Concrete - Brick - Stone - Patio - Driveway & Paving.

How to Build a Deck Over a Concrete Patio. Before! Badly damaged slab. A concrete slab in this condition has to be either broken up and carted away or decked over. Windows 7 Fully Activated Genuine Working Post Rar. This was the ultimate bad patio: severely cracked and cratered, some areas raised by frost, others sunken after 5. Originally, it was tiled, then the tile was chiseled off and the pockmarked surface got a coatof paint. A slab with this much damage can’t be fixed. But it can be covered up—and this article will show you how.

The results look just like a deck, but getting them is much easier and less expensive than building a deck from scratch. In most cases, this project is also less expensive than a new patio installed by a contractor. Local contractors estimated costs of $7 to $1. You could probably replace your patio yourself for less than the cost of this project, but DIY demolition and concrete pours are big, backbreaking jobs. Will It Work On Your Patio? Even if your patio is in terrible shape, you can deck over it. Cracks, craters and seasonal movement along cracks are no problem.

But beware of these three situations: If an area is badly cracked and sinks noticeably year after year, any decking you put over it will also sink and develop a low spot. In most cases, settling concrete stops sinking eventually, so delay this project until it does. Balika Vadhu 4Th May 2012 Written Update Kumkum here. This project raises the level of your patio by 2- 1/2 to 3- 1/2 in.

• A paver patio can withstand heavy traffic and requires little maintenance. It's a great addition to any yard and only takes about a weekend to complete.
• Concrete pavers can be a great way to turn an old concrete slab into a beautiful paver patio, and expand your outdoor living space at the same time.

So any door thresholds adjoining the patio must be at least that far above the concrete. If not, this project won’t work for you. If you live in a climate where the ground freezes, allow an extra 1/2 in.

Paver Search dot com. Paver Search is the ultimate resource for pavers and paver products. An information network of professional contractors, dealers and designers. We decided to take on the task of a 450 square foot DIY concrete patio. Read here to find out some helpful tip so you can do your own. Brock PaverBase: the new and better way to build your paver patio or path. Available at The Home Depot, Lowe’s and Menards. We cover here ten steps on installing interlocking concrete pavers: 1. Planning the project; 2. Underground investigations.

To keep step heights equal, you’ll have to raise the treads by the same distance you raise the patio (2- 1/2 to 3- 1/2 in.). On concrete steps, that’s a straightforward job: You can treat them just like the patio, screwing sleepers to the treads and risers and decking over them. Time, money and tools. Covering a patio with decking typically takes a weekend or two. This patio took much more time—five long days.

That’s partly because it’s a big one (1. The grid pattern formed with different- colored decking also added a few hours to the job. But the biggest time factor was the unevenness of the patio surface. All those ridges and sunken spots meant hours of tedious shimming under the sleepers to form a flat surface for thedecking (see Photo 3). The cost of this project depends mostly on the decking you choose. Decking ranges from about $1.

The other materials for this project add up to about $1. For looks and durability, we used two different colors of decking made from PVC, but there are less expensive alternatives. Aside from standard carpentry tools, you’ll need a hammer drill for this project. You can get a hammer drill for less than $5. But consider spending $1.

Even a very small patio will require more than 5. Also consider buying an impact driver.

Impact drivers pack a lot more torque than standard drills or drivers and will drive concrete screws much better. Most models are cordless, but you can still find inexpensive corded models online.

Figure A: Deck Over a Patio. Sleepers screwed to the concrete allow you to screw on decking. Spacers and flashing tape protect sleepers from moisture and rot.

Fascia boards hide exposed edges for a neater look. For a, printable version of Figure A, see Additional Information, below. Figure A: Deck over a patio. Plan the layout. Photo 1: Start with a layout. Mark the sleeper locations on the patio. Don’t forget about extra sleepers to support stairs or railings.

The layout of your sleepers will depend on the layout of your decking. If you want a standard decking design—all the deck boards running one direction—all you need are rows of parallel sleepers. If you want a more complicated decking pattern, like the one shown here, you’ll need doubled sleepers to support any boards that run perpendicular to the others (see Figure A). We also installed sleepers to support the steps we later added to the concrete stoop (see Photo 1).

Solve Water Problems First. This corner of the patio had settled by more than 2 in. That meant a big reservoir after rain—and water in the basement. So we filled the reservoir with exterior- grade self- leveling compound. After the first batch hardened, we poured on a thin coat and gave it a slight slope so water would run away from the house. Self- leveling compound hardens fast, so you can get on with the project. But it’s also expensive.

If you’re not in a rush, you can get similar results for less than one- third the cost with concrete topping mix such as Sakrete Top . To prevent water from seeping down along the foundation, we caulked the gap between the patio and the house. At the other end of the patio, a corner of the slab had sunk slightly below the level of the soil and rainwater pooled there.

To correct that, we shaved off the sod with a spade, dug out a couple of inches of soil and replaced the sod. Water problem. Lay the sleepers. Photo 2: Predrill for concrete screws. Drill through sleepers, spacers and into the concrete with a hammer drill, then drive in concrete screws. Overhang the sleepers along one edge of the patio and trim them to exact length later.

Photo 3: Screw down and flatten the sleepers. Check for flatness with a straightedge.

Raise low spots with shims. At high spots, skip the spacer; stack up shims instead. The sleepers don’t have to be level& dash; they can follow the slope of your patio. But they do need to form a flat plane. If your patio is in good shape, you’ll get a flat plane automatically. If your patio has ridges and sunken areas, you’ll spend lots of time fussing with shims.

To preview the situation, lay a straight board across the patio in a few spots. Look for the highest hump in the patio and fasten your first sleeper there. Then work outward from the high spot, adding sleepers and checking for flatness along each sleeper and across them. Add shims to raise low spots. Screwing down sleepers with concrete screws (Photo 2) is simple, but there are some things to keep in mind: Screws should penetrate the concrete by at least 1 in., so 3- 1/4- in. In low spots, where we had to stack up shims, we switched to 3- 3/4- in. That slows you down, strains your drill and overheats the bit.

To clear the dust, pull the bit completely out of the hole once or twice while drilling each hole. Drill the holes 1/4 to 1/2 in. Extra depth provides a space for dust and grit, so screws are easier to drive. Have extra drill bits on hand. As a bit wears, it doesn’t just drill more slowly; it also bores a slightly smaller hole and screws become harder to drive.

We replaced each bit after about 4. When all the sleepers are screwed down, take a few minutes to double- check for flatness. If you find spots that are 1/1.

Here’s why: Spacers let you run sleepers parallel to the house so decking can run perpendicular to the house (if that’s what you prefer). A patio typically slopes away from the house so that water runs off. If you run sleepers parallel to the house and set them directly on the concrete, each sleeper will block runoff. But with spacers, water can run under the sleepers. Spacers allow for longer decking screws. We wanted to use Cortex screws, which come with cover plugs made from the same material as the decking. They’re easy to use and almost invisible.

But they’re 2- 3/4 in. If kept damp, common grades of treated wood will eventually rot. Spacers keep the sleepers off the damp concrete so they can dry. Install the decking. Photo 4: Lay the decking. Install the deck boards just as you would on a standard deck. When you reach the end of the patio, position the last board, mark the overhanging sleepers and trim off the excess.

Before decking, we covered the sleepers with flashing tape. Without it, water soaks the tops of the sleepers and the decking prevents the wood from drying. Common grades of treated lumber will rot if kept permanently damp, and flashing tape is the best insurance against that.