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Hanging Stone from a Deck

Dreamcatcher | Posted in Construction Techniques on July 6, 2009 04:01am

I’ve been going back and forth about this and cannot decide on a good method:

I have a deck that sits directly on concrete piers that are flush with the rim joist of the deck which is actually a triple 2×10 girt. The deck sits 12″ off the ground. I would like to stone veneer from the ground to the top of the girt.

I was thinking of building a short conventional frame wall ( a ladder) and lagging it to the underside of the girt and using expansion anchors into the concrete piers, then covering the wall and girt with cement board then the stone veneer.

The thing I am worried about with this is that the ground could heave and push up on my little wall thereby heaving my deck and busting off the veneer.

Does this sound appropriate?
Anyone got a better idea or done anything like this before?

DC

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Replies

  1. davidmeiland | Jul 06, 2009 05:21pm | #1

    My concern would be that the lumber sandwiched together for the girder, and the lumber used for the wall you are proposing will both rot out, in spite of it being PT. With a deck that low you want as much airflow under and thru it as possible. Adding the stone facing will shorten the life of the deck.

    1. User avater
      Dreamcatcher | Jul 06, 2009 07:14pm | #3

      I never even thought about decreased air flow becoming an issue, maybe if I vented the deck in a few spots....I've made fireplace vents out of stone before, I could do the same thing on the deck skirt. FWIW: all my PT is fresh .60 treated CCA that was left over from a gov job so at least it is better than store bought stuff.Thanks.DC

  2. Henley | Jul 06, 2009 05:30pm | #2

    Not sure I'd go that route myself but if you must-

    It's common practice to put a layer of rigid insulation under
    cultured stone when laying to grade. as the frost pushes it around
    the insulation just gets crushed (hopefully).

    Perhaps you could carry the idea further and go under your little
    curtain wall also. Kind of like a frost protected slab.

    1. User avater
      Dreamcatcher | Jul 06, 2009 07:31pm | #4

      I actually played with the thought of pouring a little grade beam/shallow footing then blocking up to the girder and frost protecting both sides. It just seems like way too much time and money.I never heard of using rigid as a cushion layer? I did put a veneer skirt around a house once and used flexible 4" drain tile as a drainage/cushion layer.what if I just hung the wall and left it about 1-1/2" above grade? Then maybe filled the gap with some What other rout would you go?DC

      1. Henley | Jul 06, 2009 08:03pm | #5

        Yeah, the cushion layer is fairly common around
        these parts. I'm just not sure about hanging it off the deck. Those stones do
        pop off if your not careful. I'd want any and all flex or
        sway done away with . The 1 1/2" gap is what every home owner hates. It just looks fake.

        1. User avater
          Dreamcatcher | Jul 06, 2009 10:36pm | #6

          "The 1 1/2" gap is what every home owner hates."Actually the spec for OC Cultured Stone is 4"That's why I put 4" drain tile underneath on the other project; then had the landscapers cover it with mulch up to the stone. The 1-1/2 was just my idea for this part of the project. I suppose I could do the tile thing again but I wouldn't have anything to tie it into and there isn't any mulch on this project to cover it.DC

  3. Piffin | Jul 06, 2009 11:55pm | #7

    Another thing to be concerned about is that neither cement board not man made stone is appropriate for ground contact.

    As for your main Q, the only way I'd want to have that to the ground is with a 12" trench of peastone

     

     

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    1. User avater
      Dreamcatcher | Jul 07, 2009 03:29am | #8

      Thanks, I will consider the trench idea.DC

      1. Piffin | Jul 07, 2009 02:26pm | #9

        If you have clay soils, include a perf drain to carry water away. otherwise it becomes a bathtub holding water to freeze and expand. but keep it dry and the peastone can shift around 

         

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