On Fri 29 Aug 2008 07:23:58p, Pete C. told us...


Wayne Boatwright wrote:

On Fri 29 Aug 2008 05:08:05p, John Grabowski told us...


"Wayne Boatwright" wrote in message
5.250...
Our relatively new yard is in transition and we currently have no
patio
or deck. I would like to assemble something semi-permanent that
would
be easy
to do, as well as easy to disassemble when we upgrade to an outdoor
"room".

My idea was to use 2"x6"x12' pressure treated lumber laid flat at
intervals
directly on the ground and anchor them to the soil with either rebar
or
stakes to prevent movement. These boards would be leveled and with a
slight pitch for any water runoff. Then construct the platform floor
across these boards also using 2"x6"x12' pressure-treated boards,
attaching
them with either galvanized or stainless steel screws.

We live in the desert, so there's no concern about ground movement
due
to winter heaving or damage from excessive moisture.

This would give us a 12' x 12' platform roughly 4" above the ground,
where we would place our grill and umbrella table and chairs.

Does this sound feasible?


I'm not a big fan of doing things twice. You'll be spending money on
wood for something temporary. Is there anyway that you can build
something that you can use now that will eventually be incorporated
into
the finished yard?

What I want to end up with is an "Arizona Room", and this wood would
not
be appropriate, plus we would have someone else build the room. Arizona
Rooms are generally built of aluminum, screening, glass, and steel, on a
concrete slab base. If I knew exactly what the future configuration of
the concrete base would be in the future, I could have it put in place
now,k but I really don't know at this point. However, the yard is large
enough that this platform unit could be moved to another location for a
2nd "patio" type structure. Our entire yard is desert-scaped; there is
no
grass, only decomposed granite, sand and chunk granite. The landscaping
is all cactii and succulents. I don't think we'd lose out on this wood.

You can look at those rooms now, see what the largest size you'd want
is, and then pour a pad a bit larger. In the future excess concrete can
be readily cut off with an appropriate saw, or you can fill the extra
space with some planters and foliage.


One other factor at present is that concrete work is very costly right now
in the Phoenix area. This was one thing I was trying to avoid. Still it's
worth getting estimates. I would not be able to do the work myself, and I
want a perfect concrete surface when it is done.

--
Wayne Boatwright

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Date: Friday, 08(VIII)/29(XXIX)/08(MMVIII)
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