Decking: Raised or not?

[james.d]

Hello All,

We are having a new kitchen built and I would like to add some decking using reclaimed wood. I said it should be raised decking, however my wife and builder said it should be just off the ground about 10cm. Does raised decking have any serious advantage over the lower height of 10cm? I am over looking anything? The decking will not be covered be a roof as I will have a couple of trees so do the piles need to be 6m?...same as the kitchen?

Thank you in advance,

James.d

[Don Mega]

100mm off the ground is raised isnt it ?

[james.d]

100mm off the ground is raised isnt it ?

Correct yes, however I was thinking back to my sisters decking in the UK and from memory it was like 25cm.

[Crossy]

The problem with low decks here is they make excellent homes for the local wildlife and are inaccessible for us humans to evict same.

Concrete floor or 2m high deck would be my opinion.

[CGW]

What about flooding/rain accumulation etc, you don't want it underwater, my preference would be as high as practical and I would leave a space below so can spray underneath.

[james.d]

Thank you Crossy & CWG, both points I need to address. The 6m pilings intended for the kitchen are overkill though,, right?

[eyecatcher]

And then if you have a deck higher than 500 you need to consider handrails balustrading esprcially if there are kids...or farangs about

[DGS1244]

From experience the inaccessibility is the problem. I had a Cobra under mine and no way to get to it for removal, trouble was our small dogs could get under so we had to wire net the whole perimeter to stop them.

[steven100]

yes, i think it's an issue of being accessible easy to clear and clean, but not to high .... but high enough that snakes or animals don't consider it dark and a hiding place ..... also if too high the railing will be needed ....

I think 1 to 2 mtrs is a good height ?

[bark]

Thank you Crossy & CWG, both points I need to address. The 6m pilings intended for the kitchen are overkill though,, right?

Sorry, but the people on Thai Visa are not builders. If you went to a hospital and the doctor said you have cancer. Would you not ask another doctor, for second opinion ? Call two more contractors and get another quote !

[Eric Loh]

www.decks.com/how-to/478/ground-level-deck

Have a read.

[Timebandit]

Decking. What a great place for snakes to live. Been there, done that. Pour concrete and tile it.

[catman20]

DONT DO IT SNAKES LOVE TO LIVE UNDER DECKING

[Don Mega]

Thank you Crossy & CWG, both points I need to address. The 6m pilings intended for the kitchen are overkill though,, right?

Sorry, but the people on Thai Visa are not builders. If you went to a hospital and the doctor said you have cancer. Would you not ask another doctor, for second opinion ? Call two more contractors and get another quote !

How do you know the professions of each and every member of ThaiVisa ?

Maybe pull your head in and dont bother commenting when you yourself have no idea.

Myself, I would put more faith in the experience and knowledge of TV members than shonky Thai building contractors.

Edited March 23, 2016 by Don Mega

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

Your problem will be termites. If you raise it higher than 10 cm say about a meter you can get in underneath to apply termite poison for the years to come. Also if you want to weather proof it again in future the higher deck is easier to work on.

[Crossy]

Personal opinion only, but I've never really seen the point of a low deck. It doesn't give extra usable space and introduces somewhere for rubbish and creatures to accumulate.

Make it >1.75m and you gain a shaded usable area for sitting when it's too hot to sit on the deck (a lot of the time here).

[Liquorice]

Thank you Crossy & CWG, both points I need to address. The 6m pilings intended for the kitchen are overkill though,, right?

That depends on the height of the finished building and whether your building on solid ground, likely to flood, or has access under the house with a raised floor.

I just used 4m piles to construct an extension. 1m deep.

By the time the footings and concrete floor were laid it left me with a ceiling height of about 8'6".

The higher the build, the deeper the piles.

If as I think, your kitchen floor will be raised, then 6m piles sound reasonable.

I totally agree with raising the decking, much easier to maintain.

[CGW]

Thank you Crossy & CWG, both points I need to address. The 6m pilings intended for the kitchen are overkill though,, right?

Sorry, but the people on Thai Visa are not builders. If you went to a hospital and the doctor said you have cancer. Would you not ask another doctor, for second opinion ? Call two more contractors and get another quote !

bark, you haven't had a lot of interaction with Thai builders have you? This is a DIY forum, understand? You can contact Thai builders if you need help seeing as you have so much faith in them! see you...

I built a deck in one house I had that was about 1m high with doors on one side (we used the mass produced double plastic cupboard type doors) it was easy to get underneath, it also served well as an additional storage area, though to be honest before I went under I would send the dog in first to "survey" the location!

Edited March 23, 2016 by CGW

[dirtycash]

watch out for rats , snakes, frogs under there.

[bazza40]

10 cm of concrete plus tiling on top for an attractive patio area sounds much better to me. No termites or snakes. Easy to clean.

[Morakot]

Yes, snakes, rodents, and local layabouts, ending up under wooden decking is a serious problem.

Word of warning to the concrete enthusiasts!

Unshaded concrete patios are an ideal way of creating a massive solar-powered heat-retaining radiating slap. Wooding decking has no such problem.

Edited March 23, 2016 by Morakot

[eyecatcher]

Thank you Crossy & CWG, both points I need to address. The 6m pilings intended for the kitchen are overkill though,, right?

Sorry, but the people on Thai Visa are not builders. If you went to a hospital and the doctor said you have cancer. Would you not ask another doctor, for second opinion ? Call two more contractors and get another quote !

bark, you haven't had a lot of interaction with Thai builders have you? This is a DIY forum, understand? You can contact Thai builders if you need help seeing as you have so much faith in them! see you...

I built a deck in one house I had that was about 1m high with doors on one side (we used the mass produced double plastic cupboard type doors) it was easy to get underneath, it also served well as an additional storage area, though to be honest before I went under I would send the dog in first to "survey" the location!

Pesronally I dont mind being skitted on the general forums when everyone has an equal but different opinion.

As you say this is the diy forum so you have two groups; those asking questions and those with experience of a building nature.

Not many of the others would trawl this forum for pleasure, as I dont trawl farming or teaching.

There are ex pros here and it doesnt take long to single them out, so their opinions whilst they may differ are more valuable than khun Somchai.

me, well 35 years experience covering structural and buiding surveyor; land surveyor, quantity surveyor; project manager, architectural draughtsman; built 4 extensions, renovated 3 houses in my spare time and now building a house here...

I consider myself experienced enough to offer a viable opinion on most things and I expect other experts have similar backgrounds.

a bit more respect to those offering advice, for Gods sake its free!

[james.d]

Morakot,

That's a beauty, though I am planning a less intricate one , could you please tell me the material you used for the decking?

Many Thanks,

James.

Edited March 23, 2016 by james.d

[CGW]

OP, you have plenty of suggestions, now its decision time! For what its worth the seven years that we lived in the house with the raised balcony we never had any issues with wildlife making it their home!

One further suggestion if you do a raised balcony, instead of using handrails we used bench seating similar to below.

Good luck.

Edited March 24, 2016 by CGW

[GOLDBUGGY]

The problem with low decks here is they make excellent homes for the local wildlife and are inaccessible for us humans to evict same.

Concrete floor or 2m high deck would be my opinion.

That is what I did.

My house is raised by 1 m as it is, and is sloped from a steep hill, so my large concrete deck off the back door to my kitchen is about 4 m above ground at the highest end. I just love it. I have a great view of my field which slopes down even much further, and it is always quiet and cool up there every night. I installed Flood Lamps so visibility at night is great to for a BBQ, or Party. It has become my favorite part of my house and I wouldn't have done it in other way. .

[Morakot]

Morakot,

That's a beauty, though I am planning a less intricate one , could you please tell me the material you used for the decking?

Many Thanks,

James.

Hi James,

The decking is Brazilian Walnut and the under-frame is Cedar. It's a built in Southern Florida which has a tropical climate similar to Thailand.

Brazilian Walnut, commonly known as a ipê; it's commercially farmed and is extremely durable. Personally I've not seen it in Thailand, but it might well be sold here. You can readily import it from China, if you can't find it here. In addition to import duties, the problem with ipe is that local tradesmen might not know how to work. It's extremely dense (it doesn't float in water) and average sawing tools might not cope well with. You cannot nail it, you need to pre-drill it. If you opt for this, make sure you buy air-dried and not kiln-dried timber; the latter is not ideal for outdoor use.

To be honest, if you are in Thailand and you're looking for a high-end finish, I'd say teak would make more sense. An alternative, to natural timber would be composite wood that's very popular here. The price is not too different from teak.

Cheers!

Edited March 24, 2016 by Morakot

[james.d]

Many thanks guys for all your suggestions/advice, certainly more to think about than I first thought.

Thanks again,

James.

[sometimewoodworker]

Morakot,

That's a beauty, though I am planning a less intricate one , could you please tell me the material you used for the decking?

Many Thanks,

James.

Hi James,

The decking is Brazilian Walnut and the under-frame is Cedar. It's a built in Southern Florida which has a tropical climate similar to Thailand.

Brazilian Walnut, commonly known as a ipê; it's commercially farmed and is extremely durable. Personally I've not seen it in Thailand, but it might well be sold here. You can readily import it from China, if you can't find it here. In addition to import duties, the problem with ipe is that local tradesmen might not know how to work. It's extremely dense (it doesn't float in water) and average sawing tools might not cope well with. You cannot nail it, you need to pre-drill it. If you opt for this, make sure you buy air-dried and not kiln-dried timber; the latter is not ideal for outdoor use.

To be honest, if you are in Thailand and you're looking for a high-end finish, I'd say teak would make more sense. An alternative, to natural timber would be composite wood that's very popular here. The price is not too different from teak.

Cheers!

Humm. I guess you haven't tried to buy teak here recently. Old growth heartwood, it's better and it's the kind termites don't eat, is much more expensive than any composite and not easy to find.

[KonaRain]

Concrete, tiles, and a roof, or shade..

What are piles?

Posts, right.

We call peir posts pilings come to think of it..

Aloha

[KonaRain]

Yes, snakes, rodents, and local layabouts, ending up under wooden decking is a serious problem.

Word of warning to the concrete enthusiasts!

Unshaded concrete patios are an ideal way of creating a massive solar-powered heat-retaining radiating slap. Wooding decking has no such problem.

Gorgeous Deck, Dude

Looks like Koa or Redwood or Teak?

Alohz

E