Thread: Planing a Deck around a above ground pool - Stirrup Issues

hiya - you do seem to have a problem......

now short of having an engineer come out and charge $500 for a simple footing design, here's what i would do (keep in mind I am not an engineer, and take no responsibility for anybody stupid enough to follow my advice ! )

I would aim for a wider than normal footing that spreads the load. Secondly I would dig between the pipes as deep as i could go - prefereably down to natural undisturbed ground, and also on either side of the pipes - the idea is that the weight bearing is on the ground below the pipes, and the concrete simply surrounds the pipe. It maybe even possible to go deep between and then spread out the slab above the pipes at only 200mm thick, as long as the post is above the deep section..

Final option is to go really shallow, above all pipes, but re-enforce the footing with steel - this gives no lateral strength, but still provides bearing ability - it is after all a pool deck, and not a car deck! Plenty of times you will see a deck for people simply attached to a 100mm reinforced slab floating on sand (existing).

Your bearers should be 125 x 70 minimum according to my tables. Generally (as far as it is possible to gheneralise without gettting soil tests etc) your footings would be 450 dia. x 600 deep minimum. Other than redesigning your deck with longer spans to avoid the pipes I can't see any good alternatives.

Mick

Hey Decker, A deck over 1m often needs council approval and a DA, under chich circumstances you would we given some advice by them on what to do. Generally they will not let you built over a sewer and footings will have to bear below the sewer.


Cheers
Pulse