ADVICE » DECKING » Grass or soil
If the patio is planned on an existing piece of ground, lawn or meadow, there are two main challenges when planning the substrate: Neither should grass grow through the joints of the patio later on, nor should the patio sink in places. Lawn soil is usually loose and moisture does not always seep away well. This could lead to undermining at load-bearing points.
These serve as a support for the substructure. The spacing of the support points is determined by the span of the respective substructure.
This layer ensures good drainage of the water and allows the foundation stones to be leveled.
The fleece prevents plant growth under the wooden decking and is water-permeable. If gravel has already been laid, the fleece can also be laid on the gravel layer.
This is usually the water-bearing layer. Care must be taken to ensure that the water flows away from the house and does not form a lake.
It must be ensured that the ground is firm and that rainwater can seep away and that grass no longer grows on the area.
How do you proceed? The simplest solution is to compact the soil by vibrating it. For example, with a vibratory plate, which can be rented from DIY stores. To prevent grass and weeds from growing, the next step is to lay weed fleece over the entire surface of the patio.
To prevent the substructure of the terrace from resting directly on the ground – which would make it susceptible to waterlogging – exposed aggregate concrete slabs, strip foundations or other foundation stones can be laid as supports. The spacing of the supports depends on the span of the substructure. You will find out how far apart the support points should be laid out in the next step of these building instructions for laying the foundation.
With a sufficient number of support points, you can ensure that the weight of the decking is well distributed at the support points and also create enough space between the floor and the wood so that the decking is well ventilated and can dry quickly. To further increase the distance to the ground, terrace pedestals/ pedestal supports can now be placed on the stone slabs.
If you want to ensure that water can seep away easily, it is worth putting in a little more effort: to do this, excavate between 30 and 80 cm of the terrace. In any case, enough so that the root area of the lawn is removed and enough space remains for a seepage layer. First fill the area with gravel.
This is followed by a slightly flatter layer of gravel, which is covered with weed fleece. This is followed by supports in the form of exposed aggregate concrete slabs, strip foundations or other foundation stones. The supports are designed according to the spans of the substructure.
The substructure is aligned straight using a spirit level and alignment board. Unevenness can be compensated for with additional decking pads, offcuts or by adjusting the decking feet.
Table of contents
Overview of the process
Calculate demand
Calculate costs
Order wood samples
Wood decking shipping
Temporary storage
Building instructions for wooden decking
Shopping list
Preparing the substrate
Meadow or earth
Stone or concrete
Roof or balcony
Slope
Laying the foundation
Creating height compensation
Laying the substructure
Installing decking boards
Select saw blade
Screwing decking boards
Assembly instructions for decking screws
Assembly instructions Clips
Veneering wooden decking
Building stairs
Decking boards crooked
Typical errors
Maintain
Cleaning
Enjoy
Decking quality
Best decking wood
Wood species comparison
Manual sorting
Cracks and curvature
Durability of wooden decking
Wood vs. aluminum
Concealed screw connection comparison
Branded products
Finger-jointing
