Building a Floating Deck on Uneven Ground (My first Deck Build)

hey YouTube this is Michael from Diggs DIY and today I'm gonna show you how I build my first stack we had an old deck that had brought it out completely and I set out to replace it with something that was sturdy weatherproof and easy to construct if you're interested in the exact dimensions cost and materials of the build I've linked that in the video description below and while you're there if you could go ahead and leave a subscription I'd greatly appreciate it now let's get into the build to give an idea for what I had to replace this is our old stack in 15 or so years of Ohio weather it rotted to the point of no return I spent a few days tearing out boards and cutting joists before taking its remains to the dump [Music] once I'd removed all the old wood I could assess the layout of the deck footings that had already been in place turns out the old deck had either been built on unlevel footings or had shifted over time I needed to spend some time digging out the footings and laying them in the general area where they'd be used in my deck [Music] and grab the eight foot two by six that I'd use for the front and rear Ledger's to help visualize where the footings needed to say I grabbed a level to help ensure that each footings sad at near equal I once I had the footings where I wanted them I spread gravel in their dirt holes to prevent shift with water build up then I used my two by stakes to recheck position and level I started with the front ledger as its accuracy is most critical in the design I chose I then repeated the process for the rear end ledger with my footings generally in place keeping in mind to leave some room for adjustments I started to lay out the frame of the deck I used to buy six pressure-treated lumber all around eight foots for the front and rear ends and 12-foot spoons I left the front and rear ends its stock length for the time being cut the first twelve foot joists to link I use this first cut joist as a template for the other six I laid out the outermost and innermost pieces of the frame with the crown of all pieces facing up I then made markings for my joists 15 inches apart on Center I lined up the front and rear ledges before marking in share identical spacing next time marked holes that would eventually act as a target for my lag screws [Music] for the time being I shot the corners with shorted deck screws in check for square using the three four five [Music] once I was comfortable with houses where the grain was I replaced with my food once the outermost frame was built I marked guides for the metal joist to prepare to install my first joist hangers I claimed the scrap bins from my joists in place using my marks and then use the scrap to all properly align the hangers then I nailed the first hangers into the ledgers [Music] [Music] [Music] with my first two hangers installed I laid in the center joist in reach X square then I nailed the joist in place [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] with everything square I marked guides for all the other joist hangers and installed them one by one [Music] [Music] [Music] I laid in all other joists to again ensure everything was Square and then nailed in the next two outermost joists this deck will lay on sloped ground so the first ledger will sit on the footings while the rear ledger will hang off of posts ahead of devised the way that would allow me to set the deck level to the ground why screw the frame to its posts without the help of another human I ended up setting weights on the front ledger to hold that end in place and then essentially using Shen's to get the rear end to rise this would allow me to easily manipulate it and put it into place [Music] with the rear end off the ground I then use C clamps to attach it to the post I use the post level to ensure that the post / plum can levels to ensure that the deck is properly aligned the clamps allow me to make quick and slight adjustments when needed [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] with the Dyke now sitting exactly how I wanted it I shot lag screws into the post to attach it to the frame [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] then I replace the dirt around the rear footings to hold them in place [Music] my design called for two additional support posts on each of the outermost and innermost joists and mark the positions with four feet between pose for equal load support I align the extra post season my clamps and post levels and then attach them to the joists using lag screws [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] with the main structure of the deck built I spread gravel to prevent water buildup you can find gravel at Lowe's or Home Depot for about $5 a bag [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the last structural feature to install was the RAM I cut two by six into angled pieces using a makeshift chain the ramp would span six feet and I cut six pieces to support it [Music] [Applause] I then installed each piece using joist hangers the bottoms of these pieces would set in the ground [Music] [Music] I bought some joist flashing tape for extra rod protection and installed it on all upper facing pieces the tape can be hard to find it isn't cheap but I wanted to do everything I could to help the deck last I found tape at Home Depot in the deck lumber aisle [Music] [Applause] [Music] with the structure not completely ready I cut my ran boards and move them and all other boards to layout [Music] I installed the first deck board and use it as a guide for the next pieces each board was placed with its cup facing downward and got two screws at its intersection with each joist [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] ideally you want about 1/8 of an inch between your dried deck boards so use nails with a close enough diameter to use as spacers this worked out well enough I installed the ramp deck boards first [Music] with my ramp done I moved to the main boards of the deck I kept the outermost edge in line and left an inch of overhang to prevent water from flowing into the space between the boards and joists I installed the boards one at a time keeping space and squareness in mind [Music] with just a few ports left I realized I was going to have slightly more overhang off the back edge than I had wanted I took an inch off the second-to-last board to account for this [Music] [Music] then I use a circular saw in a makeshift straightedge to cut the board's flush [Music] finally I cut the ends of the Ledger's to line up with the boys [Music] and with that the tech was complete if you're still around be sure to check out my other DIY videos and don't forget to subscribe as always feel free to leave any questions or suggestions in my comments and thanks for watching [Music]

Channel: MD Beyond Cars

Views: 231,792

Rating: 4.8197083 out of 5

Keywords: deck, diy deck, how to build a deck, joist hangers, joist flashing tape, deck uneven ground, level deck, cut deck boards, build deck ramp, corona projects, diy projects, lumber, shed, lawnmower ramp, floating deck, quarantine projects, for beginners, build first deck, build foundation, square deck, 345 method, lay deck boards, deck posts, deck footings, design a deck, plan a deck, home improvement, detached deck, build detached deck, basic, simple, build deck, deck stain

Id: K54m6vO2mag

Length: 22min 34sec (1354 seconds)

Published: Thu May 28 2020