This deck build project in Cromwell included constructing a free-standing 12 x 12 deck made from pressure treated lumber, with composite deck boards and pvc railing system. This free-standing deck was specially designed to contour one side of the deck to the clients above ground pool. Additionally, based on the make and style of the pool we were able to design the deck not only to contour the pool, but even to slip seamlessly under the cap on the edge of pool, making it the perfect swim platform.  This client had already picked out the composite material and color for the deck, which afforded them the option of using a hidden fastener system.

In this section you can see the how the project moved through the different stages of construction. With each major phase or ” STEP” I like to include a gallery, as well as some description of the processes and challenges in that particular part of project.

With any major exterior framing or carpentry project, the first step is the most critical to the ultimate success of the project. To design this deck for the client I had to dust of the old trigonometry books! In order to get the deck to follow the contour of the pool edge in the location that the client wanted to build the deck we needed to locate tangent points and measure an arc segment. Working with circles is truly challenging in a world where everything is square and at right angles. Locating the center point of the circle is essential for this type of deck build, basing all our measurements off that required the client to put on their suit and jump in the pool! All so that we could get our deck squarely positioned right next to the pool.

Using the tangent points and measured arc chord, we located our first set of 4 piers adjacent to the pool. These will support two of three main beams, the first two are equal halves at a slight angle in order to closely hug the edge of the pool and provide much needed support by the edge.  Because this is where people will be putting their full weight on the deck to hoist themselves in and out of the pool I wanted it be supported by the beam as much as possible. Current code only allows for a the frame and load bearing surface area of any structure to extend two feet beyond the support structure underneath. In other words, you cannot overhang the deck more than two feet past the beam.  Also of note, in free-standing deck building there is nothing to attach the ledger board to and therefore the design must incorporate a second beam at minimum. So once we set the location for the first beam, we measure and square the second set of 3 piers to our tangent points on the pool.

Pro TIP #3 – When digging footings for a deck other exterior framing project, rent a two man gas powered auger.  I have dug a lot of holes in my career, and I have used almost every method and machine available. I have found that digging by hand is too slow, and using a one man power auger does not have enough strength to quickly dig 8 inch or 10 inch wide holes to a depth of 42 inches. Renting the larger, more powerful two man auger and getting a second man meant we were able to locate our piers, excavate all 7 of the footings, and pour our concrete and set anchor bolts all in the first day!

Once all our design and layout was completed, and our concrete footings were poured, it was time to start building our beams and our piers. For piers we used pressure treated 6 x 6 cut to the exact height required to make our beams perfectly level. Then to construct our main beams 2 x 10’s were nailed together to form a tripple beam. To build the beam correctly, cut your first two 2 x 10’s to the proper length and lay them directly over each other on the ground. Then nail them with 3 nails every 12 inches. Flip it over and use 2 nails every 12 inches on the other side. Then cut your third 2 x 10 to length and lay it on top of the double, nailing it to the double with 3 nails every 12 inches. This creates a beam that is 4.5 inches thick, and sits 9.25 inches high when placed on our piers.

Because free-standing decks are not anchored to a permanent structure on one side, they need lots of extra reinforcement to keep them level and square year after year. To achieve this we use post to beam anchor plates, nailed with with hardened galvanized nails. All of the materials, including your fasteners on a project like this need to be heavy duty, and outdoor rated. This will greatly extend the life of your deck, and it will look good and stay strong year after year.

Now that the beams are built and attached to our posts its time to construct our box frame out of 2 x 8’s. This frame straddles our beams, and creates the perpendicular grid of framing members (joists) to fasten our deck boards on to. The client had specified that they wanted the deck to have a picture frame design, where the outer most deck boards are arranged at 45 degrees and make a frame around the rest of the deck boards which will all run the same direction. In order to achieve this affect you need to double up your 2 x 8’s on the outside of the box frame. Start by cutting your 2 x 8’s for the perimeter of the box, in this case 6 instead of 8 because we don’t have square edge on the pool side. Nail the three ends together with double joist hangers and place the frame on the beams. Then you can mark out your locations for the rest of the joists, and cut them, install joist hangers, and build your frame. After they are cut and nailed into each other, as a final step for added strength and stability hurricane ties are used to attach each joist where it meets the beam. Blocking was also installed in between each joist bay at a point adjacent to but not more than 2 inches from the edge of the pool, this is critical because we need something to fasten the end of the deck board to just outside the edge of the pool.

Now that your structural elements are completed its time for the fun part! For this project we started with the side furthest away from the pool, laying out our one board for the picture frame affect and placing our railing posts along the rear edge of the deck. With a deck build project that incorporates vinyl or PVC railings, the posts are still made of pressure treated 4 x4’s that then get sleeved in vinyl, so you need to follow traditional wooden railing post best practices and codes. Current code requires that a railing post on a deck be fastened to the joists and framing on 3 of the 4 sides. This usually means installing blocking of some kind to give you a third surface to put your lag screws through. For this project we located all of our posts and secured them before laying any more deck boards.

Using a hidden fastener system is more time consuming than a traditional face nailed or face screwed fastener application. Getting the fasteners to align the board, bite the joist, and hold the piece in place takes two people working together, slowly adjusting each fastener on the board in concert. After the decking was laid it was time to sleeve the posts and begin construction our railing sections. Also at this time, we build our stairs, and for this project we used the deck boards as treads and 3/4 in white pvc boards for risers. To wrap up this project and put the finishing touch on we included a 1 x 12 in pvc skirt board, or trim board that hides the pressure treated wood joists exposed along the sides of the deck.