Building Homes or Extensions/floating deck over beutinol

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Expert: - 11/12/2010


Question
Hi I have an in built deck recovered in butinol and am looking at renting out the house I am concerned that the butinol can be damaged and would like to further protect it with a floating deck over the top I am unsure how to frame the deck I believe it should be made in removable sections for cleaning but am unsure what material to use for the the frame and the size of sections to come out easily thanks Mike

Answer

deck square
Hi Mike, two foot by two foot sections are manageable for removable decks.  Construction is usually built around how much height you have from the existing deck to the door threshholds that open out onto the deck.  In other words if there is a three inch step coming out of the door then you need to make the panels less that three inches thick, etc.  Otherwise you have a tripping hazard or if the door is outswinging then it won't open.  Anyways, it is a simple process.  You need a base and then the decking.  The base is generally two slats of pressure treated wood (2x4 or 2x6 flat) laid 16" apart and 24" long.  Your 24" long deck pieces( 5/4 bull nose PT, or Composite 1" decking) are screwed to the base slats with a gap between each board to allow rain and other forms of water to enter and exit.  The sections just sit on the roofing or existing deck like checkerboard squares.

After installing all the square pieces then you may need to build some custom sized pieces to fill in the edges or odd shapes of the deck. To remove the sections, have one section with a finger hole drilled in it.  Pull this section first and then the other sections can easily be removed.  Always use pressure treated wood or cedar or composite decking so that it won't rot and you should be fine.  Make sure no screws protrude from the bottoms of the deck squares, or sharp edges that can cut through the underlying roofing material.  You can even take this a step further and apply a strip of peel and stick roofing to the underside of each deck square to provide an added buffer between the deck piece and then existing butinol deck.  Use stainless or coated deck screws for the construction. If your bottom "sleepers" are less than a 2x4 laid flat then you may want to glue the pieces together also with a good exterior Liquid Nail plus the short screws necessary for the connection.  I have attached a simple sketch.  I hope this information helps, please feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com

Bruce E. Johnson

Expertise

I can answer any construction related question in regards to carpentry, concrete, drywall, masonry, structural elements of any type of building, residential or commercial. Interior or exterior.

Experience

Custom Commercial and residential buildings. Churches, theaters, schools and auditoriums. Most recently I am working with the Catholic Church on several design build committees. I have a website related to scheduling and project supervision. Although my expertise is more related to multimillion dollar commercial, educational and theatrical projects my generous credentials in residential and remodelling construction make me a viable source of information regarding all forms of building questions.

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