Can I deduct a deck?

[Kayla V.]

My husband and I purchased a primary home in June of 2015. In October, I was offered a one year work assignment and we took it and moved to Ohio for all of 2016. We rented out the house starting on 4/1/16 and the lease runs through 7/31/17, at which point we will move back in. 

We'd like to build a deck in the back. My husband thinks we should do it now so we can deduct the expense since it's currently a rental and it would be a benefit to the tenants. I'm leaning towards waiting until we live there again so we can oversee the construction and don't bother the tenants. Also, this feels like a Capex item that would be depreciated over time. Since it will only be a rental for another few months, I don't think we'd get much value out of the deduction.

Am I wrong and we'd be able to deduct the full amount in 2017? Thanks!