Building deck in extreme bushfire area

[Loki429]

We are in a bush fire area and cannot have any combustables attached to the dwelling so timber decking is out of the question. What were you going to put on your deck

I raised that question with our local Council (useless) and with the RFS. Although I couldn't get a definitive answer on exactly what "attached to the dwelling" means I was lead to believe that it was referring to not having and of the house floor members (bearers, joists) extending beyond the wall and forming the structure for the deck.
I did get my design through council, the rfs, structural engineer and a private certifier with a ledger attached to the wall.

Have a search through the forum as there was a thread about a year ago that discussed this.

[Loki429]

AV Elec

Have a good look around the RFS website. There are many useful resources there including workbooks for determining the bushfire threat, categorising your property, even working out the classification of the bush and scrub type.
When we built our house (3 years ago) we had to get a private "bushfire consultant" to prepare a report for submission to council for building approval. When I put the plans in for the deck I added a copy of this report which would have helped speed our approval through council and the RFS.

cheers,
Loki

[AV Elec]

Thanks for the advice everyone. The next step is for me to get the design drawn up and engineered. Once this is done, I will post updates

[Ivan in Oz]

Once this is done, I will post updates

With Pictures
Hope so

[AV Elec]

Too many projects, limited amount of funds
It will happen, but I might have to use the tax return mid year...

[DvdHntr]

Check out AS3959 - "Building in bushfire prone areas"


I actually think that timber is not much worse than light gauge steels like Duragal and the like. They are so thin that the fire will cause them to yield and the deck will collapse.

[thebuildingsurv]

AS 3959 is what you need to be referring to as dvdhntr says.

Merbau satifies the non-combustable requirement and you could use blackbut for the posts, bearer and joists. Talk to your local council they may be able to help and give you some info (although some dont appreciate time wasters that drill them for free info then use a private building surveyor anyway) You will need to have your decking spaced at 5mm and keep the subfloor open. It aint such a big deal.

You can also get paint coatings which satisfy the requirements i think its called flame guard and has relevant testing data to give to your approval authority.

You should also consider chopping down some trees.

[glock40sw]

You should also consider chopping down some trees.

Yeah....That's what I like to hear...Nothing says "I care" more that the sound of a Chainsaw in the early mornin.