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Old 07-19-2005, 12:33 PM   #1
dirk diggler
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looking to get a deck built, just wondering what is a good price these days to get someone to build a deck.. i know it depends on different options. e.g duradeck, metal rails etc.... any ideas. thinking of about 13 feet square for rough size
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Old 07-19-2005, 01:14 PM   #2
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What fotze said.

I built my deck - about the same size - for about $1500. I got quoted about $3500 to have someone else do it, and it was really easy.

Home depot even had a program that tells you where all your posts go and plans out the joists etc etc. Made it even easier. I used that to plan it, then bought the lumber at Totem.
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Old 07-19-2005, 01:26 PM   #3
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Decks are easy. Dig post holes at least 3 feet down (especially if you're going over 1 story in height), cement them in, put up a main support beam, install hangers for your joists, add decking and railing and voila! instant party spot. Home Depot sells books (kinda pricey) but the course might be just as helpful.

Timber Town has really good lumber (avoid home depot, they're more expensive). Green Tree is the cheapest in the city for pressure treated, but if you're not there picking out your lumber you'll get all kinds of warped crap.

Use galvanized screws on your decking.

Get a permit if you ever intend on selling your house.

Check the regulations on the rail height and spacing width.

Don't drink while you put it up. The one piece of advice I shoulda followed.
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Old 07-19-2005, 02:57 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally posted by Tron_fdc@Jul 19 2005, 12:26 PM
Decks are easy. Dig post holes at least 3 feet down (especially if you're going over 1 story in height), cement them in, put up a main support beam, install hangers for your joists, add decking and railing and voila! instant party spot. Home Depot sells books (kinda pricey) but the course might be just as helpful.

Timber Town has really good lumber (avoid home depot, they're more expensive). Green Tree is the cheapest in the city for pressure treated, but if you're not there picking out your lumber you'll get all kinds of warped crap.

Use galvanized screws on your decking.

Get a permit if you ever intend on selling your house.

Check the regulations on the rail height and spacing width.

Don't drink while you put it up. The one piece of advice I shoulda followed.
All good points, except for the part about needing a permit. I have never heard that you need a permit in order to sell your house after (I just did it). The only time that you need a permit is if your deck is a certain height (I think).

Some other pointers



Buy pressure treated or cedar (for wood decks) as they will last the longest.

Lay your decking accross the joists (stagger like bricks if the width is longer than your longest board) and don't cut to size before, just trim the edges off with a circular saw after.

When you are building your railings don't attach the spindles directly to the top of your decking, attach them to a 2x4 that is raised a couple of inches off the deck. This helps in the winter when you want to shovel snow off the deck.
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Old 07-19-2005, 03:07 PM   #5
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I would make the post holes 4' deep to make sure you reach the frost line. The railing needs to be 36" high from ground level and 42" high for walkout not sure on spacing. You need to be 6m from the property line. The city of calgary has a good pamphlet on their site. If you don't pull a permit make sure you follow code.

Trexx is heavy but cuts like butta and no maintenance, get a pro to do dura deck, use screws for wood. Overbuild and you should be ok.
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Old 07-19-2005, 03:25 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally posted by JohnnyO@Jul 19 2005, 09:07 PM
You need to be 6m from the property line.
You sure about the 6 metre part? (assuming 'm' = meters) If so there are a 100's of illegal decks in my neighborhood as every one of them that I've seen is about 4 feet off the property line. At 6 metres I'd be allowed a deck of only about 5 feet wide down the middle of my backyard.
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Old 07-19-2005, 04:40 PM   #7
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It's probably 6 feet from the property line. At least thats what the Town of Sylvan uses for it's minimum distance to any structure from the property line. The pickets on a guardrail can't have clear spaces of more than 4" between them (well 100mm which is 3 15/16" according to the building code). Guardrail that is 1.8 meters (5'-11") above grade must be a minimum of 42" high, lower than that, and the guards on your stair can be 3 feet high. If you get the permit the city knows you have a deck, and will jack your property assessment on you to milk you for more taxes.
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Old 07-20-2005, 10:05 AM   #8
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You don't need a permit if the deck is less that 2 feet of the ground.
I built an addition to mine last year and that was what the City clerk told me at the time.
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Old 06-09-2012, 11:14 PM   #9
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Does anyone know where a guy can access the building codes for free? It doesn't seem like the library offers them and I'm too Scottish to pay $300 for a copy.

The main thing I'm wondering about is post spacing for my deck (walkout). My current deck is 12'x12' with the posts ~12' apart with a 2' cantilever (10' from the house). I want to tear out the existing and have it 14' out instead (posts 12' from the house), just wondering if I can still put my 2 new posts 12' apart and whether I need to add a second set of posts closer to the house?

The codes accessible on the city's site are only specific to rail height, post depth etc.
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Old 06-09-2012, 11:23 PM   #10
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12 grand got us a pretty kick ass deck. Highly recomend the little decker. Figured I could have saved 4k by doing it myself, but would have lost 4 weekends to it. Not worth it for me.
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Old 06-09-2012, 11:27 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by freedogger View Post
12 grand got us a pretty kick ass deck. Highly recomend the little decker. Figured I could have saved 4k by doing it myself, but would have lost 4 weekends to it. Not worth it for me.
Holy ****, you're either really rich, or you REALLY value your weekends.
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Old 06-09-2012, 11:29 PM   #12
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Another pro tip if you are DIY - don't put any space between the planks. They will shrink when the wood ages and this will give you a proper size gap for water run off.
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Old 06-09-2012, 11:41 PM   #13
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Quote:
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Holy ****, you're either really rich, or you REALLY value your weekends.
I built our underground greenhouse last year and was too burnt out for another project. These guys showed up and had it done in four days. One of them was a high end finishing carpenter. The touches this guy added were better than the stuff on the tv shows. They all had excellent design ideas.






Look closely at the pics: there is an eight inch ledge against the house at a perfect height for a kids table. The design lets us see out into the yard to watch the kids play, gives us shade and privacy where we want it. Loads of sorage under the high side. We are hanging plants off the pergola and the center divider has a 4 foot planter built right in. The first set of stairs provides a great seating area too when the patio furniture seats run out.

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Old 06-10-2012, 12:10 AM   #14
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You paid 12 grand for that?

Anyway the thread was bumped for a question about code. You can buy a 10 day subscription to view the Alberta Building Code online for $24. I'll see if I can find a link.

https://commerce-irc.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/...0000032%29/.do
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Old 06-10-2012, 12:14 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by freedogger View Post
12 grand got us a pretty kick ass deck. Highly recomend the little decker.
Nice, I was going to look for a referral at some point (hopefully this year). Our deck project is pretty elaborate so I definitely need someone else to do it.

Big pics:
Spoiler!


The ground level part is done (concrete).

I like what they did with the panels on yours for privacy.
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Old 06-10-2012, 12:28 AM   #16
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Wow, that's a serious project!
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Old 06-10-2012, 01:19 AM   #17
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Photon,
How far does the bigger section come out from the wall? Where are your posts going? What program did you use to draft that up (sketchup?).
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Old 06-10-2012, 09:46 AM   #18
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If you take on this project yourself my only recommendation would be to put some time thinking about what you want. I built my deck a number of years ago without thinking about it and I now what to rip it down and start again.
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Old 06-10-2012, 10:48 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Clarkey View Post
Photon,
How far does the bigger section come out from the wall? Where are your posts going? What program did you use to draft that up (sketchup?).
It's about 17' from the wall to the edge. I can't remember exactly where the posts are going, I had my dad help me plan it, he's been in construction for forever, and when I had them pour the lower deck we dug down 4' or more where the posts were going to be.

I did it in one of those software packages you see at Staples, BH&G Deck Designer I think.

Now that you mention it though I'm kind of worried, I can't find where I wrote down where the posts were! Lol I'm going to have to have someone come in and shoot some seismic in my back yard to figure out where I put the posts.

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Old 06-11-2012, 12:13 PM   #20
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I think he is putting in posts, they just don't show up on the drawing.
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