Need advice and help with fence and terrace

[tasman]

Hello!

I live in a terraced house and want to build a deck covering the entire backside, and also build a privacy-protecting fence. I'm considering these options:
And this is what it looks like today:


The area to be decked is about 60 square meters (approx. 9 wide and 6.5 deep). I plan to tear up the existing decking, keep the large hedge, but remove the small hedge seen in the picture without the dog
That's where question 1 arises: Can I dig it up myself with a regular shovel, or do I need to call in a digger?

I haven't decided whether it will be one or two levels. I would like to decide this AFTER the fence is up since it depends a lot on the height of the fence. The neighbor has a fence that is 2.20 high, and the easiest/most attractive/best option is simply to continue at their height.

I plan to attach the deck (at the height we determine) to the fence, and then follow the usual steps - casting footings, placing beams, etc. I'm not worried about that part even though I've never done it before. It's the fence that I'm uncertain about.

The fence will be 2.20-2.35 high, should provide complete privacy, and the deck will also be attached to it (I'm thinking of first setting 45x95 posts - placing horizontal panels on the "far" side - determining deck height - adding another 45x95 on the inside and cutting it so the joists or main beams can rest on them. After laying the decking, I'll continue with the 45x95 all the way up and attach offset panels on the inside.

What do you think, can I handle this myself or should I try to get a carpenter here to help me plan and draft everything? What distance do you recommend between the footings for the fence? I don't want it to sway...

Also, any other feedback is welcome! For example, I've decided on 145 decking boards, but I'm not sure whether to choose 34 or 28. I haven't decided how to finish where the deck meets the hedge, and I haven't even begun to think about the fence that will have a door to the lawn..

So; the most urgent questions are
1) If I can (with some help from you) manage this myself or if I should call a carpenter (only for planning, I intend to do the work myself)
2) If I should start digging by hand or call for contractors, and
3) How I should plan the fence-building (distance between footings, if my idea sounds reasonable or not, suggestions for panel dimensions, etc.).

 

[hempularen]

The first thing you need to do is check if it's possible to obtain a building permit. You cannot build a fence without a building permit.

The deck does not require a building permit if you keep it under 120 cm in height. The exact height varies slightly between different municipalities.

Regarding your actual questions, you can certainly handle it yourself. But it will take time.

It might be a good idea to rent a digger over a weekend to dig up the hedge and dig post holes. Go ahead and do it manually.

 

[tasman]

Do you really need a building permit if you agree with the neighbor? Even if it's still required, it's a bit of a dilemma. Almost everyone on the street has built fences/glazed verandas, etc., and no one has a building permit. Our argument for the height of the fence is, besides privacy protection, to keep it uniform by more or less extending the neighbor's. Which are built without a building permit.
Dilemma - I don't want to put the neighbor in a tough spot. Besides, I want to start this week

 

[tasman]

By the way. If you are allowed to build a deck up to about 120, can't you build a fence on top of it? From the neighbor's side it would basically be a 2.4m plank

 

[fsn]

By the way. If you are allowed to build a deck up to about 120, are you not allowed to build a fence on top of it? From the neighbor's side, it becomes essentially a 2.4m wall

You can build a fence but not a wall. A fence, if I remember correctly, is defined as 25% air, and a wall is completely solid. The permitted height for a deck depends on the municipality; in Gothenburg, it's 60cm.

I would have built the wall without building permission but made it so you can remove a few boards and "fence-convert" it with minimal effort.

 

[Marknissen]

You should not have more than 2m between the posts for the fence anyway. It certainly doesn't hurt to place them closer together considering the wind load.

If I were you, I would first measure and calculate the placement of all the plinths, mark them, and then hire a digger operator to sort out the hedge and plinth holes in one go. Tjoff tjoff!
There seems to be quite a bit of roots and such fun stuff.
If you decide to do it yourself, at least treat yourself to renting an earth drill.

 

[tasman]

Got help from my little brother who is studying to become a civil engineer to make a drawing. He suggests that the piers for the fence follow those for the deck, which are 2.2 and 2.3 m apart. I assume he thinks that the support beam going into the fence allows for wider spacing between the piers (he's away so I can't ask him).

The measurements aren't quite accurate, the truth is somewhat less in depth. I'll go out and measure carefully today. But what do you think of his drawing?

By the way, there are a crazy amount of roots. I dug up a stump by hand last summer... there's probably a thread about it here Should I rent a mini digger and do it myself or call someone to do it for me? It should be fairly quick to do, right?

 

[tasman]

Now I've measured everything and done some reading. Here's a template for the drawing:

I need a sanity check on where to place the foundation blocks. The dashed area is an existing framework with foundation blocks, so it will remain (I'll only replace the decking once we get that far). I'm thinking of dividing the remaining area into two rectangles, the lower one being 3830x8750, and the upper left corner approximately 2700x2735.

The bottom beam should be attached to a post, as well as parts of the right side (if that affects the choice of dimension or spacing between the foundation blocks).

How would you place the foundation blocks and what dimension for the beams would you use?

What I could find for spacing between foundation blocks:
Beams 45x145 -> 1.5 - 2.0m
45x170 -> 1.8 - 2.6m
45x195 -> 2.1 - 3.0m

So, given that I'm not using existing foundation blocks (they are placed at odd intervals), there will be three rows, which gives about 1.8m spacing and three beams. The advice above suggests 145 or 170, but I'd rather be cautious and choose 170 in that case. But considering the post, maybe I should go with 195s?

In width, it's 8750; if I place 5 columns of foundation blocks, that gives a spacing of about 2200. Is that enough? Should I use 6 columns for a more stable post (and deck?) The spacing would be 1750 then?

For the upper small rectangle: Can I place just 4 foundation blocks in the "corners" and use 45x195 beams? Otherwise, I'll use 2 rows with 3 each.