Is "deck" always on the back of a house? I know that a porch is always in the front. Thanks!
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4“A porch is always in the front” is completely wrong.– James Waldby - jwpat7Commented Dec 10, 2013 at 3:08
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1 Answer
A deck can be just about anywhere on a house. In fact, I have one on the side of my house build on a flat roof above an extension of the house. And, my next door neighbor has one on the front of his house just beside his porch.
The keys are that a deck is (1) attached to the building and (2) does not have a roof.
Merriam Webster defines them as mentioned below:
A deck is a flat roofless structure attached to a building.
On the other hand,
A porch is a structure attached to the entrance of a building that has a roof and that may or may not have walls.
I, however, would refer to any raised area immediately adjacent a main entrance to a house as a porch, whether or not it has a roof.
Another example of a deck is a rooftop deck that is commonly found on top of condominium apartments.
Also, the area around a pool (both in-ground and above-ground kinds) is called a deck, but this may be getting into other definitions of the word, such as the floors on a ship.
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1Is this something specific to American English? As a British English speaker, I associate decks with ships, not houses. The equivalent BrE term may be "decking" - and I see that searching for the latter on Wikipedia takes you to the article for "deck" (link). Commented Dec 10, 2013 at 15:48
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Steve: You may well be right. In the USA, I believe that decking refers to the materials used to make what we call a deck. A quick search of US DIY websites is consistent: Home Depot and Lowes. You would buy decking to build your deck.– ScottyCommented Dec 10, 2013 at 17:49