Lower Deck, Day 1

The first few feet of the framewpork have been constructed today.  The timber was late being delivered so they weren't able to start work on it straight away.  The joists are 6" x 2" treated softwood, guaranteed for 15 years against rot.  The deckboards are going to run away from the house so the support joists are parallel to the wall at around 400mm centres.  Note that there is no joist attached to the house wall.  The whole deck is going to be free standing.

They had wanted to build straight off of the concrete footings for the upper deck, but this would have made the whole structure much too high.  Firstly it would have been too high at the far end, necessitating a big step down to the rest of the garden (our aim is to get a level exit if we can).  Secondly, it would have put the top of the deck very close to the dpc in the house wall.  I think building regs dictate a 4" gap, at least for a solid patio.  I am not sure what the rule is for a freestanding deck, but we asked that it be kept lower.

This has made the structure a little more complex.  The 6" joists have been cut down to 2" where they rest on the slab.  These shallower joists will be supported more frequently.

At the moment this structure is not levelled or supported.  Tomorrow the support "legs" will be added at frequent intervals, and the framework structure attached.