To build a wooden platform, the perimeter of the site under the deck is first marked with a rope and spike. If the bundle will not stand on stilts, but rest on the ground, the site must be leveled and well tamped.
If the deck is to be placed on a lawn or a turf bed, it is recommended to remove the turf from the area under the deck and cover the ground with a piece of strong black polyethylene film to suppress the growth of grass and other vegetation under the future deck.
If the ground under the deck is often soaked in water, it is recommended to make a bed of crushed stone or gravel about 2.5 cm thick before laying the bundle. Such a cushion will not only protect the deck from the penetration of damp, but also compensate for the vibration that occurs when walking on the deck. Then you can start the construction of the bundle.
Strapping deck construction
The construction of deck begins with the construction of a tie frame. Then the length of longitudinal and transverse beams inside the frame are measured on it, the beams of the required length are sawn off and fixed to the frame. Anodized brackets and fasteners are used to avoid rust.
Rust not only damages the overall appearance, but also reduces the strength of the structure. The beams inside the bundle must be placed strictly parallel to each other with a distance of no more than 50 cm.
When building the deck on a sloping site, which is too laborious to completely level out, you can put one side of the tie-bar on the ground and the other to support the piles. The piles are made of a bar, the ends of which are fixed in pits, pouring concrete or lay out brick posts.
As the bundle is constructed, make sure that it rests firmly on the ground or on the piles and remains in a strictly horizontal plane. If holes and irregularities are found under the tie-bar, they must be removed, otherwise the finished platform will vibrate when walking on it.
Also make sure that the frame is not skewed. To do this you can measure the distances diagonally between the opposite tie-bar corners. The lengths of both diagonals must match.
The wood type for the deck depends on the product offer and the climate zone. Most types of wood for sale need regular painting, varnishing and preservative treatment. Some types of wood are simply enough to proliferate.
Building a raised deck
If desired or necessary, a fully elevated deck can also be arranged using the same tying construction techniques that were explained and illustrated on the previous page. In this case, it is not recommended to build deck with a platform level above 60 cm from the ground.
The most difficult part of building a raised deck is marking and installing piles. To ease the task, it is recommended to first assemble the harness and then install it on the selected site on temporary supports. After making sure, with the help of the construction level, that the frame lies flat, without distortion, in the right position, mark and dig holes under the corner piles to a depth of about 70 cm.
The pile spacing should not exceed 1.2 m.
Then the piles shall be installed in the pits strictly vertically and fastened to the bundling with brackets or bolts. Concrete bedding shall be poured into the pits and tamped. When the concrete is caught, the temporary underpinnings are removed.
Depending on the size of the decks, piles may also be needed to support the intermediate beams inside the tying frame to prevent excessive vibration of the decks when walking on the decks.
Deck with multiple levels
On a site with a complex terrain it is possible to build a multi-storey deck. Such decks look very beautiful, creating a terracing effect on the ground. The tiers go in a step-by-step sequence and are connected by a number of steps. Following a relief of a site, some levels can rest on the ground, others lift above the ground on piles.
Lifted decks-tiers are best suited for houses standing on a hill or on stony ground, little suitable for use. Depending on the terrain, the tiers may go down from the house or, conversely, climb up a slope.
Multi-level decks in sloping terrain create an attractive and functional space for recreation, games and entertainment.
