Building a deck tips for beginners, know nothing about building.

[Stimulants95]

Hi! I've made some progress with the digging and now it's starting to get a bit tricky. I've started with the placement of the piers for the deck.

How would you have done at the patio door itself? Do I need to place 2 more piers for that part, or would you recommend something else?

I will probably also need to drill into the concrete to get the joists to anchor well, do you have any tips? As I mentioned, I'm quite new and barely know what I'm doing myself.

 

[kurlakarl]

I would probably not attach it to the house but instead take support from the ground and have it completely self-supporting that way. Why have you placed the plinths in rows on every 5th beam?

 

[Stimulants95]

I probably wouldn't attach it to the house but would instead support it from the ground and have it entirely self-supporting that way. Why have you placed the foundation pads in rows on every 5th beam?

Hi Karl! Thanks for the tip. As mentioned, I'm completely new, is the beam a board that lies under the boards?

 

[ricebridge]

Sure, you can attach it to the house, but not to bear the deck's weight; it is only to keep it from moving. The load-bearing should be on the posts.

If you're attaching to concrete, drill several holes in the beam that will rest against the house. Use it as a template to drill as deep holes in the concrete as your hammer drill allows. Clean out all the old concrete dust very carefully from the holes, using cotton swabs.

Fill the holes one at a time with anchor mortar and insert a suitably long piece of threaded rod. It should be straight, so you don't want too large a hole for it.

Once the anchor mortar has set, slide the beam on so that the threaded rods go through the holes, put on large washers on them (about 5x5 cm square) and secure with nuts, preferably lock nuts. Done!

 

[Tomture61]

How do you fit in the support beams, it doesn't look like the height between the ground and the patio door is that big 🤔

 

[Stimulants95]

How do you fit joists, it doesn't look like the height between the ground and the patio door is that great 🤔

Yes, I need to dig out more there! Just tore down the old patio and haven't had the chance to dig out completely yet.

 

[Tomture61]

Yes, I need to dig out more there! Just demolished the old deck, haven't managed to dig it out completely yet.

Support beams usually run across the joist, doesn't seem like that on your drawing.
Aren't you worried you'll get a pool under the deck if you dig out more?

 

[FreQa]

Why plinths? Lay the framework on ground tiles and place more, and it should hold. Place some in the mat closest to the house. Screw noggings (short pieces between the joists) to help support.
I've done something similar in my project, check out my threads.

 

[Jackie2times]

A hell to dig for plinths, hope you have an excavator.

 

[Gillar att bygga]

Hi! I've made some progress with the digging, and now it's getting a bit tricky. I've started placing the footings for the deck now.

How would you handle it by the patio door? Do I need to place 2 more footings for that part, or would you suggest something else?

I will probably also need to drill into concrete to get the beams to attach well, do you have any tips? As I said, I'm completely new and barely know what I'm doing myself.

Have you considered laying paving stones instead of building a wooden deck?

On your excavated area, lay geotextile of quality N2, then a layer of macadam and sand to the correct height, and finally paving stones, which will save you a lot of annual maintenance and splinters in your feet, etc. Furthermore, the lifespan will be much longer, and the deck retains the day's warmth well into the evening.

I'm suggesting this as it seems to be a low step down from the door threshold to the ground level.

 

[Danne824]

Hello! I've made some progress with the digging, and now it's starting to get a bit tricky.
I've started placing the posts for the deck now.

How would you handle the area by the patio door? Do I need to place 2 more posts for that section, or would you suggest something else?

I will also likely need to drill into the concrete to secure the joists properly, any tips?
As I said, I'm completely new and barely know what I'm doing myself.

If you attach load-bearing beams to the foundation/facade with joist hangers, make sure they function as a hinge.
The joist hangers should only take a bearing load in this case; if the front part of the deck sinks due to snow load and the beam attachment is rigid against the foundation/facade, you might experience bending that pushes the foundation/facade in the lower part of the joist hanger.
I think you should also consider whether you might want lighting and run some electrical cable while you're building.
But that's just me 😉.

 

[Jackie2times]

Have you considered laying paving stones instead of building a wooden deck?

On your existing excavation, you lay down a geotextile in quality N2, then crushed stone and sand to the correct height, and finally paving stones to avoid a lot of annual maintenance and splinters in your feet, etc. Additionally, the lifespan is much longer and the terrace retains the heat from the day long into the evening.

I suggest this as it appears to be a low step down from the door threshold to the ground level.

Yes, and how a twofall laser for correct slope becomes much better.

 

[Stimulants95]

Hi everyone, had a guy from Beijers over. No pillars 🤣 have measured out all the pillars but they're scrapped.
I will dig with a slope towards the lawn, then I'll use ground fabric + gravel. Then the joists will lie on the gravel. The frame against the house we will attach with concrete screws.

He says the ground here is so good that the regulations will lie directly in the gravel. Thanks to everyone who has written!

 

[hus520]

Hi all, had a guy from Beijers here. No piers 🤣 have measured out all the piers but they're being scrapped.
Will dig with a slope towards the lawn then will use landscape fabric + gravel. Then the joists will rest on the gravel. The frame towards the house will be fastened with concrete screws.

He says the ground here is so good that the joists will rest directly on the gravel. Thanks to everyone who has written!

Great. Please post pictures during the build 😀

 

[Stimulants95]

Update from today's groundwork, my partner wanted to be in the picture so it looked like she had done something 🤣.

Question! How much can you adjust with the gravel later regarding the height of the ground? How precise do I need to be?