Low timber deck

[mrsxtro]

Hi all!
We are building a new house and want to put decking off the rear of the house. It will be at ground level though. We have built a number of decks up off the ground so know all about stumps etc. but what is the best way to lay decking on the ground? Do we need stumps? Concrete footings to attach bearers to? Is there a better way of doing this?
Thanks in advance.
-mrsxtro.

[Pulse]

There have been a few posts about this, the main area of concern is clearance from the ground. H3 treated timber is suitable for above ground meaning >100 to 150mm above the ground. If you use joist hangers to hang the joists off the side of the bearers rather than sitting on top then you can lower the effective height of the deck by the depth of the joist. In practical terms lower than 300mm makes things difficult. Don't like paving? Less maintenance, lasts longer....

Cheers
Pulse

[JasonY]

Hi all, I am also going to be building a deck similar to this and should be able to get 100 - 150mm clearance from the decking boards to the ground.

My question is rather than having stumps, bearers and joists and then using joist hangers to save some height could you not just put more bearers in such that they are spaced as per the requirements for the decking boards and then nail the boards direct to them?

I am totally new to this so I am sure there are a probably a number of reasons this is not the way to go. Would this work?

[ausdesign]

Yes, you can space your bearers at 450 centres & increase the number of stumps accordingly.