I’m building a house with a raised deck (8′ above ground level) and was thinking of pouring it in concrete (3″‘-4″). The structure (2×10 DF joist and 3/4″ T&G Plywood) has been engineered to accomodate the load. It’s in an area with freeze/thaw issues and was wondering if anyone has had success or failures with the application. I’ll take any suggestions and comments.
Thanks
Replies
I just demolished a concrete deck and replaced it with wood. Cracked, spalled and very nasty. Not to say that it can't be good if you have the right mix and its properly reinforced and cured, but I think the average ready-mix won't do. Needs a good finisher. Work it too much and you'll get surface cracks. Not easy to place or screed up in the air like that.
Definitely sounds like asking for trouble to me. I banned all exterior horizontal wood at my house, so when I built my porch, I had a basement dug out under it and I poured a structural concrete deck with an ICF foundation. The deck was supported by insulated forms called PanelDeck (see http://www.polysteel.com) - this stuff can span long distances. So in the end I got a great storage room with no posts and something that is totally bulletproof.
Since you are 8' above ground level already, it sounds like there would be minimal excavation to get nice clearance. Is there already a basement under the house? If so, even better...you'll just get more basement.
Check out the pictures I posted a while back-
http://forums.prospero.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=39793.1
MERC