We’ll be building a 300sf deck at ground level with 2×6 PT joists and Trex materials. There was a poorly maintained lawn in this area that is mostly scrub height.
Any suggestions on preparing the ground area to prevent future growth from creeping back up through the decking? There are numerous weed killers available, but are these products permanent enough?
Thanks for any advice!
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Replies
Did you check on the Trex site for ventilation guidelines under their material?
I wouldn't do it. Ground level wood decks don't do well. You can do pavers faster and probably cheaper and never have to worry about the rot you can't see.
I have a ground-level deck that I put in some 15 years ago and don't have weed one coming up through it. What I did was lay a geotextile on the bottom of the excavation and then put in a couple inches of 1/4'' crushed gravel to serve as a base for 2'' x 16'' x 16'' concrete pavers on which the Bankirai sleepers are fastened. The reason I used a wooden deck was that it is part of a terrace that has an in-grade hot tub that requires maintenance access below and I didn't want to switch materials. I have another terrace with pavers and what I don't like is that the pavers settle individually - not much but enough to allow a stiff chair or table to rock.
A few years ago I put in a ground level deck using the same method except the sleepers are angelim amargoso and the deck boards are Brazilian walnut (Ipè). No weeds here either and the best thing is that I only had to excavate around 8 inches. The deck is supported on one side by a ledger on the foundation wall so there's no subsidence there. On the other sides it can go down if it wants but the yard will go down too so it doesn't matter. Had we built a terrace with pavers, we would have excavated 30 inches to get enough foundation rock in. The attached photos are of this newer deck.