fee standing decking (i.e. not fixed to wall of house)
20 foot x 12 foot, blinking heavy it will be
I'm using 9" x 1.5" joists and I can hardly pick each one up as they are
currently 15 foot long
I propose to use 15 posts each 4"x 4" with 5 foot centres
the deck will be raised slightly approx 1 foot off the ground allowing space
under the joists as the gound is not level
So, question is, do I
1. sink the posts into concrete?
2. dig down to hard stuff, chuck in a breeze block and free stand them on
this (as per Tommy Ground Force)
or, is there another way (3)?
ta in advance
--
Vass
...................
'02 YZF-R1

Vass wrote:
fee standing decking (i.e. not fixed to wall of house)
20 foot x 12 foot, blinking heavy it will be
I'm using 9" x 1.5" joists and I can hardly pick each one up as they are
currently 15 foot long
I propose to use 15 posts each 4"x 4" with 5 foot centres
the deck will be raised slightly approx 1 foot off the ground allowing space
under the joists as the gound is not level
So, question is, do I
1. sink the posts into concrete?
2. dig down to hard stuff, chuck in a breeze block and free stand them on
this (as per Tommy Ground Force)
or, is there another way (3)?
ta in advance
I have just completed a very large deck, however one face of this was
fastened to a house. The posts were dropped into holes roughly 2ft deep
and concreted in which produced a very solid fixing! There will be other
people with other ideas but this is what worked in my situation.

HTH

Gerry

Vass wrote:
free standing decking (i.e. not fixed to wall of house)
20 foot x 12 foot, blinking heavy it will be
I'm using 9" x 1.5" joists and I can hardly pick each one up as they
are currently 15 foot long

Sounds like you already have them, but they are way over spec for what you
are doing.

A 6 x 2 will span around 8 - 10 ft.

I propose to use 15 posts each 4"x 4" with 5 foot centres
the deck will be raised slightly approx 1 foot off the ground
allowing space under the joists as the ground is not level

I'd agree with 4 x 4 posts, but I don't reckon you will need that many.
Still, it isn't gonna fall down!

So, question is, do I
1. sink the posts into concrete?
2. dig down to hard stuff, chuck in a breeze block and free stand
them on this (as per Tommy Ground Force)

I've built bigger decks than that, and I use a combination of methods;

Use a post hole digger http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/501584 to get a nice
round hole, go down about 16 - 18", drop half a brick in the bottom, drop in
post & fill with postcrete.

I do this for the posts at corners and around the edges of the deck.

For extra support in the middle I use 600 x 600 standard paving slabs
(around £2:50). Drop these in place & level them, post stands on this, cut
post to height & bolt joist to it.

I've recently started using these
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...31526&ts=86105 to bolt
joists to posts and fix noggins. You need a good drill driver - min 14.4v
with gearbox or a mains driver to put them in, but they are fast and bloody
strong!


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
.uk...
Vass wrote:
free standing decking (i.e. not fixed to wall of house)
20 foot x 12 foot, blinking heavy it will be
I'm using 9" x 1.5" joists and I can hardly pick each one up as they
are currently 15 foot long

Sounds like you already have them, but they are way over spec for what you
are doing.

A 6 x 2 will span around 8 - 10 ft.

I propose to use 15 posts each 4"x 4" with 5 foot centres
the deck will be raised slightly approx 1 foot off the ground
allowing space under the joists as the ground is not level

I'd agree with 4 x 4 posts, but I don't reckon you will need that many.
Still, it isn't gonna fall down!

So, question is, do I
1. sink the posts into concrete?
2. dig down to hard stuff, chuck in a breeze block and free stand
them on this (as per Tommy Ground Force)

I've built bigger decks than that, and I use a combination of methods;

Use a post hole digger http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/501584 to get a nice
round hole, go down about 16 - 18", drop half a brick in the bottom, drop
in post & fill with postcrete.

I do this for the posts at corners and around the edges of the deck.

For extra support in the middle I use 600 x 600 standard paving slabs
(around £2:50). Drop these in place & level them, post stands on this,
cut post to height & bolt joist to it.

I've recently started using these
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...31526&ts=86105 to bolt
joists to posts and fix noggins. You need a good drill driver - min 14.4v
with gearbox or a mains driver to put them in, but they are fast and
bloody strong!


Excellent, thanks for the tips Dave
--
Vass

"Vass" wrote in message
...
"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
.uk...
Vass wrote:
free standing decking (i.e. not fixed to wall of house)
20 foot x 12 foot, blinking heavy it will be
I'm using 9" x 1.5" joists and I can hardly pick each one up as they
are currently 15 foot long
SNIP
I've built bigger decks than that, and I use a combination of methods;

Use a post hole digger http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/501584 to get a nice
round hole, go down about 16 - 18", drop half a brick in the bottom, drop
in post & fill with postcrete.

I built my deck a couple of months ago. about 3.6 x 5.4m (3.6m cos of timber
length of course, although it did also happen to fit). I did not dig holes
for the posts. Everything is fine and solid as the weight of the deck holds
everything down, BUT if I was doing it again I definitely would concrete in
at least the main corner posts. I found that not doing this caused
everything to move out of square every so often, with all the hammering and
general bashing about. The middle posts can just sit on a block or a couple
of bricks. In fact in a few places I just stacked up old bricks with a slate
top bit. By the way, I bought a big pack of coach bolts from screwfix and
they were great for screwing joists together and for holding warped joists
in position once the warp had been corrected.

Hope you get good weather!

Alistair