I'm a home contractor.

Today.

We're gonna be building a small floating deck around this tree to be a great place to entertain your friends and family this summer.

It's a smaller deck, so it's perfect for do it yourselfers.

I'm here to show you how to do it.

Right.

A floating deck means that it's not attached to the house.

Our deck is gonna be a low lying deck.

It's gonna be about 12 inches above the ground when we get done.

Now, because our deck is less than 200 square feet and it won't be attached to the house.

You don't have to go below the frost line for our foundation, which is gonna be good for us because we're definitely gonna run into a lot of tree roots.

You're gonna want check with your local building department to see if a permit is required for this type of deck.

They'll give you the size limitations and where you can sighted on your yard.

Our deck only needs to be 18 inches off the property line.

All right, We're gonna have a little bit of digging for this project.

Whenever you dig, You want to call 811 so they can mark any underground utilities before you begin.

The plan for our deck is to use paper base and concrete deck blacks as the foundation.

Then we'll install two by six Joyce right on top of the blacks.

We'll use paver base and cap blocks to support the step.

Then we'll add the decking and finished off the facial boards on this type of project.

I'd like to lay it out ahead of time to see how it's gonna look.

Our deck is gonna be 14 foot by 14 foot, so I've laid those out with the tape measure I made up.

Some batter board's gonna put these in just outside where the deck is gonna be.

I pound these in pounded and make sure it's tight and I take my string line, tie it right around the batter board.

Then I'm gonna run it out to my better board down here.

I'm going to measure off the sidewalk the death of our step and make a mark on the batter board.

Continue setting up the strengths melody of my better boards and my strings in and had my layout in all my dimensions.

I'm gonna check and make sure that it's square.

This is easy to do by using the 345 method.

Measure three feet along one string and make a mark, Then mark four feet along the adjacent strength.

Adjust the strings until the diagonal equals five feet.

Now your corner square, you can mark the corners with small stakes.

Gonna do one last check to make sure it's perfectly square.

With the help of Mark, I'm gonna measure the diagonals.

Okay, the diagonals should be equal for a square layout.

I'll also marked the lines for the deck blacks.

They'll be in three rows.

The first row will be about a foot from the front edge.

There'll be a row in the middle and a row near the back edge.

Now that the deck is laid out, we can start to remove this side.

Now.

This is an optional step, but it's a good idea to keep weeds from growing up through the deck.

One way to do it is with the shovel, but it's gonna take us quite a while, or you can use a rented side cutter to use it.

Adjust the blade, engage it, engage the wheels and squeeze the throttle right.

Now that we have our side removed, we're gonna start setting our concrete deck blocks.

These are a great alternative to concrete foundations.

They still hold your deck up off the ground.

They could hold your framing members horizontally.

Or if you have a post for a higher deck, it could hold it vertically like this.

But always check your local building codes before you start for our deck will use blocks to the end of each choice and a few to hold up our center beam.

You can also go without the center beam and use more blocks under each choice for more support.

Our decks gonna be about 12 inches above the ground.

Reference that off this patio, we're gonna have one step here, so I'm gonna measure level, measure the height off my patio.

Then I'll know what height I need to set these blacks.

So my framing will be at the correct height.

I can tell.

I need to raise the black just a bit with paper base.

Now, I'm gonna start digging a trench so I could put my paper base in so I can set my blacks you don't need to go to deep.

I'll use some of the leftover soil to fill in the low spots.

Next on, install some landscape fabric with spikes.

The roots will still be able to get water and air.

I use a few inches of paper based in the bottom of the trenches and tamp it down with a tamper lay paver base for each row of blacks.

Now that I have my paper based in place, I want to check.

Make sure that all three rows are level to each other.

So I use this long to buy six and my level to check them.

And they are level all the way down.

And this is level.

Okay, we're good to go.

I can start setting my concrete deck blocks.

Put him down in place.

We're gonna take this two by six, set it in place.

We're gonna check it for level.

That looks pretty good.

If one block is too low, we could put a little paper base underneath it.

If it's too high to take a little bit out, we'll do the same in the back.

Now that we have our four outside corner blocks set and level.

Gonna set the inside ones.

I'm gonna check him.

I cut aboard.

Here.

That fits in between.

We're gonna set it on top.

Here we go.

Okay, Now I can see right away.

The centre wants a little high, so I'm gonna take this out.

Mark's gonna hold that for me.

Wiggle that.

We're gonna test it.

Check with my level.

Right on.

We're gonna check the other side.

All right, That looks good.

We got our pruner blocks set on level tomorrow.

We're gonna come back and start framing.

We'll start working on our framing today.

I'm going to use pressure treated lumber, zinc coated hardware and galvanized nails.

The pressure she had lumbers gonna resist decay.

And the coded hardware is gonna resist.

Rusting for our framing will have one long Joyce at each side sitting on blacks, the rim Joyce will attach to these boards.

We'll also have a center beams supported by a few deck.

Blacks are floor.

Joyce will sit on blocks near the rim and attached to the center with Joyce.

Hangers on the outside will secure double enjoys to the rims and you sleepers along each side.

Now I'm gonna start laying out my rim.

Joyce would be 13 foot three inches.

Come down here and we'll make a mark.

Take my hand.

E speed square, the light line there.

I always check my factory and make sure it's square Before I start.

Take my circular saw.

I measure from the edge here to the edge of the shoe, and I see it's five inches.

Take the line that I've already drawn.

Come back five inches, put my speed square on that mark.

Their use my speed square toe, Hold my sauce straight while I make the cut way.

Now that we have are framing cut to length when it starts to lay out for the Joyce, First thing I'd do is Clanton together so they don't move while we're doing our lay out.

Make sure everything's accurate.

Our first choice will be on the center.

I'm in a measure.

I know I have 159 inches.

Measure here.

79 a half Measure this way.

Check my dimension.

Take my speed square layout for the first choice.

That's right on center that measure sixteens both ways.

Once I have my Joyce locations marked, take my speed square transfer those lines across all three framing members.

Now that I had that laid out ready to start putting it together, take our center beam, slide it into place.

Okay, That that set in, Ready to start screwing together.

But first I want to check.

Make sure we're proper distance off our property line.

We go 20 inches.

Perfect.

Okay, now we're ready to start putting it together.

I'm gonna transfer my line from the top of the board down on the face of the board.

This is gonna be the center of my Joyce.

Now, these screws are weather resistant.

Very good.

They're self drillers.

What I like to do is pre drill it.

Make it easier for you down the road.

I like to stay about an inch down from either EJ.

Okay, Now, Mark's gonna help me hold this up in place.

Put this line right on the center of my Joyce.

Take my coded decks.

Crew, make sure the top is flush.

My screws in now.

I'm ready to go the other side now.

I want to mark the location for my center beam off the front rim.

Joyce, come back 83 a half inches.

I can see my blocks a little bit off.

Slide it back till it lines up.

Then we'll set the other blocks under the center beam.

Make sure everything was level and secure the screws.

Now that we have all our perimeter framing in place, we're gonna make sure it's square by using the diagonal method.

Remember, the diagonals should be equal.

206 and 1/2 inches.

206 and 1/2 inches.

We know our frames square.

Now we're gonna lock it together with two by four braces and some screws and check the frame for love.

Now that we have are framing in place, we're gonna start to lay out the hangar.

Joyce, I'm gonna take my center line that I marked earlier and move over three course an inch, both ways.

This is going to make it easier for me to line up the choice hangers later on.

Take my speed square, extend these lines down.

We could start to install our Joyce hangers.

These air Joyce screws.

Make sure your hangers flush with the bottom now per your local codes.

Every hole in the Joyce hangar needs to have a fastener another convenient thing.

This little block I've made to help line up Joyce Hangar.

As you work along, it'll make sure you line up the bottom every time.

You can also use nails.

Another great tool that'll speed up the process.

Is this pneumatic Paul Mailer Just set the nail on the magnetic tip pressed into the hole, and the tool drives the nail into the wood.

We've removed the corner braces.

We're gonna set the concrete block down.

I've got all the intermediate Joyce cuts, the length we're gonna test fit here.

See the blocks A little bit high, so we're gonna just it down a little bit.

Wiggle that.

This Joyce is flush.

We're gonna go down and check the rest down a little bit.

Okay, Good.

All our blocks are in place.

We're ready to start setting the intermediate Joyce into the hangers.

We want to check each board.

Wood has a little bit of arch to it.

You want to look down the board and see which side crowns up?

That's the side.

You want to keep up.

This looks like it has a little bit of crown to it, so I'm gonna set it in place like this fits like a glove.

Ah, we planned our framing so that it would go around the tree.

Now I'm gonna add some framing on either side to carry our deck boards, which we would install later.

Wanna hold those a few inches off the tree to allow for growth?

My framing square on here.

Make a mark.

That's going to be outside of my framing.

Same thing on this side.

Mark.

Here, in here for my framing around the tree.

I notched out the bottom a little bit using a jigsaw.

This will allow the tree to grow.

I'm gonna double it up.

But this one and I'm gonna use Double Joyce hangar to install it, huh?

For larger trees or longer, Joyce spans.

Double up the framing all the way around the tree.

You can even use special hangers to attach framing at the corners.

Now we're going to install RN Joyce.

Ready Mark.

I'm doubling up the end, Joyce for a stronger frame.

Then I'll add sleepers to provide extra support.

Then I'll attach corner brackets inside the frame.