Large Decking Patio with additional balustrade railings..

Large Patio Deck with Balustrades for Safety

This decking area in Bromley served several purposes. As well as providing a large decked area for general use, the decking extended the usable area of the near garden near to the house. The decking also blended into a raised patio area which was surrounded by deck balustrades. Building regulations were not 'certified off' until there was safe access egress from the new extension down into the garden.

The deck was overshadowed by a huge Cedar tree - which had a Tree Preservation Order, so care was required not to cause any problems or stress to the tree during deck work.

The new patio deck was laid over the top of the existing well secured paved patio.

There was a safety issue with the Building Controls Officer, relating to the newly completed extension - seen at the right hand side. It was considered that there was not a safe access and egress to and from the patio and extension, with perceived danger from the height of the raised patio area.

The area before we started the decking works.

The safety concerns of the Building Controls Officer were addressed by including additional balustrade railings and a small decking stair case to the raised patio area. In the event, this blended well into the proposed decking patio on the lower section.

Below sees the start of the sub deck being laid - using stout 50x150mm timbers. The whole deck was elevated slightly above the old patio in order to bring the deck up to a suitable level for the existing steps and also to minimise the height between the raised patio and new deck area.

Timber supports were installed at no less than 1m in each direction as the decking progressed. Carrying out the supporting legs as a large deck progresses allows for easy final levelling of the deck frame as the substantial deckboards have a bracing and levelling action on the sub deck structure.

Two small staircases led down to the garden from the deck - which was slightly raised to around 600mm (2ft) at the far end.

The raised patio was given a 'decking' feel with the addition of balustrades. A staircase led down from the raised patio to the main deck.