[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