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How to Build a deck over a deck {our campsite}

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Guess what, our summer project at our campsite is finally complete! It only took the majority of the summer but I guess that’s how it goes, right? Today I am sharing how to build a deck over a deck. Sounds funny right? The existing deck was unfortunately, a hodge podge of additions that over time, became uneven. In english, it was a mess! Here is the deck in early June. The camper now sits in that open space along the deck. For this project you will need pressure treated 2×4’s, 1×8 decking boards, a nail gun, air compressor and a bazillion 3 and 4″ nails!

building a deck over a deck {campsite}

The entire deck (in the middle) was completely uneven and a huge tripping hazard. Because we don’t own the campsite, we just pay seasonal, it didn’t make sense to tear down the entire deck and start over so we reinforced the underneath beams with 2×4’s and added a new deck floor over the existing deck floor. Make sense?

NOTE: Before you make any changes or add any additional wood to an existing deck, be sure the underneath can support the weight of pressure treated wood. This deck we added is extremely heavy so we actually reinforced every single beam and post underneath with new pressure treated wood.

That was a crappy day let me tell you!  I don’t even have pictures because I was scrunched up in a ball under this deck with a nail gun praying I didn’t get bit by spiders or worse, see a snake! 

How To build a deck over a deck {campsite} As you can see above, the middle is a mess.

We built the frame below for our new floor out of pressure treated 2×4’s. Always use pressure treated wood when constructing anything that will be outdoors. It will not rot!

how to build a deck over a deck {our campsite}

We created a rectangle out of 2×4’s and made a frame to lay our new floor on. (see below)

building a deck over a deck {campsite graphic

Some of you may be wondering why we didn’t just nail the new floor frame to the existing deck. The reason why is because the old deck was so uneven, we had to essentially “lift” the floor a bit so that we could have a level area for our new floor. By adding the 2×4 frame underneath our new floor, we now have a nice new level floor and the old uneven mess is hidden! Yes, there is a step up to the new floor but for us, that is fine considering the existing deck was so uneven.

how to build a deck over a deck {our campsite}

Did I tell you this is what my husband did on his first day of vacation last month? He was actually very excited to help and be a part of our campsite project. He works so much that he sometimes feels left out I think, although, he may be happy after this project that he is at work during most of our renovations 😉

how to build a deck over a deck {our campsite}

Next we added 1×8 pressure treated boards to our frame to create our new deck floor.

building a deck over a deck {campsite}This project wasn’t that complicated but just time consuming. We (the four of us) completed the deck in a weekend, about 12 hours total. Shown below, the new floor abuts up nicely to the DIY steps we built a couple weeks ago.

building a deck over a deck {campsite}

Isn’t the new floor pretty? My mom is working hard above supervising as she sips on her glass of wine ;).

building a deck over a deck {campsite}

Tomorrow we are sharing all of the before and after pictures and the full reveal of our campsite makeover. Oh my, it’s crazy how different it looks! Wait until you see this bad boy all stained up thanks to Sherwin Williams! Check back tomorrow, you won’t want to miss it ;).

UPDATE: click here for full reveal.

Meet Jessica

What started as a hobby, Jessica’s blog now has millions of people visit yearly and while many of the projects and posts look and sound perfect, life hasn’t always been easy. Read Jessica’s story and how overcoming death, divorce and dementia was one of her biggest life lessons to date.

2 Comments

  1. Jessica, What a happy, yet challenging time, for you all to work together on these
    projects. How do you ever come to agreement on what has to be done and how to do it? In other words, who is the alpha leader?

    Anyway, the improvement on the deck is perfect. I am unclear what this property is; you mentioned renting I think. Is it attached to the little trailer? And how is it related to the dock (I think it was a dock) you worked on earlier?

    Your pics remind me of being at my Grammy’s home and cottage on Houghton Lake
    in Michigan when I was a child. Hard work, but lots of fun.
    Thanks for sharing your lives and thoughts.

  2. “Building a deck over a deck” now that’s something you don’t hear about everyday! Thanks for this really smart post, I would have never thought of anything like this

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