Decks
 

Thought I'd start a deck thread!

We have a 10ft square (approx) deck on the main floor of our walkout which was built with the original house. It is quite ricketty and some of the boards are rotting, so we're planning to replace and extend it, by adding a slightly lower 12x10 ft extension along the back of the house.

We are now lost in a mire of options, regarding footer depths and types, how to hang ledger boards, what are the best materials to use, what sort of railings to install, etc etc etc .... I've been researching for a while and it all seems doable on our own (Canadian neighbours and friends are offering to help!! :unsure:)

So any experiences or advice you'd like to share would be welcome! Let's see pictures of decks you have built or had built. :thumbsup:

I feel that once we have built our deck and sworn our citizenship oath (hopefully some time this year!) we will be PROPER Canadians! :p:rofl:

Re: Decks
 

We had our deck built 3 years ago as an extension to the one already built - the existing one had no direct access to the garden :confused:. We used pressure treated lumber from Home Hardware/Proudfoots, and used their sub-contractor to build it. We drew the plans up ourselves and the deck was a whole lot bigger than I had visualized it :eek:

Our decking has no visible nail holes because it is screwed from underneath. It is also all picture framed, with some areas chevroned for a really nice look.

Best of all we used glass panels for all railings looking down onto our above ground pool. I had seen the clever use of glass panels on a TV programme. We love it :thumbsup:

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Remember to call the City before you start digging.

We've been reducing our deck. It came with the house and, at about 550 square feet, was way too big for what is quite a small garden. I've been hacking bits off it.

Re: Decks
 

Definitely going to be screwing ours from below when it comes time to replace.

Probably go for the glass/ plexiglasss panel railing too as the current rails really obscure the view over the river for us.

If its a tall deck then those concrete tube footings or even the mushroom shaped ones seem the obvious way to go.

Re: Decks
 

wow, that's impressive and would look nice in our garden :-) If you don't mind me asking, how much was it?

Re: Decks
 

If you have a south facing yard, then I would recommend composite decking - it lasts way longer than regular wood and is worth the extra cost as it will save you in the long term. No splinters either for barefooted users - I've seen one or two really nasty 'sliver' incidents on decks that weren't even that old with neighbours kids....ouch!

Re: Decks
 

We had a deck built last year, it's rather sturdy - the guy we got to build it did a phenominal job, it cost under $3K including all building materials and labour. He told us to get pressure treated cedar from Totem (all their lumber is stored outside so it's better seasoned with less chance of shrinking and warping). If you look on the link of our house for sale you can see it (I would post a seperate pic but they're on the other computer).

Re: Decks
 

Back in the summer of 2007 the deck, including all parts and labour, cost us $21,000 (fixed price quote) and the pool around $6000 all in. At the exchange rate of $2.24 at that time the whole jing bang cost us around 12,000 GBP. We were so lucky in the timing of our move. :)

Re: Decks
 

Doesnt it get REALLY hot to walk on though?

I would have considered it, but they built a deck out of it at the beach and it gets absolutely 3rd degree burn hot. Wood seems a lot more comfortable to my bare feet, and our south facing deck gets insanely hot in the summer until we put the sun shades up, often the thermometer dial is pushing 50+!

Maybe its a colour thing though... although I thought the smooth finish contributed to the problem.

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nice exchange rate....if only

Looks really nice :thumbup:

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I would recommend composite for decks too but it's really expensive and for the size of our deck it would not be affordable. The exterior of our house is composite and has a long lifespan. :)

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Our house get boiling hot towards the end of the day. Our composite siding soaks in all the heat :eek:

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Does anyone have any experience with those wind out awnings?

I've never seen one more than a few years old that still works, I suspect that they are a bit fragile, and that if you dont wind them back in in a big hurry when a thunderstorm arrives that the wind will do horrible things to them, but dont have and first hand experience.

Re: Decks
 

I would second this. Not only no chance of slivers but virtually maintenance free

We have three decks and only one is composite (actually it's a grey plastic) all it needs is washing every now and again. The other two I have left natural wood because they are a pain to be staining every year or so.

Also if you go for the metal type railings go for the 36" high rather than the 42" we found the top rail of a 42" railing is right in your line of vision when sitting.

Re: Decks
 

You can apparently get them with sensors so that when the wind goes above a preset limit they automatically roll back in.

Obviously a wee bit more money than the manual jobbies.;)

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I think the minimum rail height is something covered by your local building code, depending on the distance you stand to fall from the deck. If its more than a foot or two you may have no choice but to have an eye level rail:(

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You realise there is supposed to be some insulation in the walls right;)

Re: Decks
 

my inlaws had one on their place in Montreal. They lived in the house for 10 years and had it installed shortly after arriving, so it must have done 8 or 9 seasons with no problems at all. Mind you, they were very careful to always wind it in if it got very blustery, and only on the calmest of calm days did they unwind it all the way out to the fullest extent, but it certainly made it a lot more comfortable to sit on the patio, and also helped prevent the glass sliding doors from acting like a greenhouse.

Re: Decks
 

In Calgary (where Rose is) if any part of the deck is more than 24" above grade then a railing is required. Said railing can have nothing that would aid in climbing (i.e. nothing horizontal or close to horizontal) between 4" and 36" above the deck floor.

Re: Decks
 

Here its a sliding scale of sorts.. if its more than 4(?) feet to ground or something then you need the higher railing than if its only 2 feet.... I dont know the exact numbers, but you get the idea...otherwise we would have a lower railing and I would enjoy the view more.

Re: Decks
 

We had a deck built last year. We have a walk-out basement and there was no deck when we moved in which left us with a "door of death" off our main level. We're not really big DIYers so got a guy in to do it. Really pleased with the job. As we were starting from scratch, decided to go for a low maintenance deck. We had glass sidings and a Duradeck flooring - all it ever needs is a quick wipe down - no need for painting/staining etc.

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Thanks for the replies so far folks .... more pictures!!! :)

Thornes, what sort of cost was yours? We've priced the glass panel surrounds; they are between $36-39 per linear foot, so about $1800 for a deck the size we are contemplating! I'd like them though ....
I wouldn't mind composite decking, but hubby is set on cedar wood, I think ... he likes staining ..... :rolleyes:

Cookie, I love your deck! (I think I said so when you originally posted it!)
One consideration is steps to the garden; we have "house cats", and they like to be able to go out and sit on the deck ... we are unsure about giving them access to the garden :unsure: but I think if we have a big enough deck surface at the main level we won't need to access the garden from the deck. I expect if you had young kids living here it might be more important, but I guess they can be added later .... :huh:

Re: Decks
 

we're currently getting our 30ish year old deck and steps (which you could bounce on and no railings in sight at all!) removed and replaced.

due to the amount of deck (and front steps), we are going for pressure treated limber, and got somebody in to do it. I know for smaller jobs, most people around here do it themselves (or with a little bit of help!).

here is a pic of how it stands at the moment - i can provide update over the next couple of weeks!

Re: Decks
 

I think that if ours were a low-level raised or ground level deck we'd not hesitate to leap in there .... its the 9 foot height that's a bit daunting; that and taking off siding to attach the deck to the house.

I've been watching vids on youtube though .... it don't look TOO difficult! :p:thumbsup:

Re: Decks
 

Here are a few pics for you....

What we inherited when we purchased the property, through to completion:

2 refurbished deck areas (new cedar planking, railing and staircases), plus an additional deck, staircase and fly-screened gazebo.

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A few more....

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Ah thanks RICH .... the second deck with the gazebo is interesting ... what type of footers are those??

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A couple of pics of our deck for you (sorry they're the best I've got):o

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6" deep cement pads to level the ground with 10"x10" cement blocks to hold the 4"x4" uprights (treated posts).

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Whatever you do DONT STAIN CEDAR.

If you pay the premium for Cedar, then just let it age naturally, staining may actually shorten it lifespan.

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Good to know! Thanks. :thumbup:

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Nope! Just fine to walk on in the summer - no third degree burns here!

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Did you replace the siding, or paint it?

Love the gazebo type deck too.

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Thanks Ann.

We re-sided the whole house. Painting old siding isn't a great option, and ours was cracked and need of replacement. We added a layer of high density foam/aluminum backed insulation in-between the siding and the house which has made a big difference to heat/cooling.

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For reals? :eek: We stained ours. (Got a new deck built last year). I guess I just wonder how it would hold up in endless BC rain w/out staining? Stain was shit anyway - mostly came off. :(

Re: Decks
 

Yep, for reals.

No doubt you already frequent this forum, but in case you missed this post....http://forum.canadianwoodworking.com...ad.php?t=29886

Re: Decks
 

A lovely deck. I love the glass panels.
lol
Stef

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Rich
You have a lovely home. Is it an acreage? Any Bears? Drove through Kamloops when we stayed in Calgary and drove to visit friends in Abbotsford BC. Stunning part of Canada, fantastic drive too.
lol
Stef

Re: Decks
 

Thank you Stef. Yes, it's on 3.5 acres and is bordered by a creek and Crown land, so we get all sorts of wildlife including bears. Feels very rural, but only 20 minutes to get downtown, so convenient for work etc.

Re: Decks
 

:rofl: Okay, this is news to me. The only thing is, the wood is already cracking - facing south & unprotected as stain hasn't lasted.