Should A Deck Attached To A House Be Sloped
jimmiem
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
Should a deck that is attached to a house be sloped so that rain water will run away from the house? My neighbor just had his deck replaced and commented that after the first rainfall he came out of the house onto the deck and his feet got soaked from the standing rain water. I suggested that he ask the builder about it. I’ve been under the impression that decks should have a slight slope. I went to another building forum and the majority said that decks should be level. Does my neighbor’s situation make the case for sloping decks? If the rain water doesn’t flow off what will happen in cold weather when there is freezing rain?
Replies
If the deck is a solid surface it should be sloped. (I would think this is required by code.) If it's spaced planks (such that rain can run between) then the sloping is generally unnecessary.
It's Azek. Decking runs perpendiclar to the house. I saw it but don't recall if the Azek boards are spaced.
The planks are spaced and made of Azek. It rained earlier today and the planks have standing water on them. My neighbor is pretty sure the builder will not redo anything so he has resigned himself to using a squeegee to remove the standing water. This should be fun come the cold weather when it rains and then freezes.
It's important to distinguish between the situation of large drops of water standing on the plastic boards, vs water actually pooling somehow.
With new plastic lumber the way water reacts with the surface means that water will bead up in large droplets vs flowing off as it would on wood. This situation should improve as the plastic weathers.
Puddles
There are good sized puddles. Hopefully things will get better over time....but I don't see how.
Jim
For a level deck with adequate spacing to hold water more than an hour, would not the boards have to be cupped and capped at the ends?
Calvin,
The boards are not capped at the ends. I've used Azek but am not familiar with Azek Deck Boards. Are you suggesting that the boards may be cupped because of the fact that water still sits on them several hours after the rain has stopped?
sponge bob
Why does your neighbor need a squeege when he seems to be mopping surface water up perfectly fine with his socks?
It's a large deck and he has to keep changing into dry socks to complete the job. His wife does the laundry and isn't happy with the fact that she now has to pair up additional socks. He figured a squegee would get the water off the deck quicker and lessen his wife's laundry work.....win win.
go greener
Maybe he should save his dirty socks for this operation. This way he can get a free pre-soak laundry cycle and be more "green" with his household energy consumption.
After raising 3 children his wife has gotten into the habit of picking up dirty clothes when she finds them so it wold be impossible for him to keep dirty socks around unless he found a really good hiding place. Even if he did find a good hiding place this would be a one and done deal because his wife would know 'something was up' if the weekly wash didn't contain 7 pairs of socks. As nobody has said that making the deck level is a definite no-no I don't think the builder will make any modifications... so a squeegee it will be. Maybe that will be his Father's Day gift.
Note that it would take a substantial slope on the deck to prevent water droplets from standing on the surface. The slope would simply prevent "pooling".
Pooling
I went to see the deck after it had rained. There were pools.....lots of them. It almost looked like the deck boards were cupped and holding the water. They'll have to be very careful come winter when we getting freezing rain. He'll need a full body sock in case he lands on his backside.
Lay a straight-edge across some of the boards and see what you find.
At this point I think I need to go low/no profile. As I mentioned, the builder is also a neighbor. I am friendlier with the neighbor who had the deck built and suggested that he ask the builder/neighbor about the standing water as he is the pro.
Oh, and tell your neighbor if he buys like two dozen pairs of socks, all of the same style and color, then his wife will have an easier time mating them up.
howdy you old farts!
hope you all have been well.
Jim, I allways have decks built level and plumb (or as close as they can). are the deck boards spaced out?
if so, then tell him to not walk out bare foot right after it rains if he doesnt want his feet wet.
how much of a slope does your friend think is needed to shed all water off a deck immediatly after it rains? guarantee you he would be asking why in the hell did this builder put a 20% fall on this deck if that was the case...
There is space between the boards. He didn't expect the deck to be bone dry after rain but also didn't expect the puddles. I too was surprised at the amount of standing water. Don't know if level or sloping is correct....that is builder's area of expertise.
Once again, water will tend to "bead up" more on plastic lumber vs wood. But the situation should improve somewhat as the lumber weathers a bit.
There may be some sort of treatment out there to improve this.
It's Azek decking. My big concern would be icing in the Fall/Winter.....we're in Massachusetts. There is a step right outside the house door that opens onto the deck and it held a big puddle.
Sounds like a defective product rather than an installation error. I'd contact Azek.
Good Point
Thank you. I'll pass your recommendation along.
I've never sloped one but it sounds like your neighbor has some sort of special problem. At this point I'd go ahead and drop the outer edge enough to get the water off.