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Front porch decking over concrete

Kalai11
Growing in Experience

Front porch decking over concrete

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Hi guys saw a lot of discussion on decking over concrete and also quite many amazing DIY results. Finally got may own place so now I am curious to try my hand at decking over concrete slab for the front porch area. Looking for some guidance to get started.

 

Thanks in advance

Jason
Community Manager
Community Manager

Re: Front Porch Decking over concrete

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Kalai11. It's wonderful to have you join us and we are really looking forward to seeing your deck come to life, as well as reading about all your other projects and plans for around the new house and garden. Congratulations on getting your own place to call home.

 

Great to see you've already seen what other Workshop members have been able to achieve with their decking projects. I'd certainly encourage you to search for the likes of "low-level decks" and have a good read of the guide How to build a low-level deck by @Adam_W. We're sure you will get plenty of helpful information, advice and inspiration from our clever and creative members.

 

Next step will be to come back here and ask some more specific questions so our members can assist you. Is there anything at this stage that you are struggling with? 

 

Thanks,

 

Jason

 

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Kalai11
Growing in Experience

Re: Front Porch Decking over concrete

Hi @Jason  thank you for the quick reply, being a complete newbie at this DIY stuff, i wanted to know how i should go about setting up the frame since i have a couple of those tricky corners. With what kind of wood and anchors i would need. And i saw a few pictures in other posts where there were "double joists" where the deck meets the brick ? I wanted to know what was their purpose and how i should implement those. Any rough sketch would help me greatly.

Jason
Community Manager
Community Manager

Re: Front Porch Decking over concrete

Thanks for the clarification @Kalai11.

 

Normally @MitchellMc would be on hand to promptly assist but he is taking a well-earned break this week. Thanks for your patience in the meantime - I'm sure he will be keen to assist when he gets back. 

 

In the meantime, let me tag some other experienced members in @Adam_W, @Dilanka, @asifkhawaja, @Jithesh, @Brendon_B, @Usman, @Neo19, @Brad and @bruce93. I trust these members will have helpful information for you about appropriate timber and anchors to use for your deck.

 

Thanks again,

 

Jason

 

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Dilanka
Cultivating a Following

Re: Front Porch Decking over concrete

@Kalai11 

 

Congrats with your new decking project!!

I am happy to help from what I learnt from my project. Normally "Double Joist" will be used when picture framing is required. Picture frame will add extra look to your deck. 

I suggest you to lay joists perpendicular to the wall and deck boards parallel to the wall. Also, it is better not to connect the deck to the wall and leave a gap between wall and the deck. Hope this will helps.

Cheers. 

MitchellMc
Bunnings Team Member
Bunnings Team Member

Re: Front Porch Decking over concrete

Hi @Kalai11,

 

It's great to see you've already received an offer of assistance form @Dilanka.

 

Could you upload some images of the area for us? Is there a limited height you need to build the deck within? The bottom of the door sill normally governs a decks height. If you can provide the height from the slab's surface to the bottom of the sill, it will allow me to work out what size timber you can use.

 

What you'll see along walls is a ledger board. It is effectively a joist that gets fixed to the wall to transfer the deck's weight to it. It is used when there is no option to install posts so close to a wall. If there is a double joist, this is used to bear more weight than a single joist and used for larger spans.

 

We look forward to hearing more about your project.

 

Mitchell

 

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Kalai11
Growing in Experience

Re: Front Porch Decking over concrete

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 Hi @MitchellMc @Dilanka  here is a picture of the area in am planning to deck. The height if from the slab to make it flush with the brick is 165mm. The wife was hoping to run the decking board perpendicular to the wall, so i was thinking I'd have to run the joists parallel to the wall. Also what is a picture frame deck ? 

 

Having browsed through more posts and finding out what picture framing, span of timbre and decking boards are, i drew this up. What to run it bu you guys before i go order some timber. Please let me know if this is correct the frame and also if i can do a picture frame deck with this frame layout.

 

Thanks in advance guys.

 

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MitchellMc
Bunnings Team Member
Bunnings Team Member

Re: Front Porch Decking over concrete

Hi @Kalai11,

 

Once you have removed your decking board thickness of 19mm from the overall 165mm space, you'll be left with 146mm. I'd then suggest using Treated Pine Outdoor Timber Framing 90 x 45mm for the frame and joists. You'll find you have 56mm remaining to finish flush with the bricks. The Builders Edge Pedestal Foot Smallfoot 35 - 60mm can adjust the frame to be flush for you. You're correct that you'll need to run the joist parallel to the walls to achieve the desired board layout.

 

A picture frame deck is when a gap is left around the perimeter when laying boards and is then in-filled with a framing board. I'll add an image below to illustrate.

 

Please let me know if you need further help or have questions.

 

Mitchell

 

 

 

 

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Kalai11
Growing in Experience

Re: Front Porch Decking over concrete

@MitchellMc  thank you so very much for the reply and the guidance. My apology for the delay, can you please tell me how i would secure the pedestal feet to the concrete? is is the same way you would an angle bracket ?

 

Also can you tell me about eco deck and nailless installation? i kind of liked the ashwood color on the eco deck panels. If eco deck is a better option that the merbau panels?

 

i did not get a chance to head over to bunnings and start procuring material as yet but i will have to make one big run since my 3 month old wont let me make many trips over the weekends. 

MitchellMc
Bunnings Team Member
Bunnings Team Member

Re: Front Porch Decking over concrete

The pedestal feet are designed to sit on top of the concrete @Kalai11. You can glue them down with Selley's liquid nails if you wish.

 

Ekodeck is a great alternative to traditional timber decking as there's no ongoing maintenance which needs to be done. It's weather-resistant and doesn't require oiling, painting or sealing. It's also rot, decay and termite resistant with no additional treatments.

 

The Quickfix nailless system saves you time on installation and leaves your deck free from fasteners. The clips establish the gaps on your boards and there is no need to space them yourself. It's a fantastic way of getting a clean and professional-looking install to your decking boards.

 

Mitchell

 

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