Large Outdoor Decking Project

[csgardiner]

Hi All,

New to the forum, so I hope this is the right place to ask about this...

We're in the middle of a small 1960s bungalow renovation project. The transformation is about 80% done, and we're considering what we can do outside. There is quite a significant drop at the back of the house down to the garden.

Back door currently has about a 3-4 foot drop down to a patio, which extends out about 8-10 feet from the house. Then there's another drop, currently concrete stairs of 2-3 feet.

We want to build a decking platform across the back of the house. Current thinking is we come out to 1-2 feet beyond the current patio then build steps down more or less directly above the concrete steps. So, we're wondering if we should build a retaining wall which would involve a lot of excavation, etc (£££) or whether there are any other, cheaper alternatives without compromising safety.

I know there are a lot of what if's in this (sorry) but if anyone has any ideas or things to consider, I'd be very grateful.

Thanks!

Craig

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Don't **** the neighbours off with a deck that let's you lord it over their gardens just because legally you can.

 

[cdbe]

As Freddie says - raised decks that overlook neighbours are unpleasant (although applying the odd permitted development rules and taking the highest natural ground on the right hand side mean that legally you could probably do it). If you're just overlaying what's already there with a small additional projection of decking I'm not sure what needs retaining unless the existing ground is unstable.

 

[csgardiner]

Hi, thanks for the replies.

It's hard to tell from the photo, but on the left there's already a step, and the decking will step down there to the same level (the back door to the garage is lower than the bi-fold doors). On the right side the neighbour is uphill so not affected. We're on good terms with both neighbours, they're all ok with everything that we've planned.

We actually needed planning approval for the decking as it's more than a foot above ground level, so it was included in the plans, the planning inspector actually came out to visually inspect it too, so no problems on that front.

So, back to the question...as you can see there's a fair gap between the existing patio and where the decking would be, so wondering if there would be any issues digging out holes in the patio and concreting in posts?

 

[Notch7]

So, back to the question...as you can see there's a fair gap between the existing patio and where the decking would be, so wondering if there would be any issues digging out holes in the patio and concreting in posts?

no problem, just smash a hole through -maybe cut a square with a diamond disc in an angle grinder and use a breaker.

Im not a fan of timber decking -it has a great tendency to become very slippery rather quickly .

I know some carpenters that do decking projects -they found and easy way to do the decking was to screw temporary struts on the joist work to get it in the right place and level, once it was as they wanted it, they then put the posts into each hole, screwed them into place then concrete in at the end. That way you dont need to level up each post as you go.