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Gardening/landscaping question

Pubey

Guest
I plan to take a week of work and sort out our garden. I want to install a ground level deck/path which looks like this.

http://www.echinopsgardendesign.co.uk/gardens/contemporary-garden-with-decking/

Because the joists of the decking will all rest on the ground, am I ok to just dig the soil down and lay some DPC and gravel down and just rest the joists on that. Or do I need to set some concrete footings?

If it was going to be raised off the ground then I'd pour some concrete but I can't really be arsed seeing as I'll level the ground and the whole deck will be resting on the ground.

Any thoughts??
 
Concrete definitely.
We had some raised decking, lots of it, a few years ago.

Had a phone call at wor from the missus one day. There were two snakes on the decking, apparently basking in the sun which meant she wouldnt use the garden. We phoned the council. Some bloke came round and identified them as English adders and said if we were lucky they would come back every year.

Then we had rats living under it. Rat catcher man says its a great place for rats to live. Ripped it all out and had paving slabs instead.

On top of all this it was slipperier than slippy in the wet.
 
Raised decking is a haven for animals because its easy acces and food drops between the decking,nearly all timber is tanalised so a dpc shouldnt be needed.
Im doing decking today and i pre-stain all mine for extra protection.
 
Cheers chaps. I don't really want it raise off the ground and I could probably fill the gaps between joists with sand to avoid any animals and to make it more stable

I want the turf and beds to be the same level as the deck (see photos above) and so was planning to just rest the joists directly onto some flat gravel and then put the decks on top
 
If laying joists on ground its best to peg them down to stop warping and springing.

Cheers tony. Could I just get away with a few posts in each corner and rest the joints on the ground in the middle? Otherwise you just end up with a raised deck!
 
You want the decking to be same hieght as the grass so im guessing you will either dig trenches for your joists or scum the whole area off.
What im saying is rather then just lay your joists down and hope the wieght of the decking holds it down peg your joists by banging a foot 2 foot length of battern next to the joist and tosh screw it,hence no spring or movement.
The decking im doing is 4 ft above ground so i concrete the soul plate/joist in place.
 
You want the decking to be same hieght as the grass so im guessing you will either dig trenches for your joists or scum the whole area off.
What im saying is rather then just lay your joists down and hope the wieght of the decking holds it down peg your joists by banging a foot 2 foot length of battern next to the joist and tosh screw it,hence no spring or movement.
The decking im doing is 4 ft above ground so i concrete the soul plate/joist in place.
sweet as a nut, sounds good to me. Cheers!
 
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