Looking for a simple deck and awning tutorial
Hi everyone,
I live in a 28 foot tiny house on wheels in Oregon. I am going to build a basic deck and awning that will not be attached to the home.
My front door is two feet off the ground so I plan to have the deck just short of this height.
I want to keep the budget low as possible for this. Because it is not subject to code, I think I can go a little bit lighter on the framing, as long as its safe.
I plan to use Doug Fir 2x4s for everything covered by the roof, will use a clear panel for the roof (perhaps polycarbonate?), and concrete deck blocks for the foundation.
I have been trying to find a good online tutorial (video or pdf) to follow during the build.
To give you a better idea of what I would like, here is a great example: https://www.contemporist.com/interior-of-tiny-house-has-two-lofted-bedrooms/
Does anyone have any guides/resources I can follow?
Thank you!
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Replies
“I plan to use Doug Fir 2x4s for everything”
How long do you want it to last? Untreated fur exposed to the weather could be rotten in year 2 or less with ground contact.
“Because it is not subject to code, I think I can go a little bit lighter on the framing, as long as its safe.”
General the code is written in blood they wore it because someone died. Sure you could change the spacing on the frame from 16 to 19.2 inches and save 16% on framing lumber but will you buy thicker decking or live with a spongy deck that sags if you step in between the joists?
Be careful light weight structures with large roofs and open wall sometime take flight.
Note most low cost clear plastics often turn yellow or foggy quickly (3 years or so) when exposed to sunlight.
Hey walta, yes I will do 16 OC and I will use cedar or treated umber for the base/ground contact but will use regular 2x4 doug fir for the floor. It will be covered by the awning. I will put some weatherproof paint or sealant over it.
Does anyone have any tutorials or instructions I could follow?
That was the main purpose of this post :)
I would be cautious about what you determine to be subject to building codes or not. A detached deck 18" off the ground would not be subject to the code that I work with, but as soon as it is attached to the structure, or has a roof, it will be subject to code. The roof in particular should be designed and built with care because it is subject to snow and wind loading. As stated above, a roof that is not well connected to earth can blow away resulting in damage and possible injury.
Hey Bob,
I mean, I live in the country on 80 acres of land. My tiny house is not to code. Most people who live out in the country do these types of things all the time. So I'm not really too worried about that.
And yes, the beams for the roof will be in the ground.
Hi grey wolf,
Did you mean that all the decking would be 2x4 doug fir, or the support structure as well?
If it’s the former, I can confirm that it does in fact work. I’m on year 4 of a 14x20 ground level deck that has 2x4s as the actual decking. They’ve held up well, despite a year’s lapse in sealing them. At the time it was a function of how cheap they were, and how (relatively speaking) poor we were. I’m not sure I’d do it again if I had the means. That said, it can work.
The structure itself is made of PT lumber with concrete block footings. There is one span that’s spaced differently than the rest that is about 24” oc. It feels bouncy, which doesn’t bother me at a ground level, but certainly would if I was even 18” up in the air.
A final note about the decking. I tried to use the Kreg hidden deck fasteners that were left over from my dad’s deck project. They didn’t have enough holding power to resist a few boards from twisting. I ended up using top-down fasteners on those, and it was fine, but if I had to do it over again I would start by using top-down screws.
The photo below is as of a few months ago, but after a sanding and water seal.
Edit: it is freestanding and not attached to the shop
Thanks for sharing! Did you follow any type of instructions online or just wing it?
Because we are a tiny house on wheels, I want to build a deck that is somewhat portable. I was thinking of building 4 deck pads with 8 footers, then attaching 3 of those together to lay over the subfloor.
No problem. I mostly used Fine Homebuilding articles as reference. There’s a really nice Deck project guide on their site that i wish they’d had when I built mine. Definitely worth checking out.
Just to clarify, if the top of the deck pressure treated as well or just regular green doug fir? I plan to use regular doug fir on the top and seal it. What product did you use?
The house being 24 inches off the ground with a 6-8 inch step down leave you in place where a railing is likely not required by code but would still be a hazard should someone step over the edge.
Google will find you lots of sites on how to build a deck.
Walta
Thanks Walta. One other question I am still researching.
Since I will be going with doug fir, I will seal it with some waterproofing. Do you have a reccomended product?
I also plen to seal each board on all 6 sides before isntalling.
https://www.mycarpentry.com/build-your-own-deck.html