Question on deck build sitting on ground

[Sigarms]

Trying to help you......

Completely understand, believe me, and your suggestions do make sense. I will investigate more with the guy I want to go with to see what the additional costs are.

If it makes any sense, when we bought the place in 2005, I don't think we are going to loose money when we finally decide to sell.

Buyers may not have our same taste, but when we originally bought the place, itwas because we fell in love with the property and not the house, and I always told my wife the first house I buy, I want to be able to pee and shoot off my back porch and not have to deal with neighbors close by.

I have little doubt that anyone that looks at our place will most likely find the same thing.

Believe me, I just had the master bath and guest bathroom remodeled. I know about trying to make the interior look more appealing to increase the value. Kitchen and main floor has to be redone as well and I don't even want to think about windows.

The question becomes exactly how much for everything, and you need to pick your battles.

 

[Sigarms]

a deck resting on low concrete pillars and treated wood joints, decked with plastic wood

That same thought crossed my mind as well.

 

[2manyrocks]

If you go with plastic decking at ground level, but go with wood above, that may turn some buyers off who would expect the same material in both places.

Pavers are within the ability of many DIYer's if you would like to save on the installation.

Or pour concrete in the areas that get walked on and used, but think up some kind of something that looks good, but can be removed from the area where the pipes are located.

 

[ruffdog]

I think I would grade that area away from the house for drainage, lay some pretty stone (gravel), and do pavers as a path between the back yard and door.

 

[ruffdog]

The moisture, mold, critter, replacement work etc is why I would do the gravel.

PS...I would never build a deck on the ground like that.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

A contractor friend & I replaced front porch last year with Trex. Porch is concrete but we made a pt frame over top, I insisted on 1" fall from door to front steps. You don't notice but water runs off. I put pt tongue & groove plywood down and roll roofing over it. Trex supposed to have a gap, but we ran touching. It's been great. Trex comes in different colors and can easily be unscrewed.
Concrete for your application (my opinion...2c) would be great, sloped away from home. If I was concerned about pipe access I'd put in removable steel plate. Same color as concrete it wouldn't really be noticed.
To me you have a beautiful shady place but I'd be concerned with moisture. Graded, compacted, gravel, vapor barrier (plastic) reinforced concrete would last a very long time.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

If you do use concrete, sleeve the water line so it can be replaced from outside the concrete area. I would probably replace that section with new line.

 

[EddieWalker]

I think that if it was me, I would pour concrete. In my experience, it's not too hard to cut out a section of concrete to get a water line, then pour concrete back into the hole.

What happens most of the time when there is a leak under the slab of a house, they just cut the line going to the house, dig a new trench to where they can bring it into the house, run it up through a wall and into the attic, or the ceiling of the first story. It's pretty quick. Then the home owner calls me to come fix all the sheetrock.

 

[LouNY]

Another option would be a removable deck were the lines are. With the new plastic deck piers and either Trex or wood a removable deck section would be quite easy.

 

[2manyrocks]

For ongoing maintenance, I think concrete/pavers would be easier to pressure wash and remove leaves from than wooden or trex decking or decorative gravel.

Just to ask, the water line is not something that would be easily relocated out from under the proposed concrete to another location?