Decks, Patios, Porches and Docks - Help the underdog pull one out!!

Okay here is the deal, I am not the handiest guy around, I dont have a toolshed full of tools -- in fact I dont have many tools at all -- everytime I start a project whether it be painting the house or building a privacy fence my wife gets upset wondering why I dont let a professional handle it. What I lack in tools and being "handy" I try to make up with a willingness to work hard and a total lack of fear of failure. Now with that background we can move onto today's challenge.....

The new project as you may have guessed by the forum I am posting in is to build a deck. We live in a ranch style house and have a 160" x 173" concrete patio outside the back door. I am planning on building a corner post low level deck approximately 34 feet long extending 18 feet out from the house.

My main concern is that space between the bottom of the door and the top of the concrete patio in only about 7".

Thus the plan I have formulated is to use 2x6's for the ledger and beams, and joists and to use 1x4's for the decking boards.

I understand this will require a couple more posts/footers and here comes the problem...ideally I would 7 posts in a line (34 feet) about 10 feet out from the house and then another 5 at the end of the deck 18 feet out form the house. Unfortunately the patio extends out 160 inchs...Do I need to remove the patio (which would give me and extra inch or two of height also?

Any thoughts or suggestions on my situation would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Couple of things:

1.) Have the patio taken out, It will open up at least a 4" hole. Don't even think about doing this yourself, it ain't worth it. Call around to concrete contactors and get a price per square foot for removal. Considering that the wood alone will run over $2,500, the removal expense will seem small.

2.) I don't know your design, but I would think you will need the same number of post at both e the middle and end.

3.) Use 5/4 decking boards, not 1X's. The 4/5 is actually about 1 1/8" thick.

4.) Go to Home Depot and pick up their Decks-1-2-3 book. It's the best one for rookies, and it shows examples of the corner fastening you are going to use.

Thanks for the reply pjb1!

I have the book from Home depot as well as a couple others from the library they have given me a good handle on what needs to be done...seems like coming up with the plan may be the hardest part! :confused:

I am thinking of reducing the size of the deck to a 32x16 to cut down on wasted wood.

Agreed on the # of posts.

One further question you said the wood would cost $2500....:eek: I was doing some rough figuring after going to Home Depot

2x6x16 cost $10.29 each I am thinking with joist spacing of 12" I will only need maybe 37 of these (including the ones for ledgers and beams)

Decking 1x6x12 cost $5.29 each and I dunno maybe I need 100-120 of those?

10.29x 37 = 381
5.29 x 120 = 634

Approximately $1000 worth of wood? Am I horribly wrong in my calculations?

Baumer,

I just finished my 16x32 deck a couple of months ago (a few differences from yours - mine is 40 inches off the ground, requiring railings and I built mine free standing which required more post and beams)

A couple of recommendations:

1) As pjb1 said, recommend using 5/4x6" decking boards - I would further recommend that you use the "tompsonized" boards available from HD - I say this not because I think tompsonized is a great thing but because it is grade 1 lumber vice grade 2 - you will see that it is much "prettier" wood - fewer knots, and generally much straighter - makes for a much nicer looking deck. Of course the downside is price - they cost a good bit more.

2) In calculating wood costs, don't forget the posts (4x4) - how much you need largely depends on where you live - here in southern VA - with no frost line - post depth can be as shallow as 18 to 24 inches - up north depth requirements of 48" are common - your local inspection office can tell you what the code requires in your area. Also be certain that your posts are close enogh to allow 2x6 beams. For me (and I tend to overkill) I used doubled 2x8 beams mounted directly on top of the posts - very sturdy however I don't think you have the room to do that. One last thing on costs is you might consider putting a 2x8 rim joist around the three exposed sides of your deck even with the top of the decking boards for a very nice finished look.

3) In construction, I found it easiest to build two 16ftx16ft boxes from the exterior joist (2x6s) - joined in the center and attached to the ledger board on the house and laid over the beams. I them installed the 2x6 joists in the box on 16 inch centers using joist hangers.

4) Lastly I agree with pjb1 - pay somebody to remove the concrete - your back will thank you!

Hope that helps,
Brian

Don't buy your lumber at home Depot, it's garbage. Find a good lumber yard in your town.

There's no need to space joists 12' oc. (unless your planning to run the decking boards at 45 degrees). An even then, it might be overkill