The original cantilevered deck on the back of this house extended over the lake on this property. The integrity of the wood structure had been destroyed by years of weather and bad flashing design. This caused the deck to sag and feel very wobbly. The bad flashing caused significant damage to the house structure as well.
We designed the new deck to fit the original intention of the architect using almost the same footprint. However, we chose different materials and methods to increase the solidity and longevity of the project. We made sure that the technical design created a more resilient system for both the deck and the house.
The original wood cantilever beams were integrated into the framing under the house. Because we had to leave the extension of the orignal beams under the house, we chose a different number of steel beams with a different arrangement to work around the originals.
The size of the new beams was chosen to maximize the sense of solidity in the finished deck. The main beams were craned in and the entire structure was welded together. This created a very strong, straight, and level structure on which to build the remainder of the deck.
The varying environmental elements of the hot sun in the summer, the cold ice in the winter, and the dampness from the lake are extreme at this property. To deal with this we used the best encapsulated composite decking made by Trex for the surface. We used a very wide composite board for the railing surface which doubled as a table. Hidden fasteners were used throughout. The completed project allows the clients to securely enjoy the majesty of floating over their lake in this awesome mountain setting.