Decking close to house

[John]

Hope someone can help??

I want to put some decking down outside the back of my house however from reading around the recommendations are to put it at least 2 brick levels below the damp course.

Currently the area that i'm looking at is covered in concrete which comes up to 2 brick levels below the damp course so the only way i could keep within regs is to break up the concrete and dig down (would need to dig down about a foot).

Instead of attaching the decking to the back wall i'm thinking of installing it freestanding slightly away from the back wall. What clearance do i need to leave from the house in order to stop the rain splashing up against the back wall?? also would it be ok to add an inch of gravel between the decking and the back wall to make it look nicer or would this create a water trap? i.e. nowhere for the water to drain 'cos of the concrete or could it run off under the decking?

Also would it be ok to set the decking flat on the concrete or would it be better to dig a few holes and create some concrete supports for the posts? Is there a minimum clearance required for the joists from the concrete floor??

oooh so many questions!!!

cheers in advance Jt

[Philip Wagstaff]

I'm no expert but my son and I did at least build a deck with pergola about five years ago. Take a look at my website

it should still be active.

The deck was built at the back of the house, (ENE facing) over an existing small patio, level with the patio door cill - so you can walk straight out of the living room onto the deck - which makes it (thinks) about three bricks high.

It's freestanding, with a small gap between it and the house. Part of the deck sits on the old patio but as the garden drops away I had to install a few footings.

I do not have any solid concrete to worry about but to aid drainage I added a soakaway along three sides. One side that was previously, before the deck, a pretty soggy area shows no signs of problems now.

I may live to regret saying this but so far I have seen no signs of damp, creep or fungus etc in fact it all seems to be in surprisingly good nick considering I've done v little to it since it's been up.

I cannot comment on regs etc except to say in all the reading I did do prior to the work I never saw any mention of them. I certainly never bothered to check or inform the local authority.

I must say I think drainage could be a big problem for you if you do not not break up that concrete. Then again I seem to remember Tommy (Groundforce) built a small deck and slapped it on top of a hardstaning on some house by a river.