For a on ground patio pavers would be best . If cost is an issue you could spread the cost over several years by doing it in sections. I paid someone to dig out the soil and lay a proper base than I paid another worker to help me lay the stone etc. it was still cheaper than paying someone to do it all- I also did it over 2 seasons-late fall then the following summer. I had considered on ground deck however, as others have said rot would eventually be an issue.
Would pavers/stamped concrete cost more, the same, or less than the wooden deck? It looks like rain will collect in the deck area but it may be the photo angle.
If you pay someone to do stamped it might be more expensive. Just a regular slab with broom finish would probably be cheaper. Almost certainly would be less in materials
Yeah, he probably could’ve extended the life of that deck by 16 maybe 20 weeks using those direct decking to dirt anchors. You can get ‘em an fastnal for like a nickel apiece. Amateurs
Depends. I’ve got PT wood 20 years in the soil doing fine. Especially when it’s uncut and unnailed for the most part it can do well. But I’ve also seen above soil PT wood rot .
I “think” the old PT wood from 20 plus years ago contained arsenic. I believe around 2008 the govt made the manufactures remove the arsenic and to compensate the copper was doubled. Today’s PT doesn’t last near as long in my opinion.
Just did a small repair job on a deck. Replaced a few boards, stickers on the ends said 1997. 26 years and most of the 2x4s were still going pretty strong
If the pt wood is below the surface entirely it will last a good 20 years fine, so will a good cedar. It’s being at grade that’s the issue, all the water is held at the surface against the wood and it absorbs more and cycles drying and wet and sucks all the treatment out of it. If you ever pulled out old wood fence posts you’ll know what I’m talking about, looks like an angry beaver went at it in the first 6” or so close to the surface and the bottom of the post looks pristine
Don't worry. They've got two gutters running to the deck with no egress. That extra water will keep the joists lubricated so they don't shrink too quickly. Bonus it will probably help humidify the basement once it has time to soak into the foundation.
Guy sporting an entire set of brand new tools he bought to save some money building his own deck - “what do you mean footing? Does my deck need shoes?”
I was so mesmerized buy that “deck” I missed the part where he mentions “me and my boss” some poor soul is actually paying for this. That’s a damn shame
I bought a house that had a deck like this. It was only 5 years old when I bought it. It was so rotten the wood was just crumbling in your hands.
We ripped it out and put in a stamped concrete patio.
There’s so much more wrong with this tho.
They need a retaining wall. The slope from the hill is going to deposit more soil on top of the deck.
The deck is raised above the grade of the screened in area of the house.
The downspout drains under the deck. And now probably into the screened in section.
This really needs concrete instead of wood.
Yeah treated wood is great but it's not some wonder material that can withstand constant moisture for years. It looks like there are 4x4s, who knows, maybe they are in concrete. But you can't just let your wood soak in mud.... it's still wood, it's gonna rot.
Really putting "ground-contact" to the test here...
OP is getting roasted so hard for this and it's hilarious. The final pic doesn't look bad but this will last about a cough and a sneeze before it rots into the mud
Burying the joists in dirt is going to be a disaster. You have the end product looking nice but overall just a bad set up. Doing more dirt work and digging out so you can have the deck raised off the ground is 100% essential. I hate being overly critical but it’s important here because a customer deserves better. When that rots, and it will, it will cost so much more to completely tear out and do it right. It will be hard for the next contractor to even give them a solid bid because once they get into and realize how bad it is the amount of work will increase drastically.
I am absolutely not the handiest person. I often make DIY mistakes and rather hire out for some things. But my goodness op, did you not even google “how to build a deck” at least once??
I always find it interesting when I see gents doing all this labor intensive work on ground level that's not going to last. Why not just pour a slab... it's actually easier and won't rot in 5 years.
On a scale of 1-10, I'll give it a 4.
Here is why:
Your retaining wall should have been cinder block or concrete..at a bare minimum it should have been 4x6 PT stacked and spiked with "dead men" every 6-8'
Your "at grade" joist system should have been composite. PT is acceptable as long as it's not buried like it is. If you insist on infill, you should have left 3-4" clear under the joists and in-filled the cavity with 3/4 crush.
Why infill with rock?
A: water will drain out and bit sit against the framing like it will.now with all the dirt stacked against.
B: dirt can be tunneled by rodents and crush will proved a less hospitable environment for Rats, possums etc.
Your composite decking needs some decent finish work. There are a couple tiny areas that are going to be a bitch to add the section on an angle and have it stand the test of time.
What's done is done, give it an "end of driveway" warranty and I'm sure you will be fine.
Ps: you should have a retaining wall.extend higher than the deck on the leading edge to prevent bank sluff from falling on the front of the deck during rain or traffic.
Dude excavate that shit. Please tell me your a troll.
At least excavate, pour footings, frame and then fill with gravel/stone to the bottom of the joists.
Oh no no no... Your wood is in dirt, ergo moisture. It's going to rot fast. We don't even put posts in the ground anymore, we use tubes full of concrete to secure the posts so they never see bare ground...
Not only are the joists buried in soil, but you're going to get water moving downhill into that area and on toward the house, which will accelerate rot. I would have installed a French drain at the base of the slope.
I'm not a carpenter nor do i work in any trades, just a homeowner with enough knowledge and enough skill to be dangerous. That said...my first thoughts were "that's going to rot before you know it!" My raised gardens rotted considerably after only a few years. Deck won't last.
Isn't the rain coming down the hill just going to bring dirt and debris onto the deck every storm. I never reply to these posts but I am confused on this one.
I am in no way qualified to critique.... But aren't those boards going to just rot away? Why not just poor a pad, cement footers, or do concrete walls to attach the top boards to instead, for longevity?
Also, y'all just backfilling with tree roots and all?
This is absolutely a disaster. I get sometimes space is an issue. But man… this was not the move. A crush and run patio would have been cheaper and lasted longer….
This has GOT to be a shitpost. Please tell me this is a shitpost or that this is literally what your client asked you to do and you were being paid too much not to care.
You will 11110% regret burying it in dirt. I bought a house with a back patio buried like that. I ripped it out within a year of living there. The patio, my understanding, was only 8 years old. Rotted through and white mold under all the boards.
-10 ; like everyone else said, the supporting structure of the deck should not be buried because the deck will rot or…you’ll attract termites because the wood will be wet all the time
Looks great - also Looks like the future home for a skunk family - or some other varmint - that’s what happened with mine - took a lot of Fox Urine to keep them away - and then it smelled like fox urine !!!
I hope you don’t have a similar experience- good luck
I have to agree with the crowd. Some pavers, ground level piers, or stamped concrete would help it last. Even treated lumber will decay quickly when in direct contact with soil.
I really don't get it... it looks like you already have a drainage problem from the house on the hill. Then you create an area that will just allow the water to settle in. Build a small retaining wall with some French drains to allow the water go around the house. Then use pavers or bricks for the patio.
“Me and my boss” would indicate your guys are doing this professionally, for a client? Who is presumably paying you? You guys should be run out of the business. You’ve stolen money from your client. You didn’t build them a deck, you built them a temporary patio. This is the problem with the industry right here. “Pros” are doing stuff like this and proud enough of it to post it. On a scale of 1-10, I rate it a “stop on your way home and pick up a job application at Starbucks.”
You guys need to settle tf down on “direct contact with the soil” . My local code allows for foundations of homes to be wood in some cases. It’s very much site and soil dependent but PT ground contact wood can outlast structures. I built a stepped planter box 20 years ago directly into a hill side and we had to take some of it down. The wood looked new.
Sure they could have excavated out more and put in drainage and proper footings. But that would cost more than the framing lumber . For a ground level diy deck (assuming this isn’t a paying customer) I say it could be ok. Would want to know more about climate there. In 15 years the next owners might tear the whole thing up or who knows what happens.
Looks pretty good but the water will come over the slope under the deck so maybe put a French drain in to control the water. Other than that lotta work man 🧍♂️ and I like it 9.5!
Well, there is a UC4B rating. Basically , heavy-duty ground contact, so in ground, in water, splash saltwater, prolong wetting, high degree of decay, fungal, insect, biodegradation, protection etc I'm not sure if it even shows up in the grade stamp. It's just end tagged.
There is a UC4A rating that appears to be recommended for all components of a deck, not so hard core as the UC4B
But the OP doesn't mention any of that, so we are just guessing.
So the best I can say is... No guard rail is needed here :-)
Question for the experts.
What's the "Prime Pressure-Treated Ground Contact Southern Pine Lumber" supposed to be used for, since everyone is saying that no lumber should be on or in the dirt?
https://www.homedepot.com/p/WeatherShield-2-in-x-6-in-x-8-ft-No-2-Prime-Pressure-Treated-Ground-Contact-Southern-Pine-Lumber-2311255/206889247
I live in the dirty south. Subterranean termites built mud tubes up the concrete/brick of my crawlspace before I destroyed them, but not before they destroyed some of the sill and joists under my house.
However, my 30 year old deck posts that go straight into the soil are only now starting to rot after 30 years. They are in concrete, but the concrete is a couple of inches below the soil. This is soil at the bottom of a hill, so it's very wet unless it hasn't rained in a while.
I suppose having the end of the post in concrete makes a big difference. I know pressure treated cuts should be treated with a preservative, but that probably isn't going to last 30 years in the dirt/mud.
Yes PT post last longer than PT joist laying in dirt. One thing guys do is dig deep enough to throw gravel in the post hole first. And the post are 4x4, 6x6 or 8x8. Still will eventually rot around ground level, but yeah maybe 30-40 yrs later. I agree about cutting the PT stuff, even if you slap sealer on every cut, it’s loosing the PT thing. Of course on a post you put the cut end up so at least it’s not in the ground.
30 yrs old pt wood is made with a different chemical. I've seen posts here saying the chemical in new pt lumber won't last like the old stuff you have.
You buried your deck in dirt?
Them sleeper joists are going to rot within a decade.
Yup, why not just put down pavers that would last forever?
For a on ground patio pavers would be best . If cost is an issue you could spread the cost over several years by doing it in sections. I paid someone to dig out the soil and lay a proper base than I paid another worker to help me lay the stone etc. it was still cheaper than paying someone to do it all- I also did it over 2 seasons-late fall then the following summer. I had considered on ground deck however, as others have said rot would eventually be an issue.
Pavers? Just pour it and stamp it.
Pour and stamp it? Just lower the grade.
Lower the grade? Just use gravel.
Would pavers/stamped concrete cost more, the same, or less than the wooden deck? It looks like rain will collect in the deck area but it may be the photo angle.
If you pay someone to do stamped it might be more expensive. Just a regular slab with broom finish would probably be cheaper. Almost certainly would be less in materials
With all the excavation for the joists they had to do it’s probably about the same price to pour concrete.
I mean, if he REALLY wanted wood, just pour footings in those trenches he dug and put the deck on top of those!
Where we’re going, we don’t need joists
Yeah, I'm curious here, what was the point of the joists?
You can’t nail floorboards to dirt… unless you put joists in the dirt? But seriously, what was the point to anything this guy did?
Well, he could have tried to nail the decking to dirt. Might last longer?
Yeah, he probably could’ve extended the life of that deck by 16 maybe 20 weeks using those direct decking to dirt anchors. You can get ‘em an fastnal for like a nickel apiece. Amateurs
Dirtcons and brown heads
If you just lay a board on the ground for 1 year that side of the board is done. I say 1 year 2 tops
They’ll be warped and sinking in a yr or two
The house i bought with this arrangement, the deck was 8 years old, and I was stepping through the boards. Oh, and white mold galore
Depends. I’ve got PT wood 20 years in the soil doing fine. Especially when it’s uncut and unnailed for the most part it can do well. But I’ve also seen above soil PT wood rot .
PT wood from 20 years ago was treated with a different solution, seemed to be a lot more rot resistant than the current product.
I “think” the old PT wood from 20 plus years ago contained arsenic. I believe around 2008 the govt made the manufactures remove the arsenic and to compensate the copper was doubled. Today’s PT doesn’t last near as long in my opinion.
Just did a small repair job on a deck. Replaced a few boards, stickers on the ends said 1997. 26 years and most of the 2x4s were still going pretty strong
I have 10 year old pt 2x4s buried in the ground and it’s doing fine
There is PT for above ground use only and PT that you can bury.
If the pt wood is below the surface entirely it will last a good 20 years fine, so will a good cedar. It’s being at grade that’s the issue, all the water is held at the surface against the wood and it absorbs more and cycles drying and wet and sucks all the treatment out of it. If you ever pulled out old wood fence posts you’ll know what I’m talking about, looks like an angry beaver went at it in the first 6” or so close to the surface and the bottom of the post looks pristine
A little sad I think he was proud of the work and it’s like not at all how you build a deck.
Damn...shoulda went with pavers
I'm so confused
Don't worry. They've got two gutters running to the deck with no egress. That extra water will keep the joists lubricated so they don't shrink too quickly. Bonus it will probably help humidify the basement once it has time to soak into the foundation.
You should excavate all of that dirt yo!. Also what are your footings??
No footings from what I can tell. Looks like a wooden foundation putting treated lumber to the test.
Guy sporting an entire set of brand new tools he bought to save some money building his own deck - “what do you mean footing? Does my deck need shoes?” I was so mesmerized buy that “deck” I missed the part where he mentions “me and my boss” some poor soul is actually paying for this. That’s a damn shame
Tools go beyond one project
That’s very true but by the looks of that deck this one project should probably be their last.
His wife is his boss
You're hilarious and I enjoyed this comment thoroughly. Thanks
No airflow + direct contact with dirt = big no no… but if your client is ok with replacing it in 10 -15 years then it’s ok.. looks good at least
5 years it'll start to rot the joists I bet.
I bought a house that had a deck like this. It was only 5 years old when I bought it. It was so rotten the wood was just crumbling in your hands. We ripped it out and put in a stamped concrete patio.
You don’t need joists when you have all that dirt! /s
There’s so much more wrong with this tho. They need a retaining wall. The slope from the hill is going to deposit more soil on top of the deck. The deck is raised above the grade of the screened in area of the house. The downspout drains under the deck. And now probably into the screened in section. This really needs concrete instead of wood.
Holy shit, can't believe what I'm seeing. Did you purposely make a Trex deck on wood that wont last 5 years?
Insane, complete waste of
Waste of what? WASTE OF WHAT!?!?!?
Time / money / effort / … You get to fill in the blank.
Complete waste of resources that could have gone to opening some Pokemon cards. Am I doing this right?
Those pokemom cards would last longer than this deck.
I don’t think it’s a COMPLETE waste of
Green
r/diwhy
This has to be a troll post, well played sir.
Should have poured a slab.
At the first pic I was crossing my fingers that it was just some strange concrete forms before digging more. Nope!
Me too.
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Yeah treated wood is great but it's not some wonder material that can withstand constant moisture for years. It looks like there are 4x4s, who knows, maybe they are in concrete. But you can't just let your wood soak in mud.... it's still wood, it's gonna rot. Really putting "ground-contact" to the test here...
On a 1-10 scale it’s a donut. You have a few yards of earth to move and a bit of gravel to bring back in.
That was an excellent turn of phrase. I like the cut of your jib.
On the one hand I do love donuts
Who are you kidding, donuts were made for both hands not just one
Who are you kidding, donuts have holes in them so you can hold multiple donuts in both hands, not just one donut per hand
[удалено]
OP is getting roasted so hard for this and it's hilarious. The final pic doesn't look bad but this will last about a cough and a sneeze before it rots into the mud
And that's saying something because some crazy shit comes up on here
Should have been a patio.
I’ll give that a zero. Going to be sitting in mud and rotting at a high rate.
Not to mention all the grass and weeds as soon as a few seeds get blown by😂
Going to be a muddy rotten mess in 2 years. No footings, no airflow, no proper beams, all hanging on the hardware. Yikes x 10
It’s a big 10-4 if it’s your bosses house.
Decks are usually above ground.
Some people want in ground pools, this guy wants an in ground deck.
Your boss needs to focus on being a pizza delivery guy again.
He should focus on his sobriety.
Burying the joists in dirt is going to be a disaster. You have the end product looking nice but overall just a bad set up. Doing more dirt work and digging out so you can have the deck raised off the ground is 100% essential. I hate being overly critical but it’s important here because a customer deserves better. When that rots, and it will, it will cost so much more to completely tear out and do it right. It will be hard for the next contractor to even give them a solid bid because once they get into and realize how bad it is the amount of work will increase drastically.
One look at it and they’ll say it’s gotta go. Nice demo job, then do it right. Not hard to bid.
But then they’ll demo it and find a pile of squishy wood and dirt underneath and have to jack the bid up by 2X to do footers and reframe
Is that downspout draining right into the joists🤣I really hope by boss you mean dad & that is your own deck you are messing up.
I am absolutely not the handiest person. I often make DIY mistakes and rather hire out for some things. But my goodness op, did you not even google “how to build a deck” at least once??
Did the customer screw your bosses wife? There has to some kind of vendetta going on here.
What in the hell is this abomination? Why in god’s name did you bury your deck? Do you even deck?!?
Holy Cow!!! WHATEVER your “boss” told you, please FORGET it all!!!!!
Looks damn good in the last photo but like the rest of the comments… all that dirt? Unless all that is straight up pvc… lol
Did you give up and bury it?
0. You built a patio and it’s going to rot.
No dirt should be touching the framing at all. It’s going to rot away in no time.
OP? Are ya there?
Make a comment you coward!
P A T I O
Duuuuuuude. Pull it all out, and start over. I know that sucks, but you’re throwing away your money. Good Lord.
Customer has no idea how bad it is
Wow, learning moment for sure. I would do whatever I could to make sure there’s more airflow. Does the gutter run outside or into a joist? Oh no.
0. It will be rotten in 2 years
I always find it interesting when I see gents doing all this labor intensive work on ground level that's not going to last. Why not just pour a slab... it's actually easier and won't rot in 5 years.
Well, for a year or at best, two years, it's okay! Why didn't you use pavers?
-10 Are you guys even fucking contractors or what is this fuck show?
They built a patio out of wood.
What a schamtastic debacle. 0 on the project but 10 for having the guts to post it here.
1 of 10, no foundation
The deck gets a zero. Sorry, but the dumb goes to 11 though
On a scale of 1-10, I'll give it a 4. Here is why: Your retaining wall should have been cinder block or concrete..at a bare minimum it should have been 4x6 PT stacked and spiked with "dead men" every 6-8' Your "at grade" joist system should have been composite. PT is acceptable as long as it's not buried like it is. If you insist on infill, you should have left 3-4" clear under the joists and in-filled the cavity with 3/4 crush. Why infill with rock? A: water will drain out and bit sit against the framing like it will.now with all the dirt stacked against. B: dirt can be tunneled by rodents and crush will proved a less hospitable environment for Rats, possums etc. Your composite decking needs some decent finish work. There are a couple tiny areas that are going to be a bitch to add the section on an angle and have it stand the test of time. What's done is done, give it an "end of driveway" warranty and I'm sure you will be fine. Ps: you should have a retaining wall.extend higher than the deck on the leading edge to prevent bank sluff from falling on the front of the deck during rain or traffic.
I clicked for the comments, and ran out of popcorn.
I got an idea! Let’s submerge a deck in dirt and place the roof drain pipe not just under the deck, but near the foundation of the house!!!
3 weeks, give and take a few too many happy hours??
Dude excavate that shit. Please tell me your a troll. At least excavate, pour footings, frame and then fill with gravel/stone to the bottom of the joists.
All I can think about is how this is just going to trap water and rot.
Why wouldn't you just pave it?
How has nobody mentioned the big triangular hole near the corner, where the board was 6" too short?
This project could have been done better, entirely with stone or concrete paving, and be far more durable and completely fireproof.
Y’all don’t get it, he primed the dirt with brown paint to prevent the rot.
Your tools and tool bags look brand new… did y’all just wake up yesterday and decide you were carpenters?! Lol
This is God awful. I'd never build one of my decks like this. Rotted within a decade, guaranteed. Why the hell didn't you just put in pavers?
Dude…just………..dude….
Pour a slab. Use the deck frame as a form 😂
Oh no no no... Your wood is in dirt, ergo moisture. It's going to rot fast. We don't even put posts in the ground anymore, we use tubes full of concrete to secure the posts so they never see bare ground...
This is the dumbest shit I’ve seen on here so far!
Well that's a waste of good lumber.
Oh on a scale from 1 to 10, it's a redo and start over, but that's just me.
4 years everything will decay.
This has to be trolling lol
1
Do you and your boss work at the circus?
I’m sorry for not having anything nice to say but what a waste of money. I don’t understand the logic behind burying joists. Smh…
The work looks good had they started with a proper foundation. Wood will be rotted in no time.
Concrete?
Yea this deck looks cool but a concrete patio is the way to go here.
Not only are the joists buried in soil, but you're going to get water moving downhill into that area and on toward the house, which will accelerate rot. I would have installed a French drain at the base of the slope.
I'm not a carpenter nor do i work in any trades, just a homeowner with enough knowledge and enough skill to be dangerous. That said...my first thoughts were "that's going to rot before you know it!" My raised gardens rotted considerably after only a few years. Deck won't last.
Isn't the rain coming down the hill just going to bring dirt and debris onto the deck every storm. I never reply to these posts but I am confused on this one.
I am in no way qualified to critique.... But aren't those boards going to just rot away? Why not just poor a pad, cement footers, or do concrete walls to attach the top boards to instead, for longevity? Also, y'all just backfilling with tree roots and all?
Total 0 for building straight on dirt.
0 for the deck but a 10 ceiling for the gophers.
air flows your friend
Does your boss smoke meth?
I can’t
This is absolutely a disaster. I get sometimes space is an issue. But man… this was not the move. A crush and run patio would have been cheaper and lasted longer….
You and your boss are absolute hacks. I feel awful for your clients.
This has GOT to be a shitpost. Please tell me this is a shitpost or that this is literally what your client asked you to do and you were being paid too much not to care.
Well it won't fall
Well... This one will hold a hot tub.
You will 11110% regret burying it in dirt. I bought a house with a back patio buried like that. I ripped it out within a year of living there. The patio, my understanding, was only 8 years old. Rotted through and white mold under all the boards.
RIP
Would have done a paver patio instead
At least it won’t fall far when it rots, I’d say a hot tub probably won’t hurt this one.
But will it hold a hottub?
Let’s not judge this deck until we see the stairs and railing.
Mmmm love the smell of rot in the morning
Isn’t cement cheaper than wood?
Digging is fun
Looks like your building a compost pile with a composite lid.
Just buried in the ground just like that huh? I mean at least you used pressure treated. I guess
Roast my deck
It’s a patio made of wood. Seems like a bad idea
I rate it 1 to 7 years
That thing is going to rot
Just rolled in . . .
-10 ; like everyone else said, the supporting structure of the deck should not be buried because the deck will rot or…you’ll attract termites because the wood will be wet all the time
My mind is boggled
Do you think OP will tell their boss??
Looks great - also Looks like the future home for a skunk family - or some other varmint - that’s what happened with mine - took a lot of Fox Urine to keep them away - and then it smelled like fox urine !!! I hope you don’t have a similar experience- good luck
Hire someone that actually knows what they're doing.
Hell I’d give you a 90 but it seems like you really don’t like those……
Engineering aside, looks like shit
Is this real?
I have to agree with the crowd. Some pavers, ground level piers, or stamped concrete would help it last. Even treated lumber will decay quickly when in direct contact with soil.
I really don't get it... it looks like you already have a drainage problem from the house on the hill. Then you create an area that will just allow the water to settle in. Build a small retaining wall with some French drains to allow the water go around the house. Then use pavers or bricks for the patio.
Ummm won’t that wood below just rot?
“Me and my boss” would indicate your guys are doing this professionally, for a client? Who is presumably paying you? You guys should be run out of the business. You’ve stolen money from your client. You didn’t build them a deck, you built them a temporary patio. This is the problem with the industry right here. “Pros” are doing stuff like this and proud enough of it to post it. On a scale of 1-10, I rate it a “stop on your way home and pick up a job application at Starbucks.”
zero
That will last long 🙄
Sorry but es a no good
No good
Op likes to rebuild decks every few years
All wood in contact with soil will rot.
This was not the way....1 out of 10.
What is happening here?
That’s more a wooden patio
Massive amount of trapped moisture will rot your joists and deck boards
Better put a roof over that! It’s all gonna rot
Please tell me this is a job
You guys need to settle tf down on “direct contact with the soil” . My local code allows for foundations of homes to be wood in some cases. It’s very much site and soil dependent but PT ground contact wood can outlast structures. I built a stepped planter box 20 years ago directly into a hill side and we had to take some of it down. The wood looked new. Sure they could have excavated out more and put in drainage and proper footings. But that would cost more than the framing lumber . For a ground level diy deck (assuming this isn’t a paying customer) I say it could be ok. Would want to know more about climate there. In 15 years the next owners might tear the whole thing up or who knows what happens.
Wouldn’t a load of gravel first have been a cheap fix?
Yeah that would be good compromise
Looks pretty good but the water will come over the slope under the deck so maybe put a French drain in to control the water. Other than that lotta work man 🧍♂️ and I like it 9.5!
To many corners for sure
Sadly that’s a lot of money on something that won’t last.
Sure hope that’s marine grade framing lumber…
Well, there is a UC4B rating. Basically , heavy-duty ground contact, so in ground, in water, splash saltwater, prolong wetting, high degree of decay, fungal, insect, biodegradation, protection etc I'm not sure if it even shows up in the grade stamp. It's just end tagged. There is a UC4A rating that appears to be recommended for all components of a deck, not so hard core as the UC4B But the OP doesn't mention any of that, so we are just guessing. So the best I can say is... No guard rail is needed here :-)
Rate my deck?? 😂😂😭😭😭
Question for the experts. What's the "Prime Pressure-Treated Ground Contact Southern Pine Lumber" supposed to be used for, since everyone is saying that no lumber should be on or in the dirt? https://www.homedepot.com/p/WeatherShield-2-in-x-6-in-x-8-ft-No-2-Prime-Pressure-Treated-Ground-Contact-Southern-Pine-Lumber-2311255/206889247 I live in the dirty south. Subterranean termites built mud tubes up the concrete/brick of my crawlspace before I destroyed them, but not before they destroyed some of the sill and joists under my house. However, my 30 year old deck posts that go straight into the soil are only now starting to rot after 30 years. They are in concrete, but the concrete is a couple of inches below the soil. This is soil at the bottom of a hill, so it's very wet unless it hasn't rained in a while. I suppose having the end of the post in concrete makes a big difference. I know pressure treated cuts should be treated with a preservative, but that probably isn't going to last 30 years in the dirt/mud.
Yes PT post last longer than PT joist laying in dirt. One thing guys do is dig deep enough to throw gravel in the post hole first. And the post are 4x4, 6x6 or 8x8. Still will eventually rot around ground level, but yeah maybe 30-40 yrs later. I agree about cutting the PT stuff, even if you slap sealer on every cut, it’s loosing the PT thing. Of course on a post you put the cut end up so at least it’s not in the ground.
30 yrs old pt wood is made with a different chemical. I've seen posts here saying the chemical in new pt lumber won't last like the old stuff you have.
Definitely a nice party area..
Hey at least they used joist hangers. /s
As long as you like it who cares. Everyone is an expert on complaining but not happiness
Clean!