Garden Decking

scottishlizzie

We are looking at having a deck constructed in part of our garden which slopes steeply. I have a couple of carpenters coming to give me a quote plus a specialist decking company.

The two who have come out so far have both said it is relatively straightforward, although obviously it is not the same as laying a deck on a flat garden. They have both said you need to dig down until you get to rock which one said would be about 2 feet and the other about 3. One said he would then sink the supporting posts - which would be about 2 metres at the highest point - into the hole and concrete them in. The other said he would fill the hole with concrete and then slot the supports into steel slippers which would be bolted to the concrete. I can imagine that the latter would reduce the chance of rotting but the timber would be pressure treated so would this matter?

The area will be around 6m x 3m. Both have so far talked about 3 rows of supports plus ties to steady them.

Does anyone have any experience of building/having built a raised deck of this nature? Would I be better to go with the decking specialist or should a competent carpenter be able to do the job just as well? Any views on cost?

Many thanks.

Saveit

scottishlizzie wrote:

We are looking at having a deck constructed in part of our garden which slopes steeply. I have a couple of carpenters coming to give me a quote plus a specialist decking company.

The two who have come out so far have both said it is relatively straightforward, although obviously it is not the same as laying a deck on a flat garden. They have both said you need to dig down until you get to rock which one said would be about 2 feet and the other about 3. One said he would then sink the supporting posts - which would be about 2 metres at the highest point - into the hole and concrete them in. The other said he would fill the hole with concrete and then slot the supports into steel slippers which would be bolted to the concrete. I can imagine that the latter would reduce the chance of rotting but the timber would be pressure treated so would this matter?

The area will be around 6m x 3m. Both have so far talked about 3 rows of supports plus ties to steady them.

Does anyone have any experience of building/having built a raised deck of this nature? Would I be better to go with the decking specialist or should a competent carpenter be able to do the job just as well? Any views on cost?

Many thanks.

I have heard you can get concrete posts for sloping gardens which last forever. I haven't seen them though.

Ted_Hutchinson

Although if Money is no object getting a carpenter to lay your decking would be easier you should be able to construct a decking on a slope without too much difficulty.
I found the brochure provided in the link 3 posts down are sufficient to work from. The joinery is really quite basic and providing you have a sharp saw and a hammer there shouldn't be any problems.
I was longer getting the base framework right than actually laying the boards but it was the first one I've done and it only took a few days and was about the same size as yours and also on a sloping site.
Mine is about 4.8mx5 meters I used 30 4.8metre boards so they would cost about £245 now .I think the tanalised timber to make the frame to cope with the sloping site, together with the hidden decking fittings cost as much again so all in all it cost about £500 the same as I paid for the log cabin type summerhouse. I still think it was all worth the effort and as we spend quite a bit of time there.

It is a job that providing you get one of those instruction leaflets and follow them exactly anyone should be able to manage quite successfully. I don't think you need a carpenter or even an odd job man.