New Deck

[Runner]

Our house needed a deck bad, so I thought I'd post up some pics of the process. The JD 2520 played a pretty big role in the process. Of course, it was used for moving material around, but I also used the backhoe to dig a trench to set my piers, which are 8 inch round sitting on 15 inch square footings.

Also used the PJ flatbed for hauling lumber. This is one reason I chose a deckover instead of a lowboy with fenders.

The deck will have two stairs at the locations where you see the breaks in the guard rail on the sides. Still working on those...

I really like the fact that no portion of the deck will be in direct contact with earth since it's built over an existing patio and sits on concrete piers. I used 2x10's for joists, double 2x10's for the beam and 2x12's for the rim joists. That allowed me to cover the ends of the floor decking with the rim joists.

There will also be a skirt around the sides so as to completely enclose the underside area, both for appearance and to keep the critters out.

 

[Western]

Nice, clean looking job!!:thumbsup:

Only thing I would have done different is put it beside the concrete, but I'm a real estate hog:laughing:

 

[Runner]

"Only thing I would have done different is put it beside the concrete, but I'm a real estate hog"

I thought about that. In fact, I went through a LOT of ideas before settling on a deck. There were several problems with adding on to the patio at ground level. Mainly, there is a swale on the west and south side that carries a LOT of water around the side of the house, so whatever I put in, couldn't interfere with that.

That only left expanding to the east, which drops off pretty steep, so a patio would have meant bringing in a lot of fill. Might have been able to do a deck off that side, but I liked the idea of being able to step out of the house directly onto a deck instead of having to go up and down stairs to get to a patio.

So, I decided to put the deck over the existing patio.


A little update: This weekend, I installed the west stair. One stair down and one to go...

 

[kebo]

Nice workmanship! I do have a couple questions though..... does your code not require handrails for the steps? Or are the hand rails in the works? I kind of thought that requiring handrails was pretty much standard nowadays.

Also, what about the deck railings? Seems like they should have either more runners, or add balusters. I think code here is balusters no more than 4" apart to keep the little ones from getting their head stuck in between them. As it is, a child could fall in between the railings. I know it's a relatively short drop but still, a child could get injured.

 

[Runner]

"Nice workmanship! I do have a couple questions though..... does your code not require handrails for the steps? Or are the hand rails in the works? I kind of thought that requiring handrails was pretty much standard nowadays.

Also, what about the deck railings? Seems like they should have either more runners, or add balusters. "

kebo,

Thanks for the kind words.

Code here (2006 IRC) only requires handrail when four or more risers on the steps. The stair on the other side will be 4 or 5 risers, so it will have a handrail.

As for the guardrail, it is only required when more than 30 inches above grade. This deck is between 23 and 30 inches, so the guardrail is for convenience and appearance purposes only. Since the guardrail is not required, the balluster spacing is also not an issue.

I wanted the guardrail to be as open as possible to maintain the view, particularly since the kitchen and living room windows open onto the deck.

In addition to the above, a permit was not required in my city because the deck is not more than 30 inches above grade (as per city ordinance).