Idiots guide to ground level decking

[jezmoz]

Hi, I have an area that i wish to deck, I don't want a raised deck as this will allow neighbours to see us. I wish to have a ground level deck. At the moment the ground is just soil/clay. What would be the best approach to lay a deck on this? I don't want to buy a crappy kit. I want a deck that will last and stay put. There is nothing to attach the deck to, it is an open area of lawn to the rear of the garden. Please could some explain the process and what materials I would need to use

 

[andyboyo]

hi mate,

all you have to do is level the ground , remove grass weeds etc and put down a membraine to prevent anything growing under the decking.

i recommend the membraine area should be bigger by 2ft on each side you can cover this then with decoractive bark or stone , purely to stop grass/weeds growing close to the decking and when cutting the grass its easier. ( just a thought)

you could secure the decking frame by concreting in posts or using metposts (metal spiked posts) up to you and your level of DIY skills (metposts are easier)

finally , the planning permission laws although quite relaxed still outline a few specs so if any of these are breached you need planning permission

the decking must not be over 0.3 metres of ground level.
the decking must not impose on the privacy of your neighbours
the decking cannot be erected within 20 metres of a highway

there are some other ones but they all apply to elevated decking

good luck

 

[^woody^]

And I thought I was the only idiot to want a deck level with the ground and have to dig out first, instead of just laying the deck above ground!

What i did was lay my deck on concrete blocks laid flat, and with timbers spanned between these.

Determine the depth of the deck boards and timber joists, and this will give you the level for the blocks.

Then dig out to 50 or 75mm below the level of the top of the blocks. Lay the membrane, and then cover with gravel so that there will be at least 25mm gap between the gravel and the bottom of the joists (to preven damp and premature rot)

Edit

The blocks were one at each corner, and then at 1m centres down the two longest parellel sides. A 50 x 100 timber was put across these blocks, and then then the 50 x 100 joists were fixed off these via joist hangers at 400 centres. Total span of the joists is 2.2m