Oval Decking - Wow
Creating the perfect deck to complement and enhance a unique rural setting.
It began when an ancient rown fell down
Once it had been cleared and the stump pulled back up it looked bare and so the client asked for a deck in it’s place. I made the mistake of asking “What shape?” and the reply was “Oval, with an oval fire pit.”
The first stage was to clear away an old concrete base for greenhouse and remove some bedrock to level the area ready for the deck. Once that was done the shape could be plotted. I used terram underneath to stop the weeds and built the frame work from treated 6″ x 2″ and 8″ x 2″.
The framing was raised at by many, many pilings set over the damp proof course on a concrete base.
The outer framework was built as an angled oval. Spacing between the joists was down to about 10″ with lots of dwangs to give extra strength and stability along with the massive number of supporting legs. The deck was intended to withstand some serious partying.
The hardest part was building the oval framework around the hole for the firepit.
At this point the whole framework was retreated with preservative.
The decking was then laid and the edges shaped to create the outer and inner ovals at the same time. This was really time consuming and finnicky to do.
The whole deck used what felt like thousands of decking screws. Once it was down it was all treated with preservative.
The next stage was building the stone wall arround one part of the deck and the stone steps which led down to it from a higher terrace. At this point power cables were laid for the exterior lighting and power supply through the walls.
Where the deck would otherwise touch the cliff edge there is a 6 inch gap left and filled with small stones for drainage.
The hardest part was finding suitably sized stones to cap the stone walls and fire pit sides. The fire pit itself has a concrete base but still needed a metal grill to stop the concrete exploding from the heat of the fire.
The lights were then installed along with the electric sockets. For lighting we used downlighters set into the adjoining cliff to light the deck at people’s feet. The client didn’t want people blinded by uplighting set into the deck.
Once the terraces were filled with soil and planted the next job was to finish the sides of the deck with vertical boarding for a scandinavian effect.
The grass at the base was cut in to around 6 inches again and the gap filled with stones to make it easier to mow without hitting the side of the deck.
It took time and a lot of materials but the finished effect is worth it. The deck will need to be power washed and retreated every year, after going to this much trouble it needs to last as long as possible.
