We’re buying a bungalow on a sloping site so at the rear the internal floor level is around 5 ft above ground level.

I’d like to build a raised deck with steps down so we can access the rear garden from the lounge but don’t really want to build it like a timber deck as I’m concerned about the amount of ongoing maintenance it would need.

I’m thinking about having either brick piers or possibly powder coated steel box section uprights supporting a timber structure with the flooring from say 18mm ply. On top of this I’d like something like ceramic tiles as these would be virtually maintenance free but presumably I’d need some form of waterproof surface onto which the tiles could be laid.

The handrails would then probably be stainless steel with glass below.

At the moment I’m just looking for comments or alternative suggestions.

The attached picture of the back of the bungalow may help.

John.


Rear of Bungalow

What about building in PVC ?
you can google PVC decking to get an idea

steve

Yeah long term wood decking can be very difficult to keep protected as it’s the underneath that gets damp and rots which is also the one place you can't get to without taking the boards up. Mind too that under decking is often a place well liked by mice and other furry things unless use wire mesh to stop the blighters. It’s quite amazing what gets dragged under there to make nests.

Square section steel uprights, C channel horizontals. With timber decking on top of that. Stainless and Glass balustrading will bring it into the 21st century nicely. Timber clad the horizontals if you want to soften it.

Like this:



or



or

without the stainless frame:





[Edited on 19-12-13 by loggyboy]

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Originally posted by John P
or possibly powder coated steel box section uprights

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FYI, off the top of my head, decking at that height would technically need to be building regs compliant.

Not sure what regs apply to decking but might want to have a quick look before you start building; presume it's mostly to make sure it's safe and you have a suitable railing to prevent people just falling through the deck or toppling 5ft to the ground off the edge!

That means you'll need to get the local building control round to take a look once complete. Obviously if you don't do that, they'll probably never know but it will come up when you sell the property in the future.

Here's a thought if your looking to do something fancy - why not build the base as series of 3 or 4 brick vaults / arches - then concrete over that and you can lay your tiles strait on without ever worrying about the water

you can use the vaults underneath as storage or even as features in the garden - i.e. stick some benches or a water feature in them


btw I'm thinking less railway arch and more roman terrace

quote:

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Originally posted by ravingfool
FYI, off the top of my head, decking at that height would technically need to be building regs compliant.

Not sure what regs apply to decking but might want to have a quick look before you start building; presume it's mostly to make sure it's safe and you have a suitable railing to prevent people just falling through the deck or toppling 5ft to the ground off the edge!

That means you'll need to get the local building control round to take a look once complete. Obviously if you don't do that, they'll probably never know but it will come up when you sell the property in the future.

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I built a raised deck in 2000. Used concrete in metaposts, 4x4 fenceposts and 8x2 framework. I bought a whole load of treated 4x1 roofing boards as the actual deck. 13 years later it has been jetwashed about 6 times and retreated once. Needed about 20% of the decking replaced in the summer, and treating again (we just sold the house, and I probably replaced more boards than I needed to...)
Anyway, the frame had no rot at all, and the metaposts look fine too. Saying that, these days galvanised metalwork is easily available.
Be sensible and it can be built for not a lot of cash. But I have a suspicion that you need planning permission these days. Not an issue when I built mine, and no questions asked when we sold the house (they did ask about the carport, which did have pp)

Thanks for all the ideas and suggestions.

Although PVC would be simple and maintenance free I'm a bit concerned it may look like a bit like it belongs on caravan site.

I quite like the idea of brick vaults / arches but wonder if it's really too small a bungalow to carry this off.

Probably the second picture put up by loggyboy is nearer to what I had in mind but with some other type of vertical supports as my wife doesn't like the look of steel now that she's seen the picture.

My main remaining concern is what to make the actual flooring from. I've looked on the web and some seem to use plywood with ashphalt on top but this wouldn't really be a DIY option and I'm not sure if it's Ok to tile onto ashphalt.

Are there any waterproofing systems which could be put on top of a plywood deck and then be tiled over? I'd also need something which could take the rain water into a gutter.

John.

IIRC decking needs planning permission anyway doesn't it? I could be wrong.

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Originally posted by coyoteboy
IIRC decking needs planning permission anyway doesn't it? I could be wrong.

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not sure about the costs I have to admit, but you could use concrete for the floor on top of a steel frame - that way water and strength won't be issues


precast slabs would be heavy to lift in so would probably add a crane to your costs

but you can do it with wet concrete and metal formers like slimdek: http://www.tatasteelconstruction.com/en/design_guidance/slimdek/components/
(my boss used it on his house extension a couple of years back)

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Originally posted by mcerd1
not sure about the costs I have to admit, but you could use concrete for the floor on top of a steel frame - that way water and strength won't be issues

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I was just thinking about block and beam construction which I think is used for suspended floors.

Anyone know if this can be used externally? I guess one problem could be if the beams are too heavy to handle manually.