horizontal runs with a neat border detail at the edge. The decking is solid underfoot, properly gapped for drainage, and finished to a colour that picks up the warmth of the afternoon sun off the hills.

Above it: a full pergola. Four heavy posts, paired main beams, and evenly-spaced rafters running the full width, all in matching timber, all stained to the same rich warm tone. The pergola sits high enough to feel open, not caged, and frames a view of the Ferrymead hills beyond the fence line.

The structure also includes a raised platform, accessed by a timber ladder, giving the space a split level that works as a kids' zone, a reading nook, or somewhere to put a hanging chair. A proper timber staircase with balustrade connects the deck level to the sliding door threshold.

The whole thing was built, finished and washed down in one clean job.

The Result

What was a concrete border around bare dirt is now one of the best outdoor spaces in Ferrymead. The deck handles Christchurch weather. The pergola gives shade and structure without blocking light. The raised platform gives the space depth and somewhere for kids to claim as their own. And the timber: rich, warm, and properly finished. It looks like it was always meant to be there.

Sandy has a backyard she can actually use now.

Project Snapshot