What base for new garden decking ?

themightyboosh · 1 Jul 2008

I have just removed my old shed and am going to make a small decked area in its place

The area has an old uneven broken concrete base mixed in with lots of soil etc, the shed was on top of this on a few flagstones.

What is the best base to put decking on? Should I re-concrete the whole area, or is there a better way of levelling it?

I think to dig up and remove the old concrete base would be a massive job so I need a work around (or is that a concrete over?!!)

Thanks

WabbitPoo · 1 Jul 2008

Do you imagine putting the whole deck frame onto a level surface?

That's not how it is done. Support it on posts into the ground or onto sound concrete.

Lots of posts (no pun inteneded) on here about decking - by all means come back with specific questions when you've read those!

bathjobby · 2 Jul 2008

Building mine at the moment and have cemented into the ground heavy duty breeze blocks. A couple oy layers of DPC on these and the deck frame is sitting on those.

WabbitPoo · 2 Jul 2008

Well, that's one way, but getting all the blocks level and in one plane, taking into account the slope of the deck, is a time-consuming process and one prone to error, and hence a wobbly deck. For the novice, using posts down onto something fixed is easier and hence more likely to produce a good result. IMHO.

Out of interest, what did you "cement" the blocks to? Soil?

Thermo · 2 Jul 2008

with wabbit poo on this. Ive lost count of how many decks weve done over the years. We always use simple posts down into post holes in the ground and concreted in, or posts down onto existing concrete etc. Never had a problem or a customer come back to us.
quick simple, flexible, long lasting and very effective

bathjobby · 2 Jul 2008

bathjobby said:
have cemented into the ground heavy duty breeze blocks.

bathjobby said:
Out of interest, what did you "cement" the blocks to? Soil?

Note: 'into', not 'to', just as you would do with posts.

WabbitPoo · 2 Jul 2008

bathjobby said:
bathjobby said:

have cemented into the ground heavy duty breeze blocks.

Click to expand...

bathjobby said:

Out of interest, what did you "cement" the blocks to? Soil?

Click to expand...

Note: 'into', not 'to', just as you would do with posts.

Good, although you wasted your time - just drop the blocks into a nice, flat-bottomed hole.

bathjobby · 3 Jul 2008

Given my ground condition, composition, sloop, etc, I have not wasted my time, I have put foundations as appropriate.
I replied here intending to help the original poster, as these BBs are intended and all you have done is blindly criticise. So get off my case and stop wasting everyones time.
Signed Out.

Thermo · 3 Jul 2008

think youll find he was offering advice for the next time you do it.

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What base for new garden decking ?

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