My Deck Project

Sean Wright

Member
Messages
902
Location
WNY, Buffalo Area
We we bought our house, it had a concrete slab patio off the family room. My wife and I agreed that we would build a deck within the first 2 years of having the house. (year one was a new roof!)

I sat down and drew up the plans, got my town building permit and started. This was the first major building project that I have ever attempted. Because I had to work at the same time I was building, it took about half the summer to complete. I had help from both family, friends, and neighbors on this. We also replaced the junky 28 year old sliding glass door with a new Pella slider.

It is about 22 feet x 13 feet. It is made of pressure treated lumber for the structure and Fiberon composite decking. It has 4 foot deep footers due to the frost line in my area.

The flower gardens were built and filled by my wife. My main contribution to them was cutting a few pieces of brick here and there.
 

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May have taken you a bit of time, but that sure looks nice, and with the materials you used, it should last a while!

I like the no railings, I think that most people enclose their space too much with railings, on a just above the grade deck like that! :thumb:

What is the box like thing to the left of the table, a hot tub?

Also........what, no BBQ.......... :eek:

:D

Nice work, keep them coming!

Oh, have you put up a shop tour yet....?

EDIT: Now I see the shop tour....

Cheers!
 
May have taken you a bit of time, but that sure looks nice, and with the materials you used, it should last a while!

I like the no railings, I think that most people enclose their space too much with railings, on a just above the grade deck like that! :thumb:

What is the box like thing to the left of the table, a hot tub?

Also........what, no BBQ.......... :eek:

:D

Nice work, keep them coming!

Oh, have you put up a shop tour yet....?

EDIT: Now I see the shop tour....

Cheers!
Stuart,

As far as the railings.... We have a rather small back yard, and I wanted to keep the space as open as possible. My town only requires railings on decks that are 30 in above the ground or higher, so none was needed for this deck.

The big grey box is a hot tub. It is sitting on a concete slab, that is lower than the decking. I built a step that is sitting on the deck next to it, to make it easier to get in to.

The only railing that I put in was over near the hot tub. It serves 2 purposes. First to keep anyone from accidently steping off the deck on to the central AC unit that is on the ground below the deck. Second its a nice place to put towels when using the hot tub!

Living in the Buffalo area, it goes with out saying that our winters can be rough. The back of our house roughly faces Lake Erie (even though it is a few miles away). We get alot of wind hitting the back of the house all year round. I keep my propane grill in the garage which is exactly on the other side of the house from the deck. This way I can use it almost year round!
 
Nice Deck, Sean. Good Design and well done.:thumb:
Norm,

The original plan was to have a rectangular deck 22 ft x 13 ft. I had to change the plan because of the town building department. There is a drainage easment that runs along my neighbor's fence. It is 12 feet wide. 3 feet are on his side of the fence the other 9 are on my side -- Lucky Me. The edge of the easement is parallel to the angled part of the deck on the right side as you are facing it. The line is approximatly down the middle of where the flower bed is on that side. The initial plan would have put a footing within the easment. When the town wouldn't approve my plan, I redesigned it to cut at an angle and follow the easment line. I decided to make it semetrical so I cut the opposite side to match. Now it is the shape of half a stop sign. We didn't loose too much space, and I think it has a nice unique look.
 
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