Composit deck

This was one of those rush jobs. The problem was – it was my house. I needed to get this finished for a graduation party for my youngest son. Needless to say, I decided to couple this job with building a shed. Oh well, better planning next time.

I conformed to all building codes, so I dug a 24” deep trench and placed 1/2” hardware cloth around to act as a barrier against unwanted animals.

The deck was 20’ x 22’ and made of pressure treated framing and 5/4 Veranda decking. Not knowing what I would eventually put on the deck, I used 2×8 joists on 12” spacing. Needless to say, I could drive a truck on it.

I was looking for different ideas on the pattern, and decided to come up with something that could hide my inaccuracies afterward. With a diamond shape, being off even a 1/4” on square will be noticed by anyone sitting on the deck. By placing the center dividers, it is more difficult to notice any mistakes. Plus – I think it looks nice. In order to save time, I built the deck over an existing patio (24”x24” patio blocks). All posts were cemented in to city code.

If I were to do this again, I would have placed a contrasting color center divider (black, darker gray, etc.).

Just for the record – I finished the morning of the graduation. That’s why putting off until tomorrow never works!

-- No matter how many times I measure, I always forget the dimensions before I cut.