Building a deck....

[TAftonomos]

Anyone here done it?  DIY project?

We've got a crappy 10x10 "builder special" deck out back.  Basement under us, so the deck is 12' off the ground in some spots.

I'd like to keep the existing frame of what we have, and expand out 10' on the back and the side, making a 20x20.

The existing frame work appears to be solid, but the decking is sucking something bad, and the railing is junk (posts nailed to the joints, not even lag bolted....rickety with my 230lbs leaning on it).


Would you pay to have someone do the frame work (quoted $1500 for labor and materials for extending the framing), or do it yourself?

I plan on using trex decking for the deck surface and hand rails, and I've got a ton of stainless tube I was going to use to build the ballasters.

[Popeye the Sailor]

A deck is probably the least complex thing I've ever worked on-I would do it myself.

[Goat_Herder]

We also had those little "builder special" decks.  They are barely big enought to be call a deck but not big enough to do anyhting on.  So we decided to build it out 2 summers ago.  We extended it out by 16 feet (the lenght of 2 deck planks) and put in a 8 feet wide stairs.  Below are some pictures taken during "construction". 

This has to be one of the most enjoyable and fulfiling project I've done.  The Wife and I did it by ourselves and we both had a great time doing it.  My main source of guidance was the deck building book from Home Depot.  Very information and take you thru the entire process, from laying out your plans, foundation, to different type of stairs/railing/fencing.  I am not a carpenter or builder by profession (I am just a finance guy with a miter saw and a hammer) and I was totally up for it.  You can do it, too!

My best friend


Before


After


Of course, the last picture doesn't show the completed deck but you get the idea.  What you don't see is the railing going all the way around and down the stairs.  I also installed LED deck lights on the railing and stairs. 

Building Time:
Deck - 1 weekend
Stairs - 1 afternoon (all the measuring and calculation of rising vs run sucks)
Railing - 10 evenings (my fault.  the particular railing I set up was time consuming...)
Deck light - 1 afternoon (most time spent on the electrical)

Cost:
Deck building material - ~$1000
Deck lights - $80
Deck building book - $12
Miter saw - already have
Hammers - already have (wish I had a compressor and nail gun  )

[Bun-bun]

Considering the height and area you want, it's a toss-up whether to DIY or hire it out.

If you don't have a friend or S.O. to help you place joists, I would definitely hire someone to help, in which case you might as well just pay someone to run the joists.

Also, in order to expand the existing deck, rather than just scrap it and build it from scratch, you're going to need to modify some of the existing deck joists to accept the expansion.

[rockbender]

You may already be aware of this, but you may have to add joists to the existing frame too if going from wood to trex deck material.  Trex does not like to span nearly as far without getting saggy.

[NAKID]

Blue Collar Comedy Tour - BIG DECK - starring Drew Carey

[Speeddog]

 

OK, that probably is NSFW....

[cokey]

There's a thread on here where someone did it from scratch.. 2nd fl deck..  its not hard, just gotta be patient and measure twice cut once.. watch the DIY network (here its ch 145 in ny)

[NAKID]

Hey now, that was played on network TV, it has to be safe




Psssst, they were saying dEck...

[Kopfjäger]

Next time your at Home Depot, pick up a lawn mower.  

[Goat_Herder]

Next time your at Home Depot, pick up a lawn mower. 

LOL, I knew somebody was gonna say something about the lawn.  Our POS builder didn't put in any grass or landscaping in our backyard when we moved in.  That pic was taken in 2007, I think. 

[Vindingo]

You didn't mention how much experiance you have building things?

I have built about a dozen or so decks... my $0.02

1) Depending on where you live, you may need an architect/engineer to draw something up for you.  Most likely you will need a permit for a project this large and subsequent inspections. 

People think decks are super easy to build... this is why they fall down ALL THE TIME! 

2) Digging footings sucks.  A deck that is 12' off of the ground will need footings, NOT those precast pads. 

3) Framing 12' off of the ground if VERY difficult alone and dangerous if you haven't done this kind of work before.   

4) $1500 for labor and material doesn't really seem like a bad price at all


Hire it out and save yourself the headache. 

[TAftonomos]

Just don't really know how to do it "right", and I've talked with a few different contractors that all say different things.

Last full quote I recieved was $5200 for the whole thing, in WOOD.

Thought about DIY when I got that, pretty sure I could do it for less using composite decking.
I'll check around for some more quotes.  Right now the railing on the right side is wobbly as hell.  The vertical railing post/corner is nailed to the ledger.  Perhaps just putting a few lag bolts through it would tighten that sucker up.  

I do want to expand it, that will happen.  $1500 for the framing seems like taking a lot of trouble off me as well.  


Composite worth the expense?  Probably be selling the house when the market swings around (never?), but it might prove to be one of those nice selling points (maintenance free).

Just went through the emails, it wasn't 1500 for the framing, it was 1150.  850 more to have the decking put down, and 1100 more for the complete railing.   I think for the trouble I'll have that guy frame it up, and do the railing and decking myself.

One more thing he said.  Currently, the deck is attached to the house.  The contractor quoted above building the extension free-standing off the house.  Seems like that would be better for less chance of leakage into the basement (as the current one has already done that /built unflashed/fixed).

Thoughts?

[T. Rush]

I've been building for years and building a free standing deck 12' off the ground  . I'm with Vindingo, if your not that familiar with structural building, hire out. It will save you talking crash courses in problem solving. You can always put the decking down, and it's been my experience that the railings and steps are where you will spend much of your time designing and building. A good looking railing with make or break the whole feel of your deck, IMO. Good luck.
Tod

[T. Rush]

p.s. you can pm me if there are any specifics you'd like to know/ answer.
Tod