I will have someone do this work for us, too. Decorative stone is expensive, too, and it's a large deck - 20x24. I'd also considered a ground cover (like vinca) but there is not going to be much sun underneath the deck, so that idea didn't seem practical for us. The blocks might not be as pretty, but they are quite functional. IMHO, solid concrete blocks are an idea, as they can be painted and if sunk into the earth at the lowest tier are a good critter deterrent. And raising the soil level is (a) not that attractive plus (b) brings added moisture from the soil closer to the deck surface as well as giving the critters even more room to nest. Tilling the ground and planting perennials (I'd suggest evergreen shrubs for real low maintenance) will be more attractive, but still won't deter critters. However, it, nor compacted ground will deter a nesting groundhog. Privacy lattice and hardware cloth will deter most small critters, including snakes.
![decorative concrete block lowes decorative concrete block lowes](https://assets.wfcdn.com/im/59690831/resize-h600-w600^compr-r85/1978/197880348/Brown+Deer+On+Gray+Concrete+Blocks+During+Daytime+On+Canvas+Painting.jpg)
The type of deck skirting you install depends, in large part, on both aesthetics and the kinds of critters you'd like to deter. PS (Edit) perhaps getting some clean fill and bringing the dirt level up closer to the bottom of the deck and level is an idea>
![decorative concrete block lowes decorative concrete block lowes](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f0/8c/bf/f08cbf314959156b96927f450b1dc66e.jpg)
I might disagree there.Īnother option was to till the ground (which we will have to do anyway) and plant some perennial flower bushes.short/low maintenance.Īnyone have this challenge and did you find an easy'ish workable solution? Hubs thinks the ground is so compacted under there that nothing is going to try to make a home (prior deck sat on top of that ground for 20 yrs). My initial thought was to 'just' install some privacy lattice (framed out and with hardware cloth on the inside under the deck so no critters can get under there). The ground under the new deck was not completely leveled before it was built so considering the skirting, the pieces are all going to be different sizes. This is in the category of 'things we should have thought of' (and there were quite a few with this project).