Hi, I've spent the last few days trawling through dozens of posts and now my head is spinning with the amount of differing information I've read on what is a fairly common subject.

I am planning on laying a ground-level deck which will be part laid on concrete and part laid on earth. The area above the concrete is pretty straightforward and all the info I've read seems to point me in generally the same direction but when it comes to decking over the soil I'm getting a bit confuzzled.

The concrete is approx 90mm below where I want the deck to finish so I plan to simply lay appropriately sized TP across at standard spacings. The soil level is vaguely at the same level as the concrete but has the usual obvious undulations etc. While it seems apparent that using 70x45 on the concrete will be more than adequate, I'm pretty sure it's nowhere near adequate over the soil.

Obviously, with the soil and concrete being at similar levels, I'm assuming I'm going to have to do a fair bit of shovel work to accomodate the correct sized timbers but this is where I'm stuck. I've read that I can use 140x45 buried in soil with the deck laid directly on top, I've read that I'd need bearers set on stirrups in concrete footings and joists above, I've read that I can use varying sizes of timber laid on concrete pads or pavers, I've read that people have laid a new slab to match the old and then lay timbers across this - the list seems to go on. I wish I'd stopped reading a few hours ago as soon as I read the first post but I didn't and now I'm more confused than when I started.

I've attached a drawing of the basic layout of the deck showing the general layout. I've indicated the basic layout of the joists as this is about the only thing I've got consistant agreement on - I've put them at approx 400 centres with some slight variance to allow for a couple of posts I need to avoid. Obviously, with some 24 joists to be laid across the soil I've got a fair bit of earth to move so don't want to be digging any more than is necessary. My budget won't extend to any form of mechanical help so it's just a trusty shovel for me.

Could one of you experienced folk out there give me the benefit of your knowledge and give me your opinions on the most suitable way to go about laying the timbers across this area as I'm going cross eyed after staring at my screen for so long!

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