![]() With a solid deck, the entire deck collects rain, a much larger volume of potentially damaging water. Gapped deck boards only collect water of one deck board with each individual deck board draining. But with the same deck, but with gapped boards rather then the whole deck draining into the house, only one deck board is. With those low flush toilets, that’s the equivalent of flushing the toilet six times in your house while the drain is plugged. But with a solid deck12′ (3.6m) x 12′ (3.6m) gathering that water, it becomes over 20 gallons (75L) of water running into the house. That’s so little water it will do minimal damage. If that water is not directed away from the house, it can go to the house, damaging the wall and foundation.įor example, if you have 1/4″ (6mm) of rain. Here is the problem with solid decking it acts as a giant funnel gathering together all the rain. The more significant concern is water running towards the house off the deck. As the rain builds, it will just run off the edge when it begins to pool. Sloping a deck with gaps between the boards will not drain the rain any faster.Ī deck’s flat surface is minimal in the size of puddle that can pool on it. It does not matter if the decking is treated, cedar, ipe, composite or PVC rain will run off even if when level. ![]() Properly gapped decking will not pool water as the water will drain through the deck boards. Gapped decking has sufficient drainage between the deck boards to drain excess water off the decking. “Slope is not of consequence for decks using spaced deck boards that allow for drainage.” Alberta Government Okay, why is that? Why does solid deck surfaces need slope, but gapped deck boards don’t? Decks with properly gapped decking boards require no slope as rain will naturally run off the boards even when level. What slope should a deck have? The answer is it depends if the deck is solid or not.Ī solid deck needs to be sloped between a 1/8″ (3mm) and ¼” (6mm) per foot to encourage water drainage. Which drove me to research this question. ![]() The top of the post being noticeable unlevel, requiring shims and micro-adjustment to plumb up the post. You may not be able to see a 1/8″ (3mm) slope with the naked eye on a deck surface, but the deck’s slope is multiplied over a 3′ (900mm) railing post. ![]() How much should a deck be sloped to prevent water pooling?įor years I have built decks with a 1/8″ (3mm) slope hoping to help water run off the deck, which created problems with installing deck railing. How much should a deck be sloped for water to drain off? How can you get water to drain off a deck? Called many different things, deck slope, deck pitch or deck fall, but all are asking the same question. ![]()
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