Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 03, 2000 06:10pm | #1

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   Hey Mark,

   Go here and knock yourself out. They will help you if you run into any problems, and will even help with the design if you hit a snag. The site is a hassle to navigate, so go to the service desk and ask them your question. They will tell ya where to find the info you need.

   Design a Deck

   James DuHamel

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 04, 2000 12:28am | #2

   *Mark-by trusses I'll assume you mean joists. You are not going to span 25' with joists of wood limited to an eight inch depth.work the problem based on the limiting factors- your gonna need midspan beams at the very least, hang the joists from flush beams, support the beams adequately...Like James said check with a diy place- you can't swing a cat for all the wonderfull and informative books on designing and building your own everything available there...

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 04, 2000 02:43am | #3

   *What they said,And, trusses?Not a big problem, I always break the span to use nominal lumber, preferably 2x8 or 2x10. This can be accomplished in many ways. Either use and intermediate built up support beam and hang joist off of it or if close enough to grade, pour a continuous grade beam below frost if necessary. There are a number of other solutions. Ie. the slab may have to go, multiple levels etc. 25x40 is a large deck to build on one plane, and I hope not a simple rectangle. The question indicates to me that you may want to hire a professional to do this job, or at least design it for you.Tom

2. 
   george_eberle | Jun 04, 2000 05:17am | #4

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   Check out one of the Pau Lope websites and ask them for the span charts. Not only does the Pau Lope protect from rot and insects it enables you to span longer lengths of deck boards.

1. 
   nathan_wegemer | Jun 05, 2000 08:46am | #5

   *How about hiring a fencing contractor to auger some holes for piles? They usually are very portable, somewhere I even saw a picture of one mounted to the back of a jeep, with an auger around 8". Sink some sono tube in them, wet set a little steel into the concrete and roll your built up ground contact 2x8 girder over that. (I didn't mean put the beam into contact with the ground). 1-1/2" decking should get you in there at nine inches. I have found sometimes the best thing is just move the dirt. You can work much more efficiently with a couple of inches of room to play, and don't forget to lay a barrier down to prevent the dandelions from poking up through your new playground. UUGGH!Your lumber supplier can calculate spans for the girders based on the type of wood your joist are made of. They should also calculate pier spacing for you as well, to accomodate the double or triple girder you'll use. Do check out Ipe' (Pau Lope?) as a decking surface. Super beautiful, no maintenance, and check out how stainless screws that are countersunk into it look! Have fun, hire a pro .

3. 
   Guest_ | Jun 06, 2000 02:43am | #6

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   mark.. i think you shud consider regrading this area and changing your deck into a patio....

   the cost will be less and the design will be better and the design constraints will be minimal compared to trying to put a deck where the situation seems to cry out for a patio

   b but hey, whadda i no ?

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 06, 2000 04:27am | #7

   *mike,concrete sounds like a natural for this, but if it is finished with some craftsman(ship), do you think it will be less expensive than wood? I would want to see drawings of something more than a garage slab and some firm prices for everything down to the details.I think patios are really underrated and underused, at least here in the Northwest.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 06, 2000 04:38pm | #8

   *yeh... i would think brick... or bluestone pavers..or maybe an exposed aggregate concrete...also some of the stamped and dyed concrete would bve attractive..

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 06, 2000 11:40pm | #9

   *Expense is not the only question here - you need to build what is right for the site/situation. An onground deck is only going to harbor rot, insects, and vermin. Do what Mike says - build a patio. A patio can start at as little as $2 a sq ft for plain jane concrete and go up to $8 a sq ft for really nice stamped concrete with brick pavers being somewhere in the middle. Pavers are a great DIY project just so it's done properly.Besides, I believe that the ipe material that was mentioned above makes the stamped concreat look inexpensive.

4. 
   Mark_McCargar | Jun 07, 2000 07:14am | #10

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   Where does one find information on sizing dimensional lumber, for certain spans, how much weight is taken into consisteration, what about snow loads.

5. 
   Guest_ | Jun 07, 2000 09:42am | #11

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   recently finished an entry porch in concrete with facing tile wrap
   around the perimeter. Some extra cost to form the tile bed , but
   the simple and inexpensive brick-like look is very nice. We were
   able to incorporate it into the radius at the first nosing. And the
   client did set the tile herself, and saved some money. And did a
   reasonable job with my porch. Last I heard you could park a
   metric butt-ton of snow on a concrete porch.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 07, 2000 09:15pm | #12

   *I had to edit part of george eberle's post because he was advertising a product in which he has a financial stake. Andy

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 07, 2000 11:29pm | #13

   *Use the BT search function and search for b span table. A design for 30 or 40 PSF should be more than adequate.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 08, 2000 03:19am | #14

   *Andy,I thought I smelled something bad in that post. How did you determine this? Or is that a closely guarded secret at taunton? Tom

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 08, 2000 08:29pm | #15

   *No secret, I know the Eberles from my days working at Warren Lumber in Washington, NJ. Also, I reviewed EbTys in Tools and Materials when they first hit the market. Nice folks, in my opinion. I suspect that George simply was unaware of the site rules. Andy

6. 
   Mark_McCargar | Jun 08, 2000 08:33pm | #16

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   I am planning to build a deck, I do have a few design problems. The size of the deck is to be 25 feet by 40 feet. Part of the deck will be built over an existing concrete pad. The house the deck is to be attached to is a bungalow, with three windows in the wall which the deck is attaching to. The height of the windows and the height of the back door sill limits the amount of space I have to place the deck and it's supporting members. From the existing ground I have only 8" or 9" to build this deck. Normally I would attatch a ledger board to the house and run trusses, the trusses supported by a beam which sits on concrete piles. My problem is that I have little room for trusses of any size to span a 25 foot distance, and little room for those trusses to be supported by a beam of any size, what are some options to build a proper foundation for this deck, in the space I have?