How to Build a Floating Deck

[Music] hi i'm jay i'm a home contractor today we're going to be building a small floating deck around this tree to be a great place to entertain your friends and family this summer it's a smaller deck so it's perfect for do-it-yourselfers i'm here to show you how to do it right now a floating deck means that it's not attached to the house our deck is going to be a low-lying deck it's going to be about 12 inches above the ground when we get done now because our deck is less than 200 square feet and it won't be attached to the house we don't have to go below the frost line for our foundation which is going to be good for us because we're definitely going to run into a lot of tree roots you're going to want to check with your local building department to see if a permit is required for this type of deck they'll give you the size limitations and where you can cite it on your yard our deck only needs to be 18 inches off the property line all right we're going to have a little bit of digging for this project whenever you dig you want to call 811 so they can mark any underground utilities before you begin the plan for our deck is to use paver base and concrete deck blocks as the foundation then we'll install two by six joists right on top of the blocks we'll use paver base and cap blocks to support the step then we'll add the decking and finish it off with fascia boards on this type of project i like to lay it out ahead of time to see how it's going to look our deck is going to be 14 foot by 14 foot so i've laid those out with the tape measure i made up some batter boards i'm going to put these in just outside where the deck is going to be i pound these in pound it in make sure it's tight then i take my string line tie it right around the batter board then i'm going to run it out to my batter board down here [Applause] i'm going to measure off the sidewalk the depth of our step and make a mark on the batter board continue setting up the strings now that i have my batter boards and my strings in and have my layout and all my dimensions i'm going to check and make sure that it's square this is easy to do by using the three four five method measure three feet along one string and make a mark then mark four feet along the adjacent string adjust the strings until the diagonal equals five feet now your corner is square you can mark the corners with small stakes i'm going to do one last check to make sure it's perfectly square with the help of mark i'm going to measure the diagonals the diagonals should be equal for a square layout i'll also mark the lines for the deck blocks they'll be in three rows the first row will be about a foot from the front edge there'll be a row in the middle and a row near the back edge now that the deck is laid out we can start to remove the sod now this is an optional step but it's a good idea to keep weeds from growing up through the deck one way to do it is with the shovel but it's going to take us quite a while or you can use a rented side cutter to use it adjust the blade engage it engage the wheels and squeeze the throttle [Applause] now that we have our sod removed we're going to start setting our concrete deck blocks these are a great alternative to concrete foundations they still hold your deck up off the ground they can hold your framing members horizontally or if you have a post for a higher deck you can hold it vertically like this but always check your local building codes before you start for our deck we'll use blocks near the end of each joist and a few to hold up our center beam you can also go without the center beam and use more blocks under each joist for more support our deck's going to be about 12 inches above the ground we're going to reference that off this patio we're going to have one step here so i'm going to measure level measure the height off my patio and then i'll know what height i need to set these blocks so my framing will be at the correct height i can tell i need to raise the block just a bit with paver base now i'm going to start digging a trench so i can put my paver base in so i can set my blocks you don't need to go too deep i'll use some of the leftover soil to fill in the low spots next i'll install some landscape fabric with spikes the roots will still be able to get water and air i'll use a few inches of paver base in the bottom of the trenches and tamp it down with a tamper lay paver base for each row of blocks now that i have my paver base in place i want to check make sure that all three rows are level to each other so i use this long two by six and my level to check them and they are level all the way down and this is level okay we're good to go and i can start setting my concrete deck blocks put them down in place we're going to take this two by six set it in place and we're going to check it for level that looks pretty good if one block is too low we can put a little paver base underneath it if it's too high you can take a little bit out we'll do the same in the back now that we have our four outside corner blocks set and level we're going to set the inside ones and we're going to check them i cut a board here that fits in between we're going to set it on top there we go okay now i can see right away the center one's a little high so i'm going to take this out mark's gonna hold that for me i'm gonna wiggle that we're gonna test it i'm gonna check with my level right on now we're gonna check the other side all right that looks good we got our perimeter blocks set and level tomorrow we're gonna come back and start framing we're gonna start working on our framing today i'm gonna use pressure treated lumber zinc coated hardware and galvanized nails the pressure treated lumber is going to resist decay and the coated hardware is going to resist rusting for our framing we'll have one long joist at each side sitting on blocks the rim joists will attach to these boards we'll also have a center beam supported by a few deck blocks our floor joists will sit on blocks near the rim and attach to the center with joist hangers on the outside we'll secure double end joists to the rims and use sleepers along each side now i'm going to start laying out my rim joists it's going to be 13 foot 3 inches come down here i'm going to make a mark take my handy speed square the light line there i always check my factory end to make sure it's square before i start take my circular saw and i measure from the edge here to the edge of the shoe and i see it's five inches take the line that i've already drawn come back five inches put my speed square on that mark there i'm gonna use my speed square to hold my saw straight while i make the cut now that we have our framing cut to length i'm going to start to lay out for the joists first thing i do is clamp them together so they don't move while we're doing our layout make sure everything's accurate our first joist will be on the center so i'm going to measure i know i have 159 inches i'm going to measure here 79 and a half measure this way check my dimension take my speed square layout for the first joist that's right on center i'm going to measure 16s both ways once i have my joist locations marked take my speed square transfer those lines across all three framing members now that i have that laid out ready to start putting it together take our center beam slide it into place okay got that set in ready to start screwing it together but first i want to check make sure we're proper distance off of our property line there we go 20 inches perfect okay now we're ready to start putting it together i'm going to transfer my line from the top of the board down the face of the board this is going to be the center of my joists now these screws are weather resistant very good they're self drillers but what i like to do is pre-drill it to make it easier for you down the road i like to stay about an inch down from either edge okay now mark's going to help me hold this up in place i put this line right on the center of my joist take my coated deck screw make sure the top is flush run my screws in now i'm ready to go the other side now i want to mark the location for my center beam off the front rim joists and come back 83 and a half inches i can see my blocks a little bit off slide it back until it lines up then we'll set the other blocks under the center beam make sure everything is level and secure with screws now that we have all our perimeter framing in place we're going to make sure it's square by using the diagonal method remember the diagonals should be equal 206 and one-half inches 206 and one-half inches we know our frame is square now we're gonna lock it together with two by four braces and some screws and check the frame for level now that we have our framing in place we're gonna start to lay out the hanger joists i'm going to take my center line that i marked earlier and move over three quarters of an inch both ways this is going to make it easier for me to line up the joist hangers later on take my speed square extend these lines down we can start to install our joist hangers these are joist screws make sure your hangers flush with the bottom now per your local codes every hole in the joist hanger needs to have a fastener another convenient thing is a little block i've made to help line up the joist hanger as you work along it'll make sure you line up the bottom every time you can also use nails another great tool that'll speed up the process is this pneumatic palm nailer just set the nail on the magnetic tip press into the hole and the tool drives the nail into the wood we've removed the corner braces we're going to set the concrete block down i've got all the intermediate joists cut to length we're going to test fit here let's see the blocks a little bit high so we're going to adjust it down a little bit i'm gonna wiggle that this joist is flush we're gonna go down and check the rest down a little bit okay good all our blocks are in place we're ready to start setting the intermediate joists into the hangers we want to check each board the wood has a little bit of an arch to it you want to look down the board and see which side crowns up that's the side you want to keep up this looks like it has a little bit of crown to it so i'm going to set it in place like this fits like a glove we planned our framing so that it would go around the tree now i'm going to add some framing on either side to carry our deck boards which we're going to install later i'm going to hold those a few inches off the tree to allow for growth lay my framing square on here make a mark that's going to be the outside of my framing same thing on this side you can mark here and here for my framing around the tree i notched out the bottom a little bit using a jigsaw this will allow the tree to grow i'm gonna double it up with this one and i'm gonna use double joist hanger to install it for larger trees or longer joist spans double up the framing all the way around the tree you can even use special hangers to attach framing at the corners now we're going to install our end joists ready mark i'm doubling up the end joist for a stronger frame then i'll add sleepers to provide extra support [Applause] then i'll attach corner brackets inside the frame the steps for this project are real simple i built some boxes out of pressure treated lumber this lumber is rated for direct contact to the ground our decking manufacturer has recommended a tighter spacing for more support for the steps i'm going to put it in place check for level looks good now i've got everything leveled and squared i'm gonna put a clamp on it here take my coated deck screws i left the framing up a little bit on the inside to allow for airflow some local codes require that a floating deck be anchored down this is a shed anchor it's easy to install it screws down into the ground and mounts to the framing member that'll resist any uplift during a windstorm if the joists are a little high use a power planer to even them out here's a technique that's popular for deck installations we add some waterproof tape to the top of the framing members this will help protect the wood and protect against any ice or water that'll get in between the deck boards to keep animals from getting underneath we're going to cut some wire mesh and install it along the edge of the deck i'll install small blocks to my frame to staple the screen to then i'll cut the mesh to height and install the mesh with staples i'm ready to start putting down our decking we're using trex composite decking it's a very durable product it comes with a groove along the edge that i can use these concealed fastener clips to hold it down before i set the decking in place i'll measure and cut the deck boards ahead of time using a chop saw for the first deck board i'll attach start stop clips along the rim joists and at each flooring joist then slide the board into position on the other side of the board position the hidden fasteners inside the groove and drive the screw through the hole into the joist attach a fastener on every joist slide the next board onto the fastener tap it with a rubber mallet to make sure it's tight and locks onto the fasteners then install the hidden fasteners along that board continue installing the deck this way when i make the cut for around this tree i'm going to make sure that my boards are lined up here and for end i'm going to take about a quarter inch past the framing make a mark on my board right here then i'm going to transfer this line on this side transfer my line from here on this side i'm going to take the jigsaw and i'm going to cut this out [Applause] [Music] and install the rest of the decking with hidden fasteners [Music] i'm going to rip down our last deck board for width [Music] i'm going to take my slot cutter and put a new groove in the edge then i'll have a place to attach my stop clips to fasten it down after all the decking is in place install fascia boards over the exposed framing and deck boards with composite screws [Music] and that's it our new floating deck is complete we've added a great table and swivel chairs for a comfortable and inviting place to gather you can add plants and flowers to bring out color and texture for the space between the deck and the fence i've built a short frame to hold up the planter boxes [Music] we've added lights and lanterns to provide a soft glow for evening entertainment this is a great project for do-it-yourselfers and now you know how to do it right [Music] [Applause] you

Channel: Lowe's Home Improvement

Views: 3,911,254

Keywords: how, to, diy, lowe's, lowes, how-to, floating deck build, how to build a floating deck, how to build a detached deck, detached deck framing, floating deck, floating deck footings, floating deck framing, floating deck stairs, build a deck, how to build a deck, how to build a deck lowes, build a floating deck, install a deck, detached deck plans, backyard deck ideas, floating deck over concrete patio, easy deck build, deck ideas, floating deck ideas, floating deck in yard

Id: RtLdNgys1Wg

Length: 20min 12sec (1212 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 13 2019