When I rebuilt the main deck last year, the area to the east remained unfinished. I had put a temporary platform and a step but we wanted an area for the grills. Originally we considered using concrete but that was going to be too expensive and too much labor.
We decided to build a simple ground level deck. This deck is not attached to the house or the existing deck so it can rest on the ground without footings. Once we finish the landscaping it will be a perfect place to grill and/or access the yard.
I started out by removing the rock and sod from where we were going to build. Then I backfilled the area with crushed limestone. It is easy to work with and when it gets wet it kind of sets up. With Cary’s help, we used a transit and a raketo give it a slight slope away from the house then packed it in. We laid a sheet of plastic over the limestone before we started framing. This was the final step on the first day.
Cary came over to help with the construction. The frame was built out of ground contact treated lumber. The base was almost perfectly level east to west so no adjustments were required. We were able to use blocks to level the deck north and south without impacting the slope of the base. One complication was the egress window. We had to frame around it since it is required for the basement.
Once the frame was complete, we then laid done the cedar deck boards. This went pretty quickly until we got to the egress window and after that it went slower because I had to custom cut each board. That ended our second day.
I then built a step, which was only attached to the new deck.
There are still several steps required to finish the new deck.
Wow, quite a project. I can’t determine if you will step on the platform at the bottom of the step, or is it set back away from the step?charthiel
The step is on top of the platform so walking down you end up on the platform.