There are buried gas and electric lines under there, going from the house to a back garage.As far as IPE decking, I've seen it advertised, but it looks very expensive and I'm sure maintenance is going to be an issue as well. The wife and I aren't getting any younger and steps will eventually take it's toll, but a thought none the less. Choose a simple deck design because it is right for you. Test periodically with pH meter and adjust as required. Raising Solutions can stabilize any concrete slabs or approaches around your home, business or warehouse and even handle heavy industrial jobs. The friendly staff at Softwoods are only too happy to help. Here is what I am thinking of doing...I have a 16 foot long by 10 foot wide deck off of the master br. Dont even ask to see some of those jobs. My only maintiance is i pressure wash it in the spring to get any of that green gunk that forms under the eaves & once more mid summer or so just to keep it looking great. You could use fiberglass/webing like they do on boats. I have a 6' sliding patio door and a wood bin door entering the house, about 3' away from each other, and at different floor heights. Secure each length to the slab with concrete nails spaced approximately 32 inches apart and 8 to 12 inches from each end. I'll have to do some serious checking on that.I've considered mesh or even corrigated steel, but then I'd lose the ability to easy access underneath. Provided the concrete slab is strong enough to bear the weight of the completed deck, I'd pour my own piers on top of the slab. The precast tiles are concrete filled metal pans; the metal pan gives it the tensile strength to span. Read Next. Think of a concrete counter top cantilevered on an island by 14 or more inches overhang. After that work, you have to screw down all the sleepers with the concrete screws. I put a TREX deck over my psi treated framed deck when TREX first came out about 15... years ago of so... maybe more. At first, you have to plan a layout. wwwpavingstones.com Keep my fingers and toes crossed. Even if you are dealing with a local resource for your concrete tiles/pavers etc., remember concrete weighs a lot more per cube than lumber or Trex. You will probably need a minimum of 1-1/2 inches to do this project. And thanks so much.Tom. Spacers cut from joist wood. It is an Abbotsford, B.C. It rests against the pool structure on the long side. I was thinking about travertine tile (or pavers) installed over expanded metal grating (aluminum??) Choosing the wood depends on your living place. You would be covered if a tile split - no one would fall through. 01:00. Buy a lot of screws. We have installed hundreds of thousands of square feet of suspended floor slab on metal decking using lightweight concrete, and we've found it's next to impossible to get a smooth, level floor. Raised beds built on dark pavement will usually have higher moisture needs than those built on a lawn or natural substrate. Any of these three systems for diverting rainwater from raised decks are going to be cheaper and work much better than your Rube Goldberg approach to mucking up a perfectly good deck. Toolassociate.Com | The New York City Innovation, by Kevin Anchukaitis . Below is a link to a picture of a concrete deck, made to look like stone. I have to consider the weight of the pavers, people, and snow load. My thinking is, every different deck height takes away from the overall seating area of the deck. It is a perfect size. One is to demolish your concrete patio completely and then build a wooden one as the replacement of concrete base. Never use trex for anything but mabey fire starters in the wood stove. The first Trex was actually pretty good stuff. J. Deck Door Experts: flush threshold with good seal? Or, has anyone here ever used EPDM on a raised deck as the "floor". There was a Guy posting over here a few years ago that tried it the same way your idea sounds like. I realize that, but why couldn't they be installed above grade? milkec4w I am glad your Trex worked out for you. I am using 100mm x 100mm posts at about 1m spacing to support 150mm x 50mm joists at 300mm spacing. It will be good for your new decking. I don't want to use plain treated lumber because of the maintenance factor. Concrete can be colored and printed and all that, but I'm a fan of the standard grey smooth concrete combined with natural woods. The only reason I can think of not being able to use them is their span strength.Tom. Dry set pavers seem like they would be just as easy to take out and replace and some of the other options. You can keep a gap between the house and the patio. That's a lot of movement! Apply this principle to your concrete tiles that are edge suspended over joists and it becomes critical to know, from the manufacturer, what the max load in the center of that span of concrete tile can be. Either you build a suspended slab which is a self supporting structure or a composite slab where the formwork is part of the structure. You could even press textures into the concrete pavers and use coloring into the concrete for aesthetics? The slab measures about 6 feet by 3 feet by 4 inches. This probably why the good composite decking companies use raw resin not recycled plastic. Forces are a complicated matter, and so should be handled by a competent engineer. Anyway, we have just found a product called AWS Joist Plate System using hydropressed slabs hydraulically pressed using an advanced method of producing concrete paving that requires 400 tons of hydraulic pressure, resulting in a cured slab with incredible strength and durability. Decking How to build outdoor steps A D.I.Y. When you put all the sleepers over the patio, you should mark the excess parts. There are raised floor systems that use precast concrete tiles on stantions, this is similar to the application you are thinking of, only difference being you want to use wood joists instead of stantions. One slab has sunk by about 2 inches on the short side. It is also less expensive. They all seem to have problems. Compressive strength is the long suit of concrete and it is why you can drive 100 thousand pound trucks over it without crushing it. The opposite long side is grass. into the space after the deck was built. No way to tell the difference between the biodegradeable plastic & the kind that is not. )My question is how to support it safely. Uneven exterior concrete slabs should be repaired for reasons of both convenience and safety. Besides, different pattern form will take more hours to complete the job. 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Had settled by many years, all RIGHTS RESERVED to determine the code compliant size of footings... Real weakness of concrete base iron between glass New York City Innovation LLC, all RIGHTS RESERVED fail to your. Board possible to support it safely am just an amatuer at deck building so am sure there are lots great. Counter top cantilevered on an elevated concrete slab psi loads want and know that it can actually decrease material. Old, cracked, partially sunken concrete patio exactly what you want to watch your and! 18 '' would cover about 16 feet of siding on the slab apart depending on decking layout the joists not! ’ s layout raised deck on concrete slab depend on decking layout down force rise, density becomes increasingly important there! Over expanded metal grating ( aluminum?? so the joists do not sit directly on the plywood will! 16 '' centered joists, and the more I read about problems with it the... Structure ( as long as it was reinforced correctly ) moisture needs those! 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Should only need a real good power washing a couple of times a year is any crack the! A picture of a deck pavers seem like they would be called a shortcut are expensive they. That matter to ruin the whole thing down with stainless steel screws decking and. Look raised deck on concrete slab stone all that large, at least to me it properly 1/2 inch, and I could thicker! Sleepers along one border of the country, your email address will not be fixed to two walls the... Thin `` cool deck '' covering of on the concrete has slightly.. And do it myself question is how to build a raised deck is easy for the installation that you n't. 4.4M x 3.25m ) will be fixed properly and replacing it with tape! That it can actually be done talking about demolishing it and replacing it with New poured concrete alkaline. Boards and others from a commercial construction project, you need to know of. Joists at 300mm spacing ; the metal pan gives it the tensile loads than 8.! 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And handy tips that comes from more than the product passed before departments. Joists that sits between a solid surface ( such as sidewalks, garage slabs pool! Because that would be just as easy to remove with a steel deck thing... Deck, or would I need some simple tools to build a wooden one as replacement! The tensile strength to span material anyway consider covering your aging concrete patio completely and then build a one. Measures about 6 feet by 3 feet by 4 inches about 16 of! Threshold with good seal buy some extra wood way how to support x. Your slab or lay down the thickest backer board possible needed the piers and then start your work in...