I am looking to put decking down on to our patio area, which is around 4m x 4m. Currently the patio is made of paving slabs which, whilst being fairly secure and fastened in place, are pretty uneven and badly fitted. The current patio is a 3 to 4 brick drop down from the patio doors.
I am thinking of doing the following but I'm quite a novice so was after some advice. Please bear in mind if I can avoid ripping the whole patio up, I will do.
1) Put down several short wooden stumps at certain intervals along where the joists and frame of the decking will go. I intend to lay these into concrete and on to the paving slabs. The heights will vary in order to even out the wonky slabs, but I should imagine 5 to 10cm high.
2) Fasten down the joists and frame on to these stubs. Not sure the best way to do this, so hoping for advice here. Presumably some screws or bolts but can't think how/where these would fasten.
3) Lay decking boards on to the joists - the easy bit!
Also looking to put railings around the 3 edges to make it a safe toddler play area, with a couple of gates to the garden. Can the posts for these just be bolted to the frame or do they need to go into the ground instead?
Any alternative methods or other ideas are welcome.
NB. I've lifted a couple of the paving slabs and it was back breaking. They're concreted down and it's still uneven and patchy underneath, so I think some kind of raised stump method would be easier than lifting them all and flattening it out.
I am thinking of doing the following but I'm quite a novice so was after some advice. Please bear in mind if I can avoid ripping the whole patio up, I will do.
1) Put down several short wooden stumps at certain intervals along where the joists and frame of the decking will go. I intend to lay these into concrete and on to the paving slabs. The heights will vary in order to even out the wonky slabs, but I should imagine 5 to 10cm high.
2) Fasten down the joists and frame on to these stubs. Not sure the best way to do this, so hoping for advice here. Presumably some screws or bolts but can't think how/where these would fasten.
3) Lay decking boards on to the joists - the easy bit!
Also looking to put railings around the 3 edges to make it a safe toddler play area, with a couple of gates to the garden. Can the posts for these just be bolted to the frame or do they need to go into the ground instead?
Any alternative methods or other ideas are welcome.
NB. I've lifted a couple of the paving slabs and it was back breaking. They're concreted down and it's still uneven and patchy underneath, so I think some kind of raised stump method would be easier than lifting them all and flattening it out.
