Show us yer house and house-related meddlings

[Idaho]

Is this just an unavoidable fact of life or if a person were to sand and treat it every summer with the right sort of oil stuff would that not mean it lasts much longer? I ask because cohabitee is now dead set on building a deck.

When we moved in here 5 years ago, there was a large unloved deck at the end of the garden. I took it apart, scrubbed up the boards and have reused them in various places. Every 2 years I give them a brushing down and slop on this deck repair paint. They are still going. Need to repaint again, but these are now at least 7 years old. So while softwood isn't really the right material, it can be made to serve.

 

[ignatious]

Is this just an unavoidable fact of life or if a person were to sand and treat it every summer with the right sort of oil stuff would that not mean it lasts much longer? I ask because cohabitee is now dead set on building a deck.

If you buy it untreated you can treat it however you want, including staining. If it’s tanalized there’s not a lot you can do.

With the correct treatment and maintenance (regular cleaning and annual treatment) softwood will last longer than an untreated hardwood. With a similar treatment though, hardwood would last indefinitely.

As with most things, you get what you pay for.

 

[bimble]

Well this is all a bit sad isn’t it. Good to know though at the outset. Accoya is stupidly expensive to use for this, and not even beautiful, hardwood just not affordable whilst there’s a roof that will need fixing etc.
So a relatively short lived & high maintenance deck looking likely.

 

[teuchter]

When we moved in here 5 years ago, there was a large unloved deck at the end of the garden. I took it apart, scrubbed up the boards and have reused them in various places. Every 2 years I give them a brushing down and slop on this deck repair paint. They are still going. Need to repaint again, but these are now at least 7 years old. So while softwood isn't really the right material, it can be made to serve.View attachment 207845

Once you are slopping on repair paint and so on, you are not getting any "natural timber look" so then I don't see any advantage over getting composite boards. Obviously may make sense for you with the boards already in place - my comment aimed at anyone deciding what to use at the outset.

 

[teuchter]

Well this is all a bit sad isn’t it. Good to know though at the outset. Accoya is stupidly expensive to use for this, and not even beautiful, hardwood just not affordable whilst there’s a roof that will need fixing etc.
So a relatively short lived & high maintenance deck looking likely.

I would ask:
1. What is it exactly that you want to get out of this outdoor area that you want to cover with decking?
2. Is decking the only, or even the best solution?

I think decking is sometimes used in place of actually thinking things through properly from a design point of view.

 

[bimble]

I would ask:
1. What is it exactly that you want to get out of this outdoor area that you want to cover with decking?
2. Is decking the only, or even the best solution?

I think decking is sometimes used in place of actually thinking things through properly from a design point of view.

Will have more of a think but here is a picture of the intended place to be bedecked (with a rectangular platform that runs along the building for further than it sticks out).


The idea is

• to make the area useable by creating a flat surface on a pretty steep downward slope (is steeper than it looks in the picture).
• If it were flat it could be sat on and enjoyed because it has a good view and proper privacy (but the area is west facing and sits in the shade of the house all day until evening, when you do get good sunsets.
• There has been talk of a pizza oven being constructed on top of this deck, with firebricks.

But the shadiness does not bode well for the wood.
I'm honestly not as excited about it as the would-be deck builder is but do trust he'd do a good job, being very particular.

If not decking, we'd probably be looking at building a giant wall at the bottom of the hill and then infilling it by moving great piles of rocks and earth to create the flatness? Which seems.. unlikely.

 

[ignatious]

Will have more of a think but here is a picture of the intended place to be bedecked (with a rectangular platform that runs along the building for further than it sticks out).

View attachment 207861
The idea is

• to make the area useable by creating a flat surface on a pretty steep downward slope (is steeper than it looks in the picture).
• If it were flat it could be sat on and enjoyed because it has a good view and proper privacy (but the area is west facing and sits in the shade of the house all day until evening, when you do get good sunsets.
• There has been talk of a pizza oven being constructed on top of this deck, with firebricks.

But the shadiness does not bode well for the wood.
I'm honestly not as excited about it as the would-be deck builder is but do trust he'd do a good job, being very particular.

If not decking, we'd probably be looking at building a giant wall at the bottom of the hill and then infilling it by moving great piles of rocks and earth to create the flatness? Which seems.. unlikely.

That’s just the sort of scenario where a deck would make sense. Is that a septic tank by the fence at the bottom of the slope?

 

[bimble]

That’s just the sort of scenario where a deck would make sense. Is that a septic tank by the fence at the bottom of the slope?

It is. Deck would stop well short of that for access.

 

[ignatious]

You’ll also need planning permission due to the height.

 

[ignatious]

It is. Deck would stop well short of that for access.

That would rule out any earthmoving I’d have thought.

 

[bimble]

You’ll also need planning permission due to the height.

Anything above 30cm isnt it yes. was thinking to chance it to be honest as not a soul would see it.

 

[ignatious]

Anything above 30cm isnt it yes. was thinking to chance it to be honest as not a soul would see it.

Fair enough, just be mindful of any insurance implications, emergency egress/access, etc.

 

[teuchter]

Will have more of a think but here is a picture of the intended place to be bedecked (with a rectangular platform that runs along the building for further than it sticks out).

View attachment 207861
The idea is

• to make the area useable by creating a flat surface on a pretty steep downward slope (is steeper than it looks in the picture).
• If it were flat it could be sat on and enjoyed because it has a good view and proper privacy (but the area is west facing and sits in the shade of the house all day until evening, when you do get good sunsets.
• There has been talk of a pizza oven being constructed on top of this deck, with firebricks.

But the shadiness does not bode well for the wood.
I'm honestly not as excited about it as the would-be deck builder is but do trust he'd do a good job, being very particular.

If not decking, we'd probably be looking at building a giant wall at the bottom of the hill and then infilling it by moving great piles of rocks and earth to create the flatness? Which seems.. unlikely.

If it was me though I'd want to think about working with the slope rather than against it. There are many very attractive hillside gardens where the slope is gently landscaped with a series of small terraces or steps. If all you want is a place to sit, then you don't have to dig out a big terrace at all; a bench seat can be relatively easily set into a sloping site.

But maybe you aren't looking to create a garden as such, you just want to sit outside and look at the view rather than being 'in' the garden. And in which case, a deck looming at height over the rest of the slope (and with a dead area underneath it) doesn't matter because you'll not be looking at it from further down the slope.

 

[Tankus]

Finished the top of my stairs... Stacked a couple of IKEA shallow wall mounted kitchen units, with the top two without doors, and demountable so I can remove to get into the roof.
Had a bit of fun with the lighting which is google assistant voice controlled...
Gives me a place to stash my loo roll reserves and my hand tools

 

[kabbes]

You can’t beat some good quality stone. Wood is just not a material that outside floors are meant to be made from.

And as for slope — our garden is nothing but slope! It has a few areas that have been landscaped into something flat but mostly, it’s hill. Like teuchter says, best to work with it and make it something that belongs with a slope.

 

[teuchter]

You can’t beat some good quality stone. Wood is just not a material that outside floors are meant to be made from.

Although, interestingly and surprisingly, at one time timber was used to pave city streets including in London.

History | Endgrain

www.endgrain.org.uk

 

[MrCurry]

So I had a quick look under the decking to see how the support structure is. I guess when I renew the decking boards I should be slapping on some kind of product to extend the life of the wooden cross members, but what would you use?

Is normal wood oil (such as you might paint onto a decking each year) enough, or does it need something with added preservatives?

 

[teuchter]

Keeping them well ventilated is much more important than what preservatives you try and put on them. So that when they do get wet they can dry out quickly.

So make sure that air can get in and around them - some kind of cross ventilation is most effective.

It looks like they are sitting on the ground, or are very close to it, which shouldn't really be the case, but there may not be much you can do about that.

 

[MrCurry]

It’s the top side of a corrugated metal roof actually. It’s a fair point about ventilation, as probably most comes via the gaps between the boards and the modern trend seems to be towards smaller and smaller gaps. I’ll have a look tomorrow and see what ventilation there is to the sides, but with there being a tin roof below, it does stay wet under there for a fair while after it’s rained.

 

[teuchter]

If it's a tin roof that's probably better than if it were damp soil. Making sure the roof can drain as freely as possible, by clearing away any built-up leaves and dirt while you have the boards up, would probably be worthwhile.

One of the surprising things about timber is how long it can last (centuries in some cases) without any rotting, in an external environment, as long as it is able to dry out effectively. If you look at most traditional timber architecture you will see that the details are quite obsessed with either keeping it completely dry, or making sure that any rainwater does not sit on it for very long.

Modern preservatives mean that you can sort-of get away with abandoning some of those principles, meaning that you now often see timber used in such a way that it's entirely reliant on chemical preservatives stopping it rotting as a result of things that could be designed out in the first place. It's lazy design but also just setting things up for problems. In addition preservative-treated wood is problematic to reuse or recycle or dispose of, so you end up undoing some of the environmental benefits of using wood in place of other materials.

 

[MrCurry]

Thanks teuchter

 

[bimble]

You can’t beat some good quality stone. Wood is just not a material that outside floors are meant to be made from.

And as for slope — our garden is nothing but slope! It has a few areas that have been landscaped into something flat but mostly, it’s hill. Like teuchter says, best to work with it and make it something that belongs with a slope.

Too late. He’s made some things called batter boards now.


It will be good, and there’s lots of other garden spaces steep and flat.

 

[FabricLiveBaby!]

not specifically my house related meddlings, but we've finally signed off on the design for our new place (chill people, getting a designer and then discounted furnishings is the standard in Poland)

Downstairs:




Upstairs:


Attic:

 

[FabricLiveBaby!]

There's an attic too!

 

[MrCurry]

Renderings are getting better, aren’t they? Feels almost like you can convert yourself to a rendering a climb into those pics and live happily. Looks awesome FabricLiveBaby!

 

[FabricLiveBaby!]

Renderings are getting better, aren’t they? Feels almost like you can convert yourself to a rendering a climb into those pics and live happily. Looks awesome FabricLiveBaby!

I'm very impressed with the tech (tho it still has it's limitations... attic for example has steeple roofs but the programme can't do it). I asked them to "bring the outside in". It's surprising hard with designers... they are OBSESSED (and really OBSESSSSSED) with 50s modernism and straight lines here. A style I can't stand.

It was really difficult to get him to soften it all up. These are the final images but the process took ages.


Thanks to the virus, we still don't have the keys so are playing interest only on the mortgage.

We sign on the 8th of May, and then work can begin.



it's gonna cost a fucking fortune!

 

[equationgirl]

That's beautiful FabricLiveBaby! I love that armchair and bookshelves under the stairs.

No room for visitors though, right? Right?

 

[FabricLiveBaby!]

That's beautiful FabricLiveBaby! I love that armchair and bookshelves under the stairs.

No room for visitors though, right? Right?

I'm. Looking forward to everyone visiting!

Two spare rooms!!

Honestly if any urbz want cheap holz after lockdown my house in Krakow is OPEN to visitors (no jokes).

Looking forward to guests and company

 

[equationgirl]

I'm. Looking forward to everyone visiting!

Two spare rooms!!

Honestly if any urbz want cheap holz after lockdown my house in Krakow is OPEN to visitors (no jokes).

Looking forward to guests and company

I meant the in-laws!!

 

[FabricLiveBaby!]

I meant the in-laws!!

looool!

The in-laws have the flat we are living in at the moment! No feckin way is there room for that shower again!


I forgot to add, the best thing... our friends bought the flat opposite us in the same development, so now we're going to be neighbours. Our gardens back onto each other so we're gonna pull down the wire fence, and build a nice green separation device, like a rose arch instead. It's gonna be so nice to have neighbours we already know and love!