Front porch timber deck with pergola

[RosieD]

A front porch built from recycled Ironbark with Merbau timber screens plus a pergola made with treated Pine.

• The project
• Tools and materials
• How to build a deck
• More inspiration for your decking project

The project

To transform a concrete porch into a beautiful timber deck and garden area.

The first step was installing a soakwell, building the subframe, and installing a concrete footing for the pergola post.

The decking is made from old, recycled powerline poles. We cut the decking in a circle around an existing rosemary bush, and installed a Merbau timber screen for privacy and a place to hang plants. 

The deck has taken a small unusable concrete space and made it a pleasant outdoor area.

Since people have trouble finding our front door, we also printed a 3D cover for an outdoor light to help at night. 

A stainless steel angle was curved and set into the timber decking, so the front door mat is flush with the inside and outside floor level.

Some pieces of the subframing are cut on an angle to deal with the concrete, which slopes down towards the front door. It's not so good for drainage, but we fixed that by installing the strip drain and soakwell. 

Two of us completed the project over two weekends. Then we stained the timber the following week. 

Tools and materials

Materials used in the project:

• Decking timber (recycled Ironbark power line poles)
  
  
• Timber screen - Merbau battens
  
  
• Strip drain - EasyDRAIN and channel
  
  
• Soakwell - Reln Soakwell rapid flow
  
  
• Pergola framing - treated Pine
  
  
• Hanging basket hooks
  
  
• Hanging baskets
  
  
• Soakwell
  
  
• Light.

Tools used in the project:

• Ryobi drill 
  
  
• Paint brushes 
  
  
• DeWALT nail gun.

How to build a deck

Experienced Workshop community member Adam has shared a comprehensive guide How to build a low-level deck, with a detailed list of the issues you'll need to consider for your own project. Resident Bunnings D.I.Y. expert has also created a simple step-by-step guide How to build a deck. 

More inspiration for your decking project

Community member SLFDesigns built their low-level decking over concrete and around a tree.

Workshop member archerwinmakes built their low-level deck using composite boards.

Check out our Top 10 most popular low-level deck projects and Top 10 most popular deck projects for more inspiration from Bunnings Workshop community members.