Building Pool Deck

[MaxxFusion]

I am going to be building a pool deck real soon. Its going to be 10wx8d. I am undecided if I want to keep the deck below the pool lip or go above it. It seems there are advantages to both.

What have you done and are you happy with it?

Thanks

[matt4x4]

Hello,
I will be building a 16x16 pool deck real soon too.
Here are some things you have to consider when building a deck beside an AG pool.
First off - do you have frost??
If you don't EVER have frost, you can go over the top rail and put a fascia board along the front edge of the deck - this gives a really nice look, hides the rail behind it and you can climb right up on the deck without any worry of denting a top rail.
However, if you experience frost, then neither of your thoughts are a good idea, mainly for the following reasons:
(here I'm talking about a deck built on deck block)
Frost is unpredictable and the expansion encountered is relative to the moisture content in the soil - meaning you can have a spot that heaves 5" right beside a sopt that heaves 1" because there is a depression collecting water beside a hump that drains it.
So, your pool structure could heave more than the deck, so if the deck overhangs the pool, the structure will crush into the underside of the deck.
If your deck heaves more than the pool structure and you went under the lip, then the deck could tear your pool structure upwards.
The best way to do it in a frost area is to go beside the top rail leaving a 1/2 to 3/4" gap between the two structures.
There are also other factors, if you use footings that go below the frost line, the deck will not move, but the pool still will, you could go below the rail (never above) this way, but if frost heaving cause the ground to shift/settle, your pool may come down lower than it was last year and start to sit on your deck.
Go here for some nice pool plans, I'm going with the 16x16 side pool deck using composite as my floor likely picture framed around the perimeter since you can arc composite esily enough and finish it off with Aluminum Railing.
http://www.deckplans.com/Plans/PlanType.asp

[MaxxFusion]

I looked at deckplans.com and going to go off of their plans some what but I am not a big fan of the deck blocks. I at going into the ground.

I guess when I say go over or under I mean the deck floor sitting above the pool or below a bit. I wasnt planning to really go underneath the actual lip of the pool. I am planning on leaving a small gap between the deck and pool so I can get my winter cover on next year.

[matt4x4]

Ok, thanks for explaining!
I would go even with the top, aesthetically, I think it would be the best. WRT the winter cover, going under may make cover installation just a slight bit easier, but I don't think it would make a big enough difference to forego aesthetics..
I'm going with the deck block since my pool is over 100 feet from the house, if the deck were to be at the house I would use footings and tie it to the house, but it will be free standing.

[mrduffin]

I did a deck for a 24' round AG pool several years ago and I ran the deck boards underneath the 4" top rail.

It looked finished because the top rail hid any problems with the radius cuts on the end of the deck boards. If you leave the deck boards long and butt them up to the rail, you can transfer the radius to the boards and after the radius is cut, you can slide the board under the top rail to get your length.

Worked good for my application.

[IMherDad]

I did a deck for a 24' round AG pool several years ago and I ran the deck boards underneath the 4" top rail.

It looked finished because the top rail hid any problems with the radius cuts on the end of the deck boards. If you leave the deck boards long and butt them up to the rail, you can transfer the radius to the boards and after the radius is cut, you can slide the board under the top rail to get your length.

Worked good for my application.

I would love to see pictures of your decking if possible.

[mrduffin]

I would love to see pictures of your decking if possible.

That was 22 years ago but I might be able to find a pic if the ms will help me out. I'll see what we can do.

I now have a 20 year old IG that needs and coping/concrete rehab. I have a post in the forum about that also.

[huskerfan]

We built a 14x32' Timber Tech composite deck between our house and oval pool last summer. I absolutely love the TT finish. We went even with the pool rail- leaving about an inch gap between the deck and pool rail. With the slope to our backyard- it worked out so that we can go out our back garage door, be on the deck and go straight to the top of the pool. It's as close to an IG as we'll get. The most awesome part is our walk in steps by DunnRite. Only thing I'd do differently again is the spacing between our boards. We used some kind of finishing nail for spacers instead of a 16 pinny (sp??) nail. The guys thought it would "look" better than having the larger gaps, but for keeping it clean, the larger slots/openings would allow the debris to fall down between a lot easier. Here's a couple photos. The last photo was on the first day of spring this year, lol, pool and deck look enticing, huh!

[matt4x4]

Hi Donya!
How are things??
So, your pool and deck have survived the first winter! Bet you can't wait to use it!
If I remember correctly, you used deck blocks to build your deck, not footings, did you by chance ever have a look over the winter to see if anything was heaving - like the deck sitting higher than it should etc.... if so, can you let us know what moved etc. Now that spring is here, everything is pobably back in it's proper place.

Thanks!

[huskerfan]

Nice to hear from old friends from the forum again, and to see it buzzing and coming out of hibernation from the winter!

We actually poured cement footings with a bracket cemented in the top that we attached the (I believe) 4x4's to. By not setting the posts into the ground we hope to avoid the posts rotting out. If they should need replaced in the future it can be done easier too. I learned entirely too much about deck construction, and plumbing last summer, lol, just glad it's done!

I didn't notice any change at all in our deck this winter. It weathered very well with no heaving that I could tell. If you go with composite- it is recommended to use a plastic snow shovel, that is if you live in the cold country.

Also- I chose to go 12inches on center instead of the recommended 16inches by Timber Tech. The guys cussed me the whole time we built it, but it's as solid as a rock!

I highly recommend composite decking by a pool. The Timber tech does get a little hot in the sun- but the finish is nice to walk on. I used the twin finish boards with the vertigrain side up for extra traction with wet feet. They do have some that lock together - but the seep holes get clogged very easily with dirt/debris. We used those special screws that mushroom up a little- then you pound it down in and it covers the screw head. Makes a really nice finish. Like I said - use the 16pinny nail for gaps, though. We have a big deck - and I'm anal about keeping it clean - would have made my job much easier.

We left about an inch gap and notched around the uprights by the pool. It was plenty to put the winter cover down through. The worse part was getting on your knees to do it! It is enough gap that diving sticks... can fall down through- but I found a cool basket from Shopko that I keep all my fun toys, goggles... in and it helps solve that problem. We enjoy our pool 100 percent more with the deck and nice walk in steps.