Decking support

[DIYpessimist]

Hi all,

I am in the middle of laying my ground level decking. I have dug out the soil, laid weed membrane and covered it with gravel.

I put my frame on top and despite my previous attempts at levelling the area, some of the joists were in the air. So, I have distributed the gravel to ensure there are no gaps under the frame. But now I have a channel in between each joist (see pic).

I'm concerned that the gravel might move over time and introduce gaps (and thus bounciness).

Any thoughts on what I should do at this point? Having put down over a tonne of gravel so far means I don't fancy picking it all back up! I was thinking of maybe filling the channels with more gravel, or maybe sand or even some instant cement if necessary - but I don't want to spend much more.

The area is 4.2x3.6m.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

 

[CaptainJack88]

Personally Im not a fan of decking thats sat on the ground as it is subject to movement.

From what I can tell, there is no solid base that the deck is sitting on, and as such, it'll be subject to movement unless you anchor it to something
I would dig some holes, put some postcrete in and fit some posts. This will give your deck a solid base to be anchored to.

Our deck was sat on the soil, however had some posts in the ground. I've dug out most of the soil and lay some weed suppressant.

This was taken in the middle of working on it, however you can see the posts suspending the deck above the floor:

 

[DIYpessimist]

Thanks for your thoughts. Yeah, I think postcreting would be the way to go for a rock solid deck but I made the decision early on not to cement anything in because I'd looked at a number of articles and most said, for ground level decking, if the ground is level, gravel is acceptable. Some said gravel + concrete pads but quite a few said gravel would be OK. So I went that way. Now it's down I am a bit weary as when putting all my weight on a joist I can hear the gravel.

But I've just laid the boards on top (not screwed yet) and walked across - and it's rock sold. With the weight spread across the boards it seems sturdier. The sheer size and weight of the deck helps too I guess.

So, whilst I'm still interested in any comments, as soon as my replacement boards arrive, I think I'll get screwing!

 

[CaptainJack88]

You might be alright then.

If you're concerned, you could always get some Decking Risers:
http://goo.gl/p5n881