Mr Ed on the decks (pics with sunshine now added!)

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Mr Ed

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Location
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I have just completed this deck at the rear of my house;

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I've done a few of these now, so the process goes quite quick - this is about 3 to 4 days work in total including the foundations. The notion of the seat emerged from the idea of covering up the rough retaining wall to the back of the area. Originally I was just going to return the deck up the wall, but decided to create the seating area which has worked out well.

I always build decks as suspended structures as I think it leads to longer life, so this one sits on a combination of the outer leaf of the retaining wall and concrete blocks bedded on concrete to the required levels;

3977729700_20c1f809f1.jpg


I applied a bitumen primer and then proofex tanking membrane to all the surfaces that the joists would rest on to assist in avoiding damp rising into the timber. All the joists are 6X2 tanalised, probably a bit oversize but it makes for a nice rigid structure. The seat area was created using a halving joint - I cheated and cut these on the bandsaw.

3977731260_6b0f18e337.jpg


The finished substructure;

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I decided to use a border on the deck as I think it gives a more finished look, especially where you get the 45 degree cuts showing on the end. The deck boards are 125 X 35 tanalised from Harlows in Derby;

3976970027_bdde33e260.jpg


I work night and day on this stuff man;

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And finally it is complete;

3976971039_211e8e68b8.jpg


It needs a coat of decking oil when the weather permits in the next few days.

Thanks for looking, Ed
 
Very nice Ed,
Very useful that seating, especially on the odd fine day at the ends of the year.

That's my size of dog! :)

xy
 
Very nice mate. Impressed to see the theodolite out aswell. I'd have just used a spirit level and a long lump of wood!
 
Mattty":27z6m7s7 said:
Very nice mate. Impressed to see the theodolite out aswell. I'd have just used a spirit level and a long lump of wood!

We have to maintain standards!

Ed
 
Ed,

eally nice job, you have a fantastic looking garden as well.

How did you attach to the wall.

Just a thought, I was told by a Landscaper ( In Ireland where the weather is not great ) that they use Thomsons water seal as deck treatment, it's cheaper and penetrates more, he reckons it's a bit of a trade secret? ( guess I just let that one out of the bag :oops: ) not sure about preventing colour change though

Jed
 
Good work Ed as usual, though the theodolite is just showing off! Surely there must be a picture of you somewhere, mid project, shaking your fist and swearing as you're about to launch something across the shop :D
 
Ironballs":2sphpt0c said:
Good work Ed as usual, though the theodolite is just showing off!

The automatic level (its not a theodolite as they measure angles, this just does vertical levels) is a bit over the top for a deck, but its actually a really quick way of working if you have one. Once set up you can just pan round to any point in a job and check its vertical position relative to the others. I wouldn't buy one to do this, but since I have one I may as well use it.

Ironballs":2sphpt0c said:
Surely there must be a picture of you somewhere, mid project, shaking your fist and swearing as you're about to launch something across the shop :D

There was plenty of swearing when I knocked the box of screws off the seat and they all fell out, if thats any good to you :lol:

Cheers, Ed
 
jedmc571":39u863n0 said:
Ed,

eally nice job, you have a fantastic looking garden as well.

How did you attach to the wall.

Just a thought, I was told by a Landscaper ( In Ireland where the weather is not great ) that they use Thomsons water seal as deck treatment, it's cheaper and penetrates more, he reckons it's a bit of a trade secret? ( guess I just let that one out of the bag :oops: ) not sure about preventing colour change though

Jed

The seat section sits on a wall plate which is bolted to the wall with shield anchors. The firrings that the back of the seat fix to are fixed with normal plugs and screws to the brick.

The tip on the Thomspsons Waterseal is a good one, but I already bought a can of Ronseal decking oil, otherwise I'd give it a go.

Ed
 
Looks very smart. I loved to see the construction pics and especially impressed by the half lap joints on the seat area, great stuff!! Thats never going to move.
 
Great work, Ed! I love how you've incorporated seating in to this and I also agree about the borders and edging; finishes it off very nicely. And where you've cut the corner of the deck off at an angle, instead of 90°. :)
 
EdSutton":1kre8ydg said:
Sun was shining this morning, so I took a couple more detail shots;

3979633742_c6ceb47df0.jpg
3979634046_799bfb1387.jpg


Ed

looks the part now

Hope it looks like this in a few years time

I did one and am now thinking of taking it up as it has deteriorated some what :?
 
I know what you mean Blister, there is a certain maintenance overhead. Having said that previous decks at other houses I have done still seem to be standing up OK. I think it is partly down to detailing how they stand up over the years.

Ed
 

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