My new Deck.....

I just finished putting a deck/patio out the back of the villa.

We just bought the place last year and didn't plan on doing anything but the NT government was giving away money for home improvements....

We had to choose between making the deck or turning the carport into a third bedroom. Anywhere else you'd go the third bedroom everytime, but up here a deck is really important cause it's hot and its where you do most of your living.

Its also our PPOR and wife wanted a deck.

She wins and she has a point.

Anyway, after 6 months we've ended up with this...(sorry for the crappy photo)



This is my first reno but using some of the insights from here I was able to cheat a little.

By building the roof high and over the top of the roof I was able to use uninsulated colorbond. The hot air escapes out of the gap and its high enough that air does all the insulating. Works brilliantly and saved us about 5k in materials.

I'm also on rock. Drilling holes for the posts is super expensive but I was able to get around that by bolting the posts to a concrete slab. It was cheaper to get the patio and the slab than just the patio with posts in the ground.

The posts bolted into the concrete is ugly as sin but we got around that with hardwood decking tiles. The tiles covered up all the bolts, a drain, three different types of concrete and give the illusion of much more space. They are expensive ($110m2) but it's made up for the fact that any idiot (specifically this idiot) can install them over a weekend. No labor costs. It also meant that we only needed to install a 3 x 5m roof instead of a 4 x 5 as the original pokey 1m under the eves is now usable.

Anyway, we're stoked. It's truly a life changing reno. Our usable space has increased a huge amount, (big deck on small villa) and its where we spend most of our time. As a bonus we just got it valued and the value of our place has gone up by the 20k it cost to do. This is kinda amazing considering the the rest of Darwin dropped by about 10 percent.

Big thanks to @Jess Peletier for setting everything up so we could buy and had the cash ready to take up the government's offer of helicopter money. And indirectly @Leo2413 for posting a Warren buffet video suggesting I forget about trying to know everything about all markets. Pick something I know and have a swing at it.

 

It looks excellent! Nothing better than a deck on a hot day, we live on ours as well. Nice work!

 

Totally! and EVERY day is a hot day up here....

 

Good job @hammer ! Looks great. Impressed you did alot of it yourself. I'm lucky to get a nail in a piece of wood straight..

 

Looks really good! I've always been keen to build a big deck.

 

Well done! You will certainly get usage out of that deck area. Nothing better than doing a project yourself (self satisfying). Your climate lends itself to outside living.

Cheers.

 

Great job! Now you have
1) an even better ppor
2) more confidence to do some of the reno work on your future IPs
3) happy wife

 

no need for a holiday either - looks like your own little mini resort - love it

 

Looks great, I LOVE those decking tiles!

 

Thanks! Those tiles have been quite the discovery. Turns any concrete slab into a slick deck. I think it's a strategy I'll be employing in the future.

If anyone else out there is keen to try them, you get them from here. They cut them at a saw mill in Casino NSW and deliver them anywhere in the country.

 

That's a really fabulous deck. I'm jealous!! Enjoy using it as it rolls into summer!

 

What a great addition. Good thinking to float the roof so air can escape. The decking tiles look fabulous. They just clip together?

 

Yeah. The tiles themselves are all hardwood. They come with plastic feet that join everything together and raise it off the ground. You can see the round feet in this photo below.

 

And if you sell the PPOR, you just write into the contract that you're taking them with you.

 

Ha!

 

@hammer the deck and pool look so good, no need to go on a holiday, you can just chill in your backyard.

Do you know if the decking tiles can be used as a temporary solution in a dated bathroom? Or would there be ventilation issues? Ikea also has some cheap decking tiles.

 

Not sure...but I like your thinking though! Maybe it would work if you used a kick-*** sealer?

As far as cheap decking tiles go though...they are a false economy. After months of research I discovered that any of the decking tiles with plastic backs fall to bits over time, often after a couple of months.

It actually works out cheaper over time to get the good hardwood ones.

 

Looks fantastic! Those tiles are a great idea!

 

Where did you get your Hardwood tiles from

 

What do you do if the concrete slab isn't quite level??