We want to build a large deck along one side of our house. Because we intend to live here for a long time, we were looking at kwila rather than pine, but the cost is astronomical by the time we take bearers, posts etc into account. The other option seems to be a concrete block 'wall' around the perimeter, backfilled, then pour concrete, and maybe have that exposed stone look (I think thats the process, but havent looked into it yet, so there may be more to it). Does anyone have any idea of whether this would cost more than a hardwood timber deck! The house foundation is 600mm high, so the deck would need to be (almost) the same. Sounds like a lot of concrete.
elect70,
Feb 23, 10:11pm
Readymix concrete is around $300 a cubic metre delivered ., me ,iI go for concrete anydayless maintenancedoesnt warpor rot& lot less$ tobuild .You can useold concrete or rock as a fillerto cut down amount of concrete
kandjaja,
Feb 23, 10:11pm
What is the size of the deck!
squeaking,
Feb 23, 10:46pm
theissue's with concrete is you will need to do footings with steel reinforceing,Mesh for the slab,so you will need a Builder and for blockworkyou will need to contract block layer,and a concrete layer to do the slab, so there is 3 contractors to pay forand the most important thing is to get the basecoarse compacked perfect other wise you will risk cracking, and they dont go away! ,you only get one go at it! personally i think timber is cosmeticly better as you can do heaps of levels and shapes with ease an not a boring old plane deck, Kwila, is over rated, i have replaced a lot over the years it doesnt do well in shaded or damp areas there is plenty of other options out there, always get premium grades they will last longer
trade4us2,
Feb 23, 10:58pm
A large wooden deck or concrete can be expensive. I've just done a small one of each. A cheap option that I have also done is to build a timber wll around the outside, fill with soil, put weedmat and bark on top.
jaybee38,
Feb 24, 12:17am
Its about 100 sq m. Squeaking - what other timbers would you recommend! I've asked two builders and both have said not to use anything but kwila (besides that, I like the colour of it). The whole deck would be north/west facing with absolutely minimal shade - part of the reason why I would prefer timber, as concrete seems to keep the heat for so much longer.
tezw1,
Feb 24, 12:43am
The problem with a concrete or paved patio is that you will need a step down from your floor slab of either 100mm or 150mm depending on your cladding. A imber deck, constructed correctly can be at or near the same height as the house floor. Screw the decking down if worried about squeaking. The 150mm wide Kiwla decking, with stainless screws can look quite good.
annies3,
Feb 24, 12:45am
If you do decide to use concrete, make sure you colour it because as you have noticed white concrete reflects a lot of heat, a colour will absorb the heat and release it for longer later.
squeaking,
Feb 24, 1:23am
100sq m ,thats 10 cube so theres $3000 just for STD concrete for the slab on its own. Yeah i like laying kwila as its nice and straight out of the pack and hardly shrinks but you can use eucolyptus siligna,(i think thats how its spelt), Premium grade Macrocarpa or even Jara, it depends on what you want to spend there is other timber on the markets ,even preimium pines okay if dry to lay but most supplies are wet and will shrink on your joins.rule of thumb is to shop around and you will halve the price
squeaking,
Feb 24, 1:31am
I think you might find that all decking or exterior surfaces have to be a minimim of 150mm below floor hight as wind can drive rain across the surface and up to all the wrong places,
spiritofgonzo,
Feb 24, 1:52am
not if you leave a 15mm gap between the timber and the building
tezw1,
Feb 24, 1:56am
Slatted timber decks can be the same height as the floor inside, as long as they are not cantilever framed. However there must be a 12mm gap between the first board and the wall. Refer to NZBC E2/AS1 clause 7.1.1
squeaking,
Feb 24, 3:02am
What we are still finding now is wind blown rain is driving up under the door sills if they are open(eg open sill trays) and with conc slab house floors its still driving up under the weather board this is with slatted decks up to high and 12mm off the wall), and i have witnessed this myself several times being a builder, so time will tell in another 10 years time with round 2 of leaky house syndrome!we had all these clause's in the 90's that didnt help did it! common sence rules in my trade
gag5,
Feb 24, 3:32am
jaybee - we had the same decision to make - timber was going to be out of the question due to the amount & depth of posts etc - so we opted for concrete - 60sq mt. Builder had done retaining wall & fill then topped with crusher dust & left for a year before we got round to concreting it about 3 weeks ago. Coloured 1/2 charcoal & cut into squares 1 mt apart a few days later. Looks great too. Wide timber decking steps from house down to patio. Yes I know it does `look` better to have it go out at same level as floor of the house but we had to be sensible about it! For concrete laying & cutting it cost a fraction under $3000.
rsr72,
Feb 24, 3:08pm
A good builder will do the lot in concrete- footings, boxing, reinforcing, pouring, finishing. Can't beat the solid feel of a good concreted and tiled terrace.
mybooks,
Feb 24, 7:28pm
Three contractor's!. nah. DIY! lol.
tahnasha,
Feb 24, 7:44pm
I had a concrete deck put down a couple of years ago.It's approximately 50sqm, cost us $2k all up, that included concrete, laying, everything.Has got steel mesh underneath, one guy to do all the concrete work and another guy to do the roof.We step down, but don't find it a problem.I had a roof put over the top to cover the entire slab so we don't have to worry about the weather, that cost about another $3k.We love it, it's like an outdoor lounge.
knit1,
Feb 24, 11:43pm
Three contractor's!. nah. DIY! lol.[/quote] well I'm female and built a large deck, and now considering building something else to cut down lawn mowing as large section, reading here think I'll be borrowing a friends baby digger and level out, use 1/2 round lengths of tanalised timber bout 10.00 each, line with something and toss on wood peel or gravel, fingers crossed shoulder holds up barrowing it all :)next project
squeaking,
Feb 24, 11:59pm
we do footings and the odd pad but those days are over mate, weconcentrate onmore stuctured and detailed building work
squeaking,
Feb 25, 12:03am
yeah andT.V makes a lot of money out of DIY lol! come to think of it, DIY puts food on my plate too!lol
elect70,
Feb 25, 10:10pm
+1 all timberwarps & twists & needs paintingevery 2 years . Thats why iripped mine out & concreted itwith a buildershelp .& laidterracotta tiles on top .
sanders4,
Mar 25, 11:08am
Did a large deck- 15 x 6 metres - with pool in middle and went with 40mm pine, 12 years later it is as good as new with gentle water blast annually. Timber was less than half the price of kwila and should be good for another 12 years minimum.
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