Decking Questions

[Fast_Muchly]

O.k dont shout at me im not the best at DIY but will have ago .

1. Putting posts in to support decking at one end ,these are 4x4 pressure treated posts ..But they will be going into a clay based soil which is i suppose by nature a bit damp .How long will they last and if not long is there another way ?.
They will be postcreted in on top of a brick block to help stop any sinkage .

2. I was wondering wether to ask someone round to start me off with fixing the 6x2 timber to the house to also support the decking ,the timber will be fixed by wall bolts to the house .An 8m length needs fixing to the side ,what do you reckon i should be charged to do this bearing in mind i have all the materials needed ?.Also the metal floor joist supports will need adding to the timber before fixing to the wall .

3.The metal floor joist hangers do you use screws to fix them in to the frame or nails or does it matter ?.

4. Can someone please tell me a good battery powertool ( screwdriver ) for the job thats around £50 mark ?.I wouldn't use this often after this as im not a big diyer .So i dont need one costing 100's .

Realise theres a few questions and thanks for replying .

Alan

 

[Deluks]

Clay is bad, but 4x4 posts last a fair while anyways. I'd suggest shuttering the concrete to above ground level, temporarily supporting the posts with a horizontal batten so that it's floating above the brick base, and pouring the concrete so that it surrounds the bottom of the post and all sides up and above ground level, use as many bags of postcrete as it takes to completely fill the hole.

The cost of geting someone in, you might as well buy a cheap £30 -£40 SDS drill and do it yourself. You drill the holes, bang in the hammer fixings or rawlbolts through the timber and fasten. 8m is quite a length, I'd suggest using joist offcuts as spacers, to keep the 8m length from being completely in contact with the wall. This will mean you will need longer fixings to account for the extra 50mm of timber.

Have you bought this wood yet? 8m will be a special order surely? Check your measurements again!

Screws or nails? Doesn't matter. You can special twist nails which are designed for this purpose. Normal galvanised nails will do but they should be the same thickness as the holes in the hangers, for a tight fit.


For drill, get the Ryobi drill and impact driver set for £99, you then sell the impact driver on eBay, you'll get about £40 - £50 for it

Although once you use it you won't want to part with it!


Or this Skil, for 60 notes.

 

[Fast_Muchly]

Clay is bad, but 4x4 posts last a fair while anyways. I'd suggest shuttering the concrete to above ground level, temporarily supporting the posts with a horizontal batten so that it's floating above the brick base, and pouring the concrete so that it surrounds the bottom of the post and all sides up and above ground level, use as many bags of postcrete as it takes to completely fill the hole.

The cost of geting someone in, you might as well buy a cheap £30 -£40 SDS drill and do it yourself. You drill the holes, bang in the hammer fixings or rawlbolts through the timber and fasten. 8m is quite a length, I'd suggest using joist offcuts as spacers, to keep the 8m length from being completely in contact with the wall. This will mean you will need longer fixings to account for the extra 50mm of timber.

Have you bought this wood yet? 8m will be a special order surely? Check your measurements again!

Screws or nails? Doesn't matter. You can special twist nails which are designed for this purpose. Normal galvanised nails will do but they should be the same thickness as the holes in the hangers, for a tight fit.


For drill, get the Ryobi drill and impact driver set for £99, you then sell the impact driver on eBay, you'll get about £40 - £50 for it

Although once you use it you won't want to part with it!


Or this Skil, for 60 notes.

The length of wood for the wall is 8m but i guess i didnt tell you everything lol .Its not one straight length .Our wall line kind of has a recess because of a house extention .So what i should say its 8m in total .

The longest run is prob about 4m then 1m in opp direction then 3m .

Its looks a bit like a Z

View media item 1459
Whats happening is we are putting in decking all along the back of our house to about 6 inch over the ponds edge .Also we have had to dig out quite a bit of soil to get the frame below the damp proof course .

All the Slabs are up now and its a bit tidier lol .What you see now is mostly bare soil .

Alan

 

[Deluks]

Well you don't strictly have to fix the frame below dpc, but as you've done it now I wouldn't worry about my spacers idea. Post back with pics when it's done.

 

[Woodster66]

Ok if the faceplate is going to be placed on the wall in sections then you should have no problem in attaching this to the wall, using anchor bolts, making sure that you leave a 10mm gap between the wall and the faceplate, this can be done by adding washers to the fixings between the wall and faceplate, the gap is there so water cannot sit on the faceplate and get into the brickwork causing damp patches

The posts don't have to be concreted into the ground instead make up foundations where the posts are going to be and place your posts on these foundations, I will try and upload a diagram of this I have done using Word, when I can find out how to upload it, I always use anchor brackets when attaching the posts this way water cannot sit at the base of the post causing premature failing of the wood.

Ah it seems I can only upload JPG's so if you PM me an email address I can send you the diagram providing you have word or office of course.

 

[Deluks]

He's putting the frame below dpc so no need to worry about water.

 

[Woodster66]

Well looking at the photo and with him saying he wants the decking to go over the pond by 6 inches, I cant see how he is going to get below the DPC Delux, he has stated that he has dug down below the DPC but then that would mean that the decking would slop back down towards the house, unless they have lowered the pond as well or constructing a two tear deck, lower at the building end and then stepping up at the pond end??

I'm only going by the picture that has been posted and I'm presuming the joists will be 6x2!

 

[Fast_Muchly]

Well looking at the photo and with him saying he wants the decking to go over the pond by 6 inches, I cant see how he is going to get below the DPC Delux, he has stated that he has dug down below the DPC but then that would mean that the decking would slop back down towards the house, unless they have lowered the pond as well or constructing a two tear deck, lower at the building end and then stepping up at the pond end??

I'm only going by the picture that has been posted and I'm presuming the joists will be 6x2!

When i said 6 inches = i meant not in height over the pond but in length ,so when your on the decking you feel as if the pond goes under you .will also hide the sides .

The top of the pond is quite a bit lower than the dpc on the house .But not quite enough .So having to dig some soil out ,the land slopes gentley away from our house to the pond

The problem im struggling with ,prob get a joiner round for advice lol .

The support frame will be close to the pond edge but how can i get any support under the 6 inches that go over the pond .The only way i can think of doing this is to cut into the 6x2 making it more like 4x2 and resting it on the ponds side .So if you get what i mean the bulk of the deck will be supported on frame .But the 1 to 2 foot thats near the pond edge will have been cut back to 4x2 and resting on pond sides .

email is = [email protected]

Also wouldnt want a 2 tier deck as there isnt the room it all has to be one level .Also the post that were going in .i was going to have 2 3 foot above ground with some nice fancy rope hanging from it .Will not obscure pond this way but give you a bit of feeling of security .And no we dont have any young ones if we did i would install a steel mesh over pond .

Would have had someone do this for us but £2500 seemed a bit steep to me .


Alan

 

[Deluks]

Some current pics would be helpful here, it's tricky to visualise what you mean.

That's a rather large teapot you've got there!

 

[Woodster66]

Alan, I have emailed you! AS for the price of £2500 well considering what needs to be done for your requirements then it isn't to far out of the ball park really!