Exclusive Building a detached deck

Well, the currents in the Gulf of Alaska do impact our weather patterns here, so should these change drastically, it could have a bit of an impact on the structure itself.

 

Now there's a deck!
My dream would be for that door on the side to lead to a sauna. That means that there needs to be a hot tub nearby.

 

Rough photo. But here's what I build a few years back. 6x6's. 12 feet tall (we literally built this thing to the max in all directions based on city ordinances). We have climbing roses. Some hanging lights. We used big pavers as the "ground". Metal roof is common for pole barns and has a small slope (3" from front to back, so many jokes to be had here). Firepit with a schwenker. And on that back side (opposite of the fire pit), you can see a partial live-edge log. That's going to be a live-edge bar. And in that back corner of the yard.... a koi pond and waterfall.

The small structure on the left of the picture is a small structure that was built when we moved in. It had a small child swing, but we replaced with a swinging bench and are training a grapevine to grow up and over it.

Kinda messy at the moment, and I don't claim to be a great photog (somehow, my wife's pics of my work always turn out better than my pictures, or my work).

 

That's a classic gazebo.

 

very nice! Ive built a couple over the years and my wife loves the miniature climbing Roses and boy to they climb...

 

Nope. I didn’t have a thing to do with it. Not sure if it would still be standing if I had done it.....

 

I think you're way overthinking this whole project. Get yourself a few used pallets, plop them down in the backyard, add a couple of boards here and there and you're good to go.

 

Nah. I could have used a hand, though. Lifting the 6x6 cross beams on top.... that was the only part I had help. We have one short step-ladder, so I let my (short) wife use that. I used a chair. Big mistake. When she wasn't quite tall enough to lift the very heavy 6x6 and dropped it (which I was not prepared for), I instantly regretted my decision to not borrow/rent/purchase the proper equipment as my arms were nearly ripped from my sockets. We still managed to get that beam, and the other beam, in place on top, fastened in place, before I called it a day (and pretty much couldn't do anything for another 3-5 days).

Needless to say, I went out and bought a taller ladder the next time I was at the hardware store (I've used it twice in the 2-3 years since purchase, but I don't regret the purchase, only that I was too cheap to purchase it prior to my gazebo project). Shortcuts almost always cost more than taking the correct pathway.

 

murderous hornets...duh

 

What kind of material? If it's wood you want one of three: heart of Cedar, pressure treated or Red Wood. Also, you need to stain wood to make it last.

 

In one of the building code classes I took decades ago, the instructor pointed out that a piece of pressure treated lumber has never worn out. All Red Wood is very very good. Cedar is cheap but very popular. Cedar must be from the heart and it will last a long time but not as long as the other two.

Ours is made out of T-Rex, an artificial material that lasts forever and can be pressure washed as well as looks like natural wood. Given unlimited money I would have gone for Red Wood. T-Rex was spendy enough.

 

does that include your decking?

if that's the case, you need to talk to your paint supply store about painting pressure treated wood. I'm not a painter but in my experience, the biggest mistake in painting pressure treated wood is not allowing it to fully dry. Until PT wood is fully dry, the chemicals inside slowly bleed out and that would cause rejection of any paint and/or primer

To be safe, I'd wait at least a month unless the wood you have seems really dry already. Some recommend waiting 6 months. I think you can test the wood by sprinkling some water on it. If the water absorbs the wood is dry; if it beads up, it's likely not dry.

IIRC, to paint PT wood, you want a high quality exterior latex primer/paint....water based. I think oil base doesn't work well for PT, but again, talk to your paint supply store if you trust them. That would be a place like Rodda or Miller Paint. The clowns at Home Depot or Lowe's won't know much

there will be plenty of advice online about this, some probably better than mine