Hello all,

I've been looking at a number of websites and books on laying decking,
and it's left me very confused :¬(

I'm looking to build a 12'x14' deck at the rear of my garden. The
ground has been cleared and is currently just a soil patch between the
victorian dividing garden walls. The question is, what should I lay
the frame on?

I've read a number of articles that say placing the frame on a number
of strategically placed patio slabs will suffice; others that say I
need to bore a number of holes and make some concrete pillars !!
Obviously the first options sounds far more appealing, but will it work
properly??

Any help much appreciated.

Greystoke wrote:
Hello all,

I've been looking at a number of websites and books on laying decking,
and it's left me very confused :¬(

I'm looking to build a 12'x14' deck at the rear of my garden. The
ground has been cleared and is currently just a soil patch between the
victorian dividing garden walls. The question is, what should I lay
the frame on?

I've read a number of articles that say placing the frame on a number
of strategically placed patio slabs will suffice; others that say I
need to bore a number of holes and make some concrete pillars !!
Obviously the first options sounds far more appealing, but will it
work properly??

Any help much appreciated.

2 adults, gentle use, method one.

large family, frequent use, bbq's etc, method 2 but concrete pillars
is probably going OTT, breeze block plinths would suffice.

2 adults, gentle use, method one.

large family, frequent use, bbq's etc, method 2 but concrete pillars
is probably going OTT, breeze block plinths would suffice.

Thanks for the quick reply. The use will sort of be in-between the
two; mainly two adults, but regular bbqs etc in the summer.

The breeze block plinths sound interesting - are they a thing in their
own right, or are you suggesting laying the frame on a number of breeze
blocks rather than the patio slabs?

Cheers.

Greystoke wrote:
2 adults, gentle use, method one.

large family, frequent use, bbq's etc, method 2 but concrete pillars
is probably going OTT, breeze block plinths would suffice.

Thanks for the quick reply. The use will sort of be in-between the
two; mainly two adults, but regular bbqs etc in the summer.

The breeze block plinths sound interesting - are they a thing in their
own right, or are you suggesting laying the frame on a number of
breeze blocks rather than the patio slabs?

Cheers.

the breeze blocks take the place of the slabs.

imagine this from the erlund house on grand designs

http://www.erlund-house.com/images/C...s/DSCN1267.JPG

but with standard thermalite/heavy blocks blocks a lot closer to the ground
(depending on the height you want the decking, obviously). if you want to
avoid fixing into the adjoining walls you can also locate the joists into the
blockwork to prevent lateral movement. I'd attempt some asci art but it's
late and I can't be bothered, sorry, I'm sure you know what I mean and can
adapt the erlund example :-)

Greystoke wrote:
Hello all,

I've been looking at a number of websites and books on laying decking,
and it's left me very confused :¬(

I'm looking to build a 12'x14' deck at the rear of my garden. The
ground has been cleared and is currently just a soil patch between the
victorian dividing garden walls. The question is, what should I lay
the frame on?

Can you fix to the walls? If so, one or more sides could be supported that
way.

I've read a number of articles that say placing the frame on a number
of strategically placed patio slabs will suffice; others that say I
need to bore a number of holes and make some concrete pillars !!
Obviously the first options sounds far more appealing, but will it
work properly??

If you can't fix anything to the walls, then build a square 12 x 14 frame
from 6x2 timber. Lay this in position, make sure it's square. Mark the
ground on each corner.

Dig a hole in each corner about 18" deep and fix 4 x 4 posts in the holes
with concrete.

Fix the frame to these, get it level & trim the posts flush.

These things are superb for fixing decking joists & timber.
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...31526&ts=90127

Fill in with 6x2 joists at 16-18" spacing. Now get a FB to wander about on
the joists. Where it bounces lay a slab on the ground, level it & fix a
piece of timber to the joist to give support.

A 6x2 will span about 10' without too much bounce, above that it needs some
support.


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

Thanks for the info guys !!

I think I'll go for a mixed approach: attach ledgers to each of the
walls and use blocks to support the frame inbetween. Hopefully this
should do the job.

Greystoke wrote:
Thanks for the info guys !!

I think I'll go for a mixed approach: attach ledgers to each of the
walls and use blocks to support the frame inbetween. Hopefully this
should do the job.

the main reason I advised the use of blocks was that they are cheaper and
easier to work with than slabs and less likely to crack when under the load
of a beam running down the centre of it. either way, I'm sure that the eventual
method you choose will suffice if not be over engineered !

oh, and if you do decide to fix into the walls (bad idea imo) do make sure you
have permission to fix into the wall/s that isn't are not yours.

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
...

These things are superb for fixing decking joists & timber.
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...31526&ts=90127


I second this after taking your advice and buying these -
pretty expensive - but very VERY strong and do the job just fine
Hope to finish mine this weekend :-)
(weather permitting)
www.naldernet.plus.com/holding/deck.JPG
--
Vass

"Greystoke" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello all,

See below reply to my similar query 31st July.....

"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 "

--
Vass

I've read a number of articles that say placing the frame on a number
of strategically placed patio slabs will suffice; others that say I
need to bore a number of holes and make some concrete pillars !!
Obviously the first options sounds far more appealing, but will it work
properly??

Personally, I would do it the way I did for my conservatory base. I dug
cubes of earth 450x450x450 with a spade and laid breeze blocks on their
sides. 8 per hole, jointed with mortar, with a small amount of wet concrete
poured underneath and down the sides to backfill.

For decking, I would probably use smaller holes, i.e. only 4 breeze blocks
in two layers, digging about 220mm deep.

Christian.

On 22 Aug 2006 14:11:46 -0700 Greystoke wrote :
I'm looking to build a 12'x14' deck at the rear of my garden. The
ground has been cleared and is currently just a soil patch between the
victorian dividing garden walls. The question is, what should I lay
the frame on?

I've read a number of articles that say placing the frame on a number
of strategically placed patio slabs will suffice; others that say I
need to bore a number of holes and make some concrete pillars !!
Obviously the first options sounds far more appealing, but will it
work properly??

I've got as far as the concrete stumps. I used a post hole borer from a
hire shop which creates neat holes that don't use a lot of concrete.
With the holes bored I first put in a bit of dry mix and rammed it
firmly into the base of the hole, before filling the rest - cutting the
bottom off an old bucket made a suitable funnel to get the concrete in
without also adding lots of soil.

--
Tony Bryer SDA UK 'Software to build on' http://www.sda.co.uk

Wow, lots of choices !!

As I'm a bit of a novice at all this (but very ethusuastic) I need some
guidance to do the job - anyone know of some good links etc... to help
me out?

Cheers.

Greystoke wrote:
Wow, lots of choices !!

As I'm a bit of a novice at all this (but very ethusuastic) I need
some guidance to do the job

select a method and GTF on with it. once started jobs usually
write themselves. don't start a job until all materials are onsite.

anyone know of some good links etc... to help me out?

the last several posts ought to be enough to get you going.

Vass wrote:
"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
...

These things are superb for fixing decking joists & timber.
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...31526&ts=90127


I second this after taking your advice and buying these -
pretty expensive - but very VERY strong and do the job just fine

And if you're after a recommendation for the screwing the deckboards
down I'd suggest these:

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?id=21835

They do exactly what they say on the tin and worth every penny. Even
after 400 of the little buggers I was still smiling. Okay, maybe a
slight grimace but that was more from backache...

Hope to finish mine this weekend :-)
(weather permitting)
www.naldernet.plus.com/holding/deck.JPG

Well, since we're getting our slides out... ;-)

http://www.newtonnet.co.uk/house/20060815/

Mathew

"Mathew Newton" wrote in message
oups.com...
Well, since we're getting our slides out... ;-)

http://www.newtonnet.co.uk/house/20060815/


you've trapped a cat under the boards!!!!

very nice job well done!
--
Vass

Vass wrote:
"Mathew Newton" wrote in message
oups.com...
Well, since we're getting our slides out... ;-)

http://www.newtonnet.co.uk/house/20060815/


you've trapped a cat under the boards!!!!

Don't tempt me... ;-)

....or her for that matter - I've lost count of the number of times I've
had to pull recently-fitted floorboards up to let the bugger out. I
once toyed with the idea of getting her to pull a piece of string under
the floorboards from one end of the room to the other in order to
facilitate subsequent cable routing however I think she sussed what I
was up to and promptly buggered off.

http://www.newtonnet.co.uk/house/20021111/IMG_0772.jpg
http://www.newtonnet.co.uk/house/20030315/IMG_1239.jpg

Mathew