In this video we're going to show you how we built a curved walkway leading up to the front of this
house using the floating foundation method. We'll take you through the benefits of using a deck
block like TuffBlock and how it can save you time on site and simplify your build. Hi it's Shaun here
from BuildTuff and today we're actually out on site which is fantastic. We've got a great new
project on. Typically our TuffBlock is seen in low profile deck builds but today we're going to
be doing a project with Modern Design Landscapes and we've got a project whereby we're building
a curved walkway up to the front of a property. So what's great about TuffBlock is we're used as
a wider solution. The guys here have already done retaining walls, they've worked hard on the project.
Now it's time to go check out our part. We've got Sam here just going to talk a little bit about the
project and where we're going to kick things off today. So Sam what's the sort of plan today
for putting this path in? So what you can see I don't know if you can see earlier there was
some pavers down here originally. The pavers were very uneven. We've had a couple of big palms that
have since been removed or died. They lifted the path up, very uneven, very unstable for the owners.
We want to make a nice flat even path. Okay we're going to bring the boards square off the front of
the house, they're going to come square right through but we are going to try to keep that
nice curve with an edge board. Okay so it's going to be a gradual curve. We're using the TuffBlocks
to obviously keep yourself off the ground which is great and give us the clearance and strength
that we require on the foundation. Excellent. Ground preparation is extremely important
so here Sam's removing the top soil so the TuffBlocks can sit on compacted earth. Now
it's not necessary to level the ground as we'll be adjusting for the height using 90 by 90 posts.
Up here Shaun what I’ve just done is I’ve just put a board in just to see how it's looking
roughly so we've if you want to come up and have a look
this is our decking that we're using so we know the thickness of it.
We're going to be coming flush the top of our stairs so I’ve just chopped the block up
just to see how it looks so we get it nice flush to the top, run it back down this way. We're going
to run another board from there back to the house then I can actually just see if we need to remove
any more of this this subfloor. There's a little bit we're going to remove just here
a little bit down there and then we're good to go. Just give you the clearance that you need. Just
to get a little bit more clearance yeah easier to come up than it is to go down. Perfect sounds good.
One of the other great little benefits of using the TuffBlock, we've already seen that we can
manipulate projects when we're doing them without a plan so at the moment we can move
and adjust the height of the blocks, we can also cut timber length and plan as we go. What's great
about using this in a different application today we're doing a walkway is we're able
to still get the great load capacity that we would get if we're building a low profile deck
but the great thing is we're doing it on a path so there's going to be no issues with the load
that this pathway can take which is fantastic. Here Sam's cutting joist to length and building
out the frame piece by piece. Using a deck block it allows him flexibility to adjust his plan
as he builds it out. If these videos help you out and you want to see more builds like this
consider liking the video and subscribing to the channel below. It really helps us out.
As you can see behind us we've got the frame already in place and we've started to position the
TuffBlocks into position. So we've done all of the planning for today so we're going to come back
first thing tomorrow morning. We're going to get the height of the walkway level and then you'll
start to see us finish off the frame and then start laying some boards. Stay tuned. Okay so we're
back here today. So what we're going to do today is install the extra TuffBlocks in where they're
needed. So on a path like this, because it's not square, it's not straight, it's got little angles, we
can have a nice curve in it. We're going to have to put extra blocks in where we need them. To adjust
for the height of the slope, Sam's cutting 4x4 post to length and slotting them into place.
It's easy as just fitting the post in, sliding it into place making sure it's nice and level
and flat again, putting the screw through, hold it into place. That's it. TuffBlocks come with
four slots two for your joists and two for your posts giving you flexibility as you build. The
frame's looking in great shape and now we have a very stable base on which to lay our boards.
You can see there's a hive of activity here behind me. The job is progressing extremely well. At this
stage the frame and the TuffBlocks are in place. Chris here behind me is just starting to put down
joist protection to ensure we maximize the life of the deck. So once we've finished laying
down the joist protection we'll be very close to laying boards and we'll check back in then.
One of the other benefits of using TuffBlock on a mature property like this is we're able to keep
the vegetation in place so one of the wishes of the owners was to not to disrupt the tree roots
which is what led them to using a product like TuffBlock. As you can see behind us
TuffBlock is a floating foundation so there's no need to dig here for this project so what we're
going to see is a beautiful kept mature garden which will add value to the property over time.
Sam's using an invisible nail system to fix down the boards
adding 5 mm of space between each board. Here he's making sure to give
extra width than required so he can later trim off the boards with a jigsaw.
As you can see here I’m just going to start bringing the boards over a bit because
we're going to get a slight curve in the garden here so we can get it to close to
where we want it to be. Later on we can mark it with a with a pencil and cut it with a jig saw.
Now as you can see behind me the project is almost complete.
The guys here at Modern Design Landscapes are putting on the last boards before we get close
to trimming up the walkway and making the deck look complete. One other thing that we should
take into consideration. I’m walking along the deck, it's feeling absolutely fantastic
really really firm under foot. We can't wait to get it finished. How much time do you think we've saved
on this project using TuffBlock? Days days yeah days definitely days. As you can see we
have used a fair few TuffBlocks. The pathway isn't straight so because we're coming around
corners and it's going to be a bit of a curve in it um putting in posts with concrete
they're not going to be square nothing's going to be straight. You don't know where they're exactly
going to be. Yeah um it was going to be a bit of a hit and miss much easier just to lift it up
pop one in there and it's done. So it makes sort of the as the bit of build evolves it
just makes it easier to course correct using the product? Exactly um the other key too is that
we haven't had to have a machine up here, yeah, so there's been no machine work it's all done by hand.
But digging 30 40 plus holes by hand, cementing each hole doesn't sound very fun. So the troops are
happy? Oh yeah. Now we're just about to lay the final board down in the section of the the pathway.
We're just going to cut it to size at the top of the step. There's a little bit of an adjustment
to make here. You can see the deck beneath me it's looking fantastic, it's feeling fantastic underfoot
and we're excited to get it done. Well the job is almost complete, the boards are finished being laid
down. Sam and the team at Modern Design Landscapes have done a fantastic job. Sam how did the
build go for you? Really really well. Awesome. Like any build a few little hiccups. But the
TuffBlock it's just easy. You can just lift it up. Lift it down. Wherever you want to go. As
you can see the deck has got a lot of curve. Will have a lot of curve in it once we trim the edges.
We've run out our time today but we're going to be back in the morning first thing just to trim this
off. And then we're done. This deck has come from zero to where we are now in less than two days.
And is there as a cost benefit for those uh trade professionals out there if they're to use
the TuffBlock? Is there a cost benefit for using the product? Definitely for me for me there is
I guess you're taking a lot of labour out of the process if we were digging holes in here
The labour's out. Yeah the labour's out. I guess the final question I’ve got Sam is what would you say
having used TuffBlock now what would you say to someone who's hasn't used TuffBlock before or was
considering using it? Give it a go. If you're unsure watch a few videos. There's plenty of videos online
that'll show you how to use it. It's not necessarily only used to build a deck.
Use your imagination. It's pretty versatile. I’m still finding lots and lots of ways to use it.
Well that's a wrap on another successful project. For more information about TuffBlock head to
our website BuildTuff.com or check out our other videos on the channel and until next time build on.