Building Raised Decking - A Ta Dah!!

Since we had the conservatory along the back of the house we have been without a patio and really missed sitting out in the summer to eat. After the cabin was built decided decking was the way forward as the space in front of it was perfect:

Aside from building the cabin last autumn we had not done much building/carpentry and first of all decided to get someone in to do the decking for us but after a review of the budget decided that was not going to be possible - we would have to Do It Ourselves.

I did a bit of Googling and watched a couple of videos on YouTube and set about designing the frame, making calculations and then spent just over £500 on materials.

I found a place that did long lengths of decking as well as the beams to support it and so ordered them exactly the size we wanted to ensure minimum cutting was needed. We did hire a circular saw for 48hrs (£22) to do the cuts for the bearers which were placed between the joists to add strength.

Mr G has had this week off work and he and W (at the rate of £1 per hour for his labour!!) have been hard at it the last two and half days:

Of course I "project managed" with a bit of stitching to keep me occupied between "instructions":

After the first day the frame had taken shape and the supporting posts were concreted in - that was a lot easier than it sounds as we used Postmix - you dig your hole (a minimum 30cms deep for raised decking), fill it 1/3 with water, set in your post and then scoop in the Postmix powder until no water remains. It "goes off" in ten minutes so the post is going nowhere:

Yesterday, the decking itself was laid - we decided we didn't want railings for a couple of reasons, firstly (and a bit embarrassingly) we didn't realise quite how high it was going to be!! The garden slopes both back to front and side to side and so that left corner is pretty tall. Secondly, I thought railings would make the whole thing look closed in and detract from the cabin and thirdly, railings are expensive and so they would have doubled the cost:

And today, we finished off by boarding the front and making some steps - the deck is a fraction smaller than the cabin itself 4.8m x 3m:

Doesn't it look fab? To the right of the cabin we are awaiting a new fence and a gate so the dogs can't get behind the cabin as the fence belonging to the house that backs onto us is not secure and in front of that (where you can see the railway sleepers) we will fill with bark chippings.

We need to reseed the grass where it's got compacted with all the to'ing and fro'ing and I intend to put a standard rose in each of the planters (built for me by my lovely StepDad) along with the ashes of my two ponies lost last year.

So if you think you can't manage to build a deck of your own I'd urge you to think again, with just a couple of days (enjoyable) work and a small budget look at the lovely finish Mr G has achieved - (and at this point I will confess his nickname is "Bodge It Bennett" and so if he can do it anyone can, lol!!)

One last thing (before I shop for a table and chairs of course) I'd like to paint all the fences a paleish, sage green - Mr G currently DIY'ed out and refuses but I reckon I'll get my own way before long....

Many thanks for reading....

Hugs,

S x

 

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