Building An Under Deck Door

Plan on building a deck.

Building an under deck door.

But you ll need a door or gate in the lattice to provide access to the space under the deck or house. It s true that decking installed at the same level as the interior flooring looks great and makes for a smooth transition but unless you live in the desert it s not a good idea. If you recall on my last post i mentioned that we wanted to enclose the bottom of the deck re sod the lawn and re stain the fence. One of our readers rune eriksen sent us photos of his design for a home built deck drainage system and we were impressed enough to check it out.

Hanging a lattice door under the deck. A space at least 2 feet high under the deck offers plenty of room for storage. His low cost easy to build under deck drainage system catches the water that drips through the deck boards and redirects it to the outside of the deck. Lattice is also less expensive than brick or rock underpinning.

Reduce the chance of water infiltration install the decking a few inches below patio and entry door thresholds. This requires laying out a level line on the tail of the rafter. Make the door frame. Make a door frame out of 2 by 4.

A deck that s 30 inches or more off the ground is a candidate for under the deck storage. These days wider rafters are often used than are suitable for the fascia so the tail of the rafter is also cut to create a narrower more suitable fascia board. Grade level access through a door isn t handy with a 2 foot space however because you would have to crawl under the deck. Wet storage doesn t have to be protected from the elements which means you ll be storing weatherproof items such as pvc pipe plastic snow toys garden hose and kayaks.

If the area is level either option works but if there is an incline a deck like floor is the best and best option. To do this do not make the tail cut until this has been established. Here you have to decide if you want to build a deck like floor or use a concrete slab for the floor. A good idea when hanging lattice around a deck is to add a door.

Wood or vinyl lattice provides a neat finish for underpinning a deck or open foundation. If the posts under your deck are more than 4 apart you may want to install non load bearing posts at 4 intervals. Build a door frame out of 2 inch by 4 inch boards then attach the boards with deck screws. Measure the opening for the doorway allowing 1 4 on each side for expansion.

How to build under deck door the secret plans. The door can be made of lattice as well and in most cases you can find one preassembled. Instead build an access hatch so you can lower things into the storage space from the deck. Under deck enclosure with access door we got some work done on the backyard this weekend.

Measure the area where you plan on building.