Steel or wood posts for deck.

[jeremy]

Hi all,

I'm looking at building a deck/balcony which will be about 3m by 4m. It will be protruding from the 2nd story (2.7m up). I'm about to get it drawn up for council and had a couple of questions.

- I'm planning to use steel posts/frame. I have a brother who can do my welding for me. Is there are disadvantages using steel compared to wood? Is it substantially more expensive than wood? I'll still use wood for the decking itself.

- I'd like to put a roof (simple colourbond style) on it to protect the deck. Is this generally recommended or is it better to save the cost and just paint the deck with better paint. The deck is on the south side of the house.

- I've attached a small diagram of where it will be located. Is it possible to attach the deck to the house and therefore only need one post in the corner?

Thanks!
Jeremy

[silentC]

Disadvantages: none I can think of. It's not that much more expensive. Might even be cheaper. Have almost finished building a house myself and all of the verandah and deck framing is Duragal. Make sure you get your brother to cap all the ends and seal up any gaps so that air cannot get inside. It's less likely to develop rust that way. Also a good idea to get it internally painted - costs a bit more. I bought some seconds which were not internally painted, so I sprayed the insides with fish oil before sealing it up.

Regarding a roof, I'd be more concerned about whether or not you want a roof over it than whether it will protect the deck. Do you want it covered or not? Will it reduce the amount of light you get in the house?

Don't see why you can't attach it to the house.

[Bluegum]

C makes a lot of sense here and it should work well.