In 1995 I built a deck on back of the house. The existing concrete patio was too small. We had a table
and four chairs on it, and you had to be careful not to fall off when you got out of your chair. The only
way to expand it was to build a deck.
The deck would be fairly close to the ground. Using a 4' cantilever to hide the structure I wanted the
deck to look like a floating slab. I contacted an engineer, and he told me the lumber size and spacing
required.
The deck was over-built I wanted to make sure the cantilever was stiff under a load, and would
remain stable over time. I pity the guy that has to take that thing down some day.
The deck joists over the concrete patio rested on way too many sleepers screwed into the concrete
deck. Doing this I learned the glories of the Bosch Bulldog. The remaining joists had around a 12'
span between two beams. I think my joist spacing was 12". Yes... beefy.
There was a big Norway spruce at the corner, and I think I framed a bit too close to it.
I think my floating slab idea worked pretty good. I hated to put a railing up, and found the building
code to be a bit oppressive. I'm getting tired of being put in the same category as the guy who
trims his bushes with a lawn mower. Please don't make me safe.
I wanted to keep a strong horizontal and light feeling with the railing, big fan of Frank Loyd Wright,
using copper tubing, but it wasn't in the budget. I think I got lazy, and ended up making your basic railing like everybody else has.
The deck was nice to have though. We used it all the time, but after having one I'm not a real fan
of decks anymore. Namely because they're a maintenance hassle.
view slide show to see all the pictures