Question on deck build sitting on ground

[Sigarms]

Thanks for the ideas guys.

From the beginning, the house was laid out kind of quirky in design in our opinion when we bought it, but it was the land that sold us on the place to buy, not the house (if we ever had kids, this was the place to raise them in our opinion). The house however did fit our needs perfectly with a furnished basement in the plan that my father could move in with us when he was ready, and now that he's passed, my wifes mother has that same option now that she is getting older and her husband has passed, although that may delay our timeframe on when we decide to downsize, which will happen.

I do like the idea to forget the third deck and extend the roof, but we're past that point now with the lumber showing up tomorrow or Tuesday.

Will ask the contractor about a sprial staircase, as it was an option that didn't cross our minds.

That said, worst case, we'll be fine if everything goes as planned with the third deck as is without stairs.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

What's the view from 3rd floor? If it's nice it certainly wouldn't be that expensive for a small balcony I wouldn't think.
Sort of like this (as drawn by a slow 3 year old) .

 

[2manyrocks]

I, too, thought about a small balcony, but the problem is the joists run in such a way that there's no easy way of supporting a balcony without spanning over to the brick support columns. By the time he does that, the balcony becomes the size of a deck. Since he doesn't use the third floor deck anyway, I can appreciate the reluctance to spend money rebuilding another one.

However, I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to just leave the space previously used as a third floor deck blank because that will look odd.

Even though lumber has evidently been ordered, I suspect the contractor could still add more lumber to frame a roof unless the beams that have been ordered would be too small to support the additional weight of a roof structure. I'd probably call the contractor to discuss whether a roof could still be added now or later to what is about to be built without prematurely closing off future options to make the best use of this space.

 

[Sigarms]

What's the view from 3rd floor? If it's nice it certainly wouldn't be that expensive for a small balcony I wouldn't think.
Sort of like this (as drawn by a slow 3 year old) .View attachment 831696

That 3rd deck by the bedroom will still stay.

View from the bedroom door. The two trees with the red line will be taken down next year. They're are bigger than they look and we already had to large ones taken down closer to the deck (on the right hand side).

Lumber will be here tomorrow or Tuesday. I'm not going to be that client that changes things up in a major way at the last moment in time (per extending the roof). Worst case, a spiral case could be in the future if we want a way down to the lower deck and it could be planned that way early next year which will give us time to think about it.

Perhaps not ideal, but as mentioned before, blessed to have such a first world homeowner crisis.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

I really love the house and view. You have so many possibilities. That concrete pad is so nice.

 

[Sigarms]

I really love the house and view. You have so many possibilities. That concrete pad is so nice.

A very sincere thank you.

We've actually put a lot of work into the house over the years, but as mentioned, it was the property that sold us on it and not the house alone.

This is why no matter what we do from on out, we aren't going to beat ourselves over the stairs or lack of stairs down from that 3rd deck.

End of the day, we are budget people. We thought price wise, the guy doing the work was more than compeitive vs comapanies who were just going to run wood at the basement level deck. We were looking at having the side door to the garage to replace our old wooden steps with cement, but end of the day, over our original budget.

What I'm thinking is talking with the contractor is about spiral stairs next year and get feedback from him on his opinion. He can lay out that 3rd deck with that in mind if we go that route. As is, up to this point, we have been more than happy with his work, really, would be happy even without stairs because we don't really use them from the bedroom down to the main level deck behind the first floor.

 

[Sigarms]

However, I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to just leave the space previously used as a third floor deck blank because that will look odd.

100% agree with the odd comment.

The previous third floor deck only came out about 8 ' away from the house (14' wide against the house). The new 3rd floor deck is going to come out to 12' from the house (to now run directly under the columns) but will only go about 8-10' feet in width across the house (electrical outlet up there on the wall that we want to ensure you can still use if wanted). Ironcially seems to gain some square footage with the rebuild.

 

[2manyrocks]

Sometimes a subtle change can make a big difference in real life usability. I know we aren't discussing doors, but as an example, the way a door swings in/out or from left to right, for example, can sometimes really improve functionality without much increase in cost.

If you are really thinking about spiral stairs, you could save yourself some money by making that decision before paying to build wooden stairs and then having to pay to remove them, too. Change orders are also easier to implement before materials get ordered, delivered, installed as you already know.

That spectacular view is a major asset. I believe it's worth the effort to really think this project through.

 

[Sigarms]

That spectacular view is a major asset. I believe it's worth the effort to really think this project through.

The view is one reason my wife and I agree we do want to keep that third deck (added the oddity if it wasn’t there).

Wooden stairs are out of the question now from the third deck for my wife due to the kitchen view.

Walking out the basement and looking up, I might have enough room to run a spiral staircase before the kitchen window straight down.

This is something I can discuss when that deck is being built and even plan for next year if need be.

At this point we’re fine with nothing per access off that deck ourselves, so anything else is icing on the cake.

I will be the first to admit that down in the basement looking out, the cement is 100 times better looking.

 

[2manyrocks]

The cement is a game changer. Discuss the upper levels with your contractor some more, and you might come up with some more game changers that transform how you use and enjoy your terrific space.