Decking bridging DPC

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Daven75
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Decking bridging DPC

Post by Daven75 »

I’m about to add some decking at the back of the house (see pic) and I’m after a bit of advice. Seeing as there’s 2 x air bricks under the sill, if I left about 1 1/2” gap would that be enough for air flow? The gap would then be hidden by the sill. Or would it be ok to fix the frame to the house, bridging the DPC seeing as the bricks below are protected by the sill. I’d then cut a section of the frame out to allow air flow. Thanks in advance.
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dewaltdisney
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Decking bridging DPC

Post by dewaltdisney »

Best to leave the air bricks open and you might want to think twice about the decking, it is always needing work and you will be fighting rot over its life if you survive slipping over when it is wet. Lay a nice patio with some slabs that fit the scene and nice edging.

DWD
wes56
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Decking bridging DPC

Post by wes56 »

As above, decking gives nothing but problems.
Natural wood rots and composition material slimes. Both can discolour bad in time.
In your case OP you would bridge any DPC with any ledger pinned to the wall.
Air bricks are blocked, and rain splash bridges the DPC and green stains the wall.
Decking is so out of date, a bit like aertex or anaglypta wallpaper.
Scotty001
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Decking bridging DPC

Post by Scotty001 »

I recently did a similar project at my house. I didn't fix the decking to the house as I originally planned, the weight of the decking in my case was more than enough that it's a fully stable structure. Take a look at my thread viewtopic.php?f=1&t=101310 and spot how I got around my 2 air bricks. The edge of my decking starts at the edge of the door sil (approx 40mm away from the wall) , this has left plenty of room between the building and the deck. Because my decking was going to be above the dpc I made a 150mm splashback with the decking boards so they absorb rain splash rather than the wall.
keithski122
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Decking bridging DPC

Post by keithski122 »

Mines also on the link above. Really happy with how it worked out, I don't seem to get any splashback.I clean and oil it once a year and it gets no slippier than my sandstone patio which does get algee on it.
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Daven75 (Wed Jan 13, 2021 10:56 pm)
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Daven75
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Decking bridging DPC

Post by Daven75 »

Thanks. That’s the kind of answer I was looking for. Mine will be similar in that case. I’ll just keep a gap as you’ve suggested with a trimmer to allow the airflow. I think I’m going for the Trex deck this time which needs little maintenance.
Scotty001 wrote: Wed Jan 13, 2021 5:51 pm I recently did a similar project at my house. I didn't fix the decking to the house as I originally planned, the weight of the decking in my case was more than enough that it's a fully stable structure. Take a look at my thread <span class="skimlinks-unlinked">viewtopic.php?f=1&t=101310</span> and spot how I got around my 2 air bricks. The edge of my decking starts at the edge of the door sil (approx 40mm away from the wall) , this has left plenty of room between the building and the deck. Because my decking was going to be above the dpc I made a 150mm splashback with the decking boards so they absorb rain splash rather than the wall.
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