Building a pergola with paved brick under deck

Hi there

I'm in the process of organising a permit to build an attached 5x5m roofed pergola. I'm going to have to put in 2 posts, one of which will be fixed underneath a deck (the other will be fixed to a concrete slab that sits level with the deck).

Unfortunately when i was checking under the deck today to work out where ill need to dig, i discovered that there was a sealed brick paved surface underneath. Basically, the previous owners installed the deck over top of this old brick surface. Is there anyway to avoid having to demolish this brick surface for the post? Its gonna be a pain in the ass if i have to break up the brick, then dig the hole for concrete + stirrup, but i'm not sure what else i can do, besides fix a stirrup into the brick.

Also, it might be worth noting that the deck itself is secured into the ground properly with stirrups and concrete footings, so no issues there.

Any advise would be great.

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Although the post might not be holding up too much weight you have no idea what the brick is bearing on and therefore no idea of the loading capacity of what may well be a single brick support for the post. Yep, dig it up! Sounds like you knew you had to anyway. :D

Hah. Yep, i think i was just in denial. I took the rotary hammer drill to it and it seems pretty doable. Much easier than i anticipated.

Your doing the right job by digging it up and doing a concrete pad min 600 x 600x 600
Contrary to popular belief its not usually the weight of a pergola ( unless its a tiled roof with large spans) but the ability to be HELD DOWN, wind is the greatest enemy and pergolas have been known to do an excellent imitation of an airplane wing in full flight given the right conditions.

Digging it up is a must.

Remember the footings for a pergola, oe even a shed, are not there to stop it sinking but rather to hold it down and stop it blowing away.