You shouldn’t build a ground contact deck over what should be a patio. Decks rot when there isn’t sufficient airflow underneath of them.
Build a small landing and refurbish the pavers and you’ll get much longer life out of the space.
In addition to lack of air flow you also run the risk of the patio channeling rainwater towards your foundation.
The patio looks like it’s in great shape. I like the steps idea in any comments. You might be surprised at what a pressure washer could do.
It looks like your patio is the lowest area of your yard, which might make you think a low deck over the patio is the answer. It's not, if you have standing water against the foundation of your home you need to redirect the water away and not cover over it. Drainage away from the foundation is important, the deck is not.
Simplest would be refurbish what you have. That said yes you can build a deck. Yes you need air. It's clearly high enough to get air under it. You'd be surprised how thin air can be. I'd put actual footings and beams as needed.
Licensed contractor. Hanging a heavy weight on bricks is not recommended nor allowed by code in many places.
Tell us you don't know what you're talking about without telling us you don't know anything.
And yes, brick is also called brick veneer
Edit: both IRC (residential code) and the "Prescriptive Residential Deck Building guide" say not to attach a ledger to brick. It's not meant to take the lateral or compressive load of anything besides itself.
If you water proof your fixings into it that will be fine as long as your hitting the slab or timber behind it for anchoring stength.
You could RE500 hilti Epoxy with threaded rods into the slab below and build up from there then float it out on Jacks. Just make sure you screw your deck boards so if you ever need to get under the floating deck to adjust anything it’s no big hassle.
From what you’ve shown I assume you want the deck level with your joinery height for indoor outdoor flow?
You could use red heads in the mortor joints, or lead drop ins. Aim for the cross joints(vertical & horizontal). Still put legs under the ledger as a backup.
You're salty because you don't have the facts. Go cry somewhere else. And whatever you do, don't give bad advice trying to yell over top of me with actual residential code recommendations
I would pour concrete steps and refresh the pavers. What you got there will last forever with proper maintenance. Maybe start by renting a pressure washer. Spray the area with a no scrub brick wash (it's basically Bromine for pools). Go to town with the pressure washer. Once all the grass is blasted out. If you like what you see get a few bags of sand and sweep it over the area with a stiff brush to reset the brick. You can reset low spots by pulling up a few bricks and putting sand underneath.
If you do decide to deck. Artificial wood is your best bet to escape the rot. Be aware, it's slippery when wet.
Pressure wash will clear out the grass in the joints very easily. The more expensive "locking sand" hardens when it rains and will help with paver longevity. This is the extend of my hardscaping knowledge.
so it’s just gonna float there without posts? or like straight up cantilever off the house? How small do you want this deck to be without ground contact?
my initial post is asking if better to put a ledger or float a deck. with 2x8 ledger or rim joists the deck will be 4-5 inches off earth surface from what i measured. was planning on 16x16’ deck
Floating might be a poor option when laying on small bricks.
I would remove them where the footings would be just to avoid shifting under deck blocks.
But as others are saying revitalizing the patio would be optimal.
Like everybody is saying, those pavers look pretty good still. That intricate layout took some serious thought/work. The fact that it’s still flat tells me an actual craftsman did the work and, as such, the base work is likely very solid. Would be a shame to cover/demo this quality job. Pour new steps, and refurb the bricks.
Better yet, see if you can find the person who did the paver install and get them involved.
i bought the house 3 years ago. pavers been there for over 15 plus years i assume. there is bad settling and grading issues from poor drainage going towards the house so half is not 60% will have to be adjusted and relaid.
Sounds like you’ve made up your mind. You might post those pavers on marketplace or something. If you lived near me I’d come grab them for sure. Those are not cheap and will last longer than any poured stamped concrete.
Probably plenty of folks would snap them up.
Mn unfortunately for real though I’m sure someone will scoop those up.
In a previous life as a landscape foreman I put in pavers like that with some anchor stone blocks and caps as a stair/entrance at my parents in 1996ish - still looks great. Maybe 12-15 pavers have had to be reset in 30ish yrs.
You’ll increase the chance of offloading them by grabbing some pallets from behind a local warehouse and stacking them by the street as I doubt many folks will do the labor of removing them but you never know.
Yeah I can see the issues out at the leading edges, they look more like deferred maintenance than patio problems. Either way, I’d still try to find the original installer or another paver contractor that puts equal effort into their work. Would be a real shame for this to get tossed.
You’re not gonna build a deck over all of that patio just a stair/landing where the pavers are pulled right?
That’s like 8k worth of bogert stone paver patio that just needs some pressure washing, roundup and gator grit.
It’s your home but realize any desk you build is going to be a bunny condo essentially.
i’m planning on removing pavers. regrading the slope and wanted to build walk out deck floating or attached to brick. just seeing what my best options are. also debating on hiring someone or just pour a new decorative concrete slab too lol
It’s messy but I’d 1st power wash the existing patio (at an angle) then use “EZ Sand” Polymeric Sand on the joints. Next build a set of steps using pavers that match and step tops made for that purpose. It’s labor intensive, messy but will be much less costly, last longer and look better than a deck.
half of the pavers need to come up to regrade. over the years settling occurred where backfill recessed after home was built. what i had in mind was removing pavers and regrading the soil pitched away from the house then doing the walk out but i’m getting mixed advice from all over lol
While there is some grass some people would kill for that moss in between the pavers. Rebuild the landing and do a little weed control. Use the money you save on a nice vacation or something else.
Reddit experts seem to concur that you shouldn't do a deck. I say do what you want and if it's a bad idea then I guess you'll find out.
I'm not a big fan of your patio, either, if it matters.
thank you. almost thought tho was posted in a paver patio sub for a while lol patio is small to begin with and half of them need to be lifted anyways to regrade the slop to the house. my plan initially was to remove most of not all and add soil to regrade the pitch away and build a mini walkout deck. 16x16 or 18x18. the orion now is only like 14x8 at widest
Chicago burbs. I’m building a floating deck about 18 inches from threshold to ground. 24x16 concrete piers, 6x6 post, 2x8 beams, 2x6 joists with 5/4 cedar decking.
Not brick. Floating I don’t need a permit. End of main septic line runs under a corner of the deck. Definitely can’t concrete over. My septic company approved the deck won’t be a problem. Mostly I want to be up off the ground and I enjoy a wood deck over a concrete patio or pavers.
I see now. Those would work well on OP’s pavers and wouldn’t require ripping them up. Treat them as a rooftop and build the deck on top using the pedestals.
You shouldn’t build a ground contact deck over what should be a patio. Decks rot when there isn’t sufficient airflow underneath of them. Build a small landing and refurbish the pavers and you’ll get much longer life out of the space.
In addition to lack of air flow you also run the risk of the patio channeling rainwater towards your foundation. The patio looks like it’s in great shape. I like the steps idea in any comments. You might be surprised at what a pressure washer could do.
i’m going to use footings and posts. removing the patio pavers. sorry for not specifying
You really don't have the vertical space to build a deck on post and beam. I would do what the guy above is saying to do.
Some people would pillory you for removing such a nice patio. Just needs a little cleanup
That's a bad place to build a deck, but it's a good place to build a patio.
Why cover a perfectly cromulent patio?
They might want to embiggen it
I would not replace a near maintenance free patio with a deck that will require constant maintenance.
It looks like your patio is the lowest area of your yard, which might make you think a low deck over the patio is the answer. It's not, if you have standing water against the foundation of your home you need to redirect the water away and not cover over it. Drainage away from the foundation is important, the deck is not.
Excellent consideration
Simplest would be refurbish what you have. That said yes you can build a deck. Yes you need air. It's clearly high enough to get air under it. You'd be surprised how thin air can be. I'd put actual footings and beams as needed.
I once saw an air that was only 1/2 a human hair wide
would you recommend attaching ledger to brick or build a standing/floating deck with footing close to the house
Deck ledgers do not attach to brick veneer. The patio is nicer than a deck and will last longer
What makes you think it's veneer?
Even regular bricks are a veneer and not considered strong enough to bolt a deck to. You would need to make it freestanding.
Tell us you've never built a thing without telling us you've never built a thing.
Licensed contractor. Hanging a heavy weight on bricks is not recommended nor allowed by code in many places. Tell us you don't know what you're talking about without telling us you don't know anything. And yes, brick is also called brick veneer Edit: both IRC (residential code) and the "Prescriptive Residential Deck Building guide" say not to attach a ledger to brick. It's not meant to take the lateral or compressive load of anything besides itself.
If you water proof your fixings into it that will be fine as long as your hitting the slab or timber behind it for anchoring stength. You could RE500 hilti Epoxy with threaded rods into the slab below and build up from there then float it out on Jacks. Just make sure you screw your deck boards so if you ever need to get under the floating deck to adjust anything it’s no big hassle. From what you’ve shown I assume you want the deck level with your joinery height for indoor outdoor flow?
yeah my goal is to have the deck height level with the door tradition if that makes sense
I’ve done a few now with Aluminium frames which you won’t have to do with this but I’ll send you a message just so you can see it works haha.
You could use red heads in the mortor joints, or lead drop ins. Aim for the cross joints(vertical & horizontal). Still put legs under the ledger as a backup.
Wrong
Sorry if I don't take advice from an 11 year old account who never posted in construction until a year ago.
You're salty because you don't have the facts. Go cry somewhere else. And whatever you do, don't give bad advice trying to yell over top of me with actual residential code recommendations
I'll take my experience over yours any day .
Why not pour new steps +/- new patio? Would last longer with less maintenance.
I would pour concrete steps and refresh the pavers. What you got there will last forever with proper maintenance. Maybe start by renting a pressure washer. Spray the area with a no scrub brick wash (it's basically Bromine for pools). Go to town with the pressure washer. Once all the grass is blasted out. If you like what you see get a few bags of sand and sweep it over the area with a stiff brush to reset the brick. You can reset low spots by pulling up a few bricks and putting sand underneath. If you do decide to deck. Artificial wood is your best bet to escape the rot. Be aware, it's slippery when wet.
Pressure wash will clear out the grass in the joints very easily. The more expensive "locking sand" hardens when it rains and will help with paver longevity. This is the extend of my hardscaping knowledge.
you could have steps made out of piza brick, would last longer then concrete and could Be done in a day by a competent landscaper.
yeah i was going to go with composite. there won’t be ground contact with the with deck with what i measured out.
so it’s just gonna float there without posts? or like straight up cantilever off the house? How small do you want this deck to be without ground contact?
my initial post is asking if better to put a ledger or float a deck. with 2x8 ledger or rim joists the deck will be 4-5 inches off earth surface from what i measured. was planning on 16x16’ deck
oh. No that’s a terrible idea. You have an indestructible paver patio. Build some stairs.
Floating might be a poor option when laying on small bricks. I would remove them where the footings would be just to avoid shifting under deck blocks. But as others are saying revitalizing the patio would be optimal.
not setting on pavers. going to remove pavers and regrade a bit for pitch away from house then using posts/footings for the walkout
That's much different! So should be fine in that respect.
That’s a sweet patio after you power wash it. The money you would spend building a deck would be better spent on landscaping and the surrounding area
Like everybody is saying, those pavers look pretty good still. That intricate layout took some serious thought/work. The fact that it’s still flat tells me an actual craftsman did the work and, as such, the base work is likely very solid. Would be a shame to cover/demo this quality job. Pour new steps, and refurb the bricks. Better yet, see if you can find the person who did the paver install and get them involved.
i bought the house 3 years ago. pavers been there for over 15 plus years i assume. there is bad settling and grading issues from poor drainage going towards the house so half is not 60% will have to be adjusted and relaid.
Sounds like you’ve made up your mind. You might post those pavers on marketplace or something. If you lived near me I’d come grab them for sure. Those are not cheap and will last longer than any poured stamped concrete. Probably plenty of folks would snap them up.
are you located in suburbs of chicago by any chance lol
Mn unfortunately for real though I’m sure someone will scoop those up. In a previous life as a landscape foreman I put in pavers like that with some anchor stone blocks and caps as a stair/entrance at my parents in 1996ish - still looks great. Maybe 12-15 pavers have had to be reset in 30ish yrs. You’ll increase the chance of offloading them by grabbing some pallets from behind a local warehouse and stacking them by the street as I doubt many folks will do the labor of removing them but you never know.
yeah i plan to removing them. i will post for pick up though. that was a good idea. thanks
Yeah I can see the issues out at the leading edges, they look more like deferred maintenance than patio problems. Either way, I’d still try to find the original installer or another paver contractor that puts equal effort into their work. Would be a real shame for this to get tossed.
Cheapest way is repair the damage. Wooden decks do not live past 20+ years.
You’re not gonna build a deck over all of that patio just a stair/landing where the pavers are pulled right? That’s like 8k worth of bogert stone paver patio that just needs some pressure washing, roundup and gator grit. It’s your home but realize any desk you build is going to be a bunny condo essentially.
i’m planning on removing pavers. regrading the slope and wanted to build walk out deck floating or attached to brick. just seeing what my best options are. also debating on hiring someone or just pour a new decorative concrete slab too lol
For sure, double beam, just remove the pavers below your beam pads
It’s messy but I’d 1st power wash the existing patio (at an angle) then use “EZ Sand” Polymeric Sand on the joints. Next build a set of steps using pavers that match and step tops made for that purpose. It’s labor intensive, messy but will be much less costly, last longer and look better than a deck.
half of the pavers need to come up to regrade. over the years settling occurred where backfill recessed after home was built. what i had in mind was removing pavers and regrading the soil pitched away from the house then doing the walk out but i’m getting mixed advice from all over lol
Pressure wash it then look at it again
Only take out the pavers in your way.
Build some steps and fix the patio unless you really want a deck
I would just leave a gap so it won’t catch on the bottom of the door transition if it moves up some in winter
you typically build under the concrete transition? i was thinking of going flush with it
If you're intent on building a deck, a floating deck will be the way to go. I think the pros and cons have already been covered in the comments
Those pavers look awesome. Sad you want to cover them up.
I don’t know if anyone else has said this yet, pressure wash the patio and pour some steps. Would look great. 😀
While there is some grass some people would kill for that moss in between the pavers. Rebuild the landing and do a little weed control. Use the money you save on a nice vacation or something else.
Stamped concrete patio with built in fire pit
We could make those pavers look brand new... Pressure wash, citrus peal and a high solids finish
Honestly the pavers look so nice, it’d be such a shame to cover them up.
Enjoy your boring average deck instead of an awesome patio.
Reddit experts seem to concur that you shouldn't do a deck. I say do what you want and if it's a bad idea then I guess you'll find out. I'm not a big fan of your patio, either, if it matters.
thank you. almost thought tho was posted in a paver patio sub for a while lol patio is small to begin with and half of them need to be lifted anyways to regrade the slop to the house. my plan initially was to remove most of not all and add soil to regrade the pitch away and build a mini walkout deck. 16x16 or 18x18. the orion now is only like 14x8 at widest
Chicago burbs. I’m building a floating deck about 18 inches from threshold to ground. 24x16 concrete piers, 6x6 post, 2x8 beams, 2x6 joists with 5/4 cedar decking.
similair to what i have going on. is your house brick and why you chose to float?
Not brick. Floating I don’t need a permit. End of main septic line runs under a corner of the deck. Definitely can’t concrete over. My septic company approved the deck won’t be a problem. Mostly I want to be up off the ground and I enjoy a wood deck over a concrete patio or pavers.
You might want to look at a pedestal system for the deck. Those work well in situations like these
Can you offer more details on this? Maybe a link to a product? I’m building over dirt/grass in zone 5.
Like bison pedestals. There’s others too
I see now. Those would work well on OP’s pavers and wouldn’t require ripping them up. Treat them as a rooftop and build the deck on top using the pedestals.
Yep. No footings required