Decking a Garden

[Thomarse]

Is there any problem with decking up to a house wall. i.e. if I lay decking on top of an existing patio, the level of the decking will only be 1 brick below the damp proof course of the house, possibly less, instead of the 2 bricks that it is presently between the patio and the damp proof.

Obviously with decking, water will run through the boards and so will not build up, but should I be worried about rain splash back causing damp?

What is the usual procedure with this type of work, I dont really want to rip up all the patio to dig it down deeper before laying the decking if can help it.

Thanks

Tom

[boltmail]

Personally, I think the quickest solution to this problem is to realise that decking is a shit idea which is fundamentally ill-suited to our climate, and then re-do your patio in something that doesn't make it look like it's been done over by some terrible 90's garden makeover programme. But that's just me.

[Thomarse]

Thanks for the opinion, it was very useful!

[Stuart Noble]

It also raises your level so that your neighbours might have less privacy than before. I wonder how the 6 foot fence limit is affected by all this. Fortunately my neighbour is fairly short :-) I also think decking is a very silly idea propagated by the makeover brigade, who pay no attention to the long term practicalities. Fine for open, south facing locations maybe, but a bad idea otherwise.

[boltmail]

My pleasure, and I hope it was. If you are determined to do the decking despite it being a shit idea, then the easiest course of action is probably to do what I imagine most people do with decking installations and ignore the problem.

Seriously, you understandably don't want to have to lower the whole of your patio. That leaves you with either putting up with less than the

2 course recommended minimum and crossing your fingers, or leaving a gap or step around the edge of your decking so that you retain the 2 courses at the junction with the house. You could fill any gap with gravel, which is a common bodge to reduce splashing.

[The Medway Handyman]

First of all, don't listen to the anti decking luddites :-)

Decking is a wonderful surface, much nicer than horrid concrete slabs, better for the environment & doesn't encourage flooding.

1 brick below damp course is fine, above damp course space the ledger plate 10mm from the wall with spacers.

I've only ever seen one example of splashing causing any kind of damp and that was easily solved by an application of Thomsons Water Seal. You could leave a gap & fill with gravel if you want.

Thats one of the many benefits of decking, no groundwork. Remove a couple of slabs to affect drainage.

you want any help or advice, just let me know. Happy to help.