Berkeley Deck

• Winner of NARI Regional Contractor of the Year - Region 6 - Residential Speciality
  Remodeling

The owners live in a majestic old home nestled among the redwoods in the Berkeley hills. Their steep lot afforded them no backyard from which to enjoy the view of the Bay and the surrounding hills. The project consisted of building a large deck with a hot tub off of the back of the house with access from inside. In addition the house foundation was showing signs of sliding down the hill.

Special Concerns of the Owners:

Support for the existing house foundation: The existing house foundation was showing some signs of slipping down the hillside. The engineer for the project designed the foundation for the new deck as a reinforcement for the house and garage foundation as well as carrying the loads for the new deck.

Safety: The house is secluded and the owners were concerned about safety. The deck was
designed so that there was no access from the ground level.

Architectural Integrity: For everyone involved with the project, the primary objective was ensuring that the new deck integrated gracefully into the existing house. This concern was addressed in several ways:

• Location: The location of the deck was fortuitous, because its location solved several
  problems at once. First, it was the ideal place to provide the necessary reinforcement for the house foundation. Second, the area in the corner adjacent to the garage and the kitchen windows was the least attractive part of the house. Third, it provided an excuse to update the garage exterior. And finally, it afforded the best view of the Bay.
• Basic Design: The existing octagonal shaped dining room that cantilevered out over a supporting 12 x 12 structure dictated the basic design of the new deck. Entry to the deck was from two areas. The primary entrance was from the kitchen where we cut a pair of french doors through the kitchen wall. This change required some remodeling of the existing kitchen. The secondary entrance to the deck was from the dining room. The dining room has narrow pairs of casement windows that extended to the floor. At waist level a wooden bar was attached to the casing as a guard rail. We made one pair of these windows operable, and altered the guard rail to make it removable when the owners wished to open these doors for entertaining.
• Stucco: The exterior stucco on the existing house was unique. An old time stucco contractor indicated that the finish had been obtained by applying a heavy finish coat with integral color, followed by a colored splatter coat most likely applied by flicking it on wet stucco with a large brush. The final ingredient was 70 to 80 years of Bay Area salt air and staining from the surrounding redwood and oak trees. Close inspection showed considerable differences in the color and texture from one part of the existing house to another.We tried several times to match the color at the area near the new French doors, but the water stains on the existing stucco made our job impossible. Finally, after consultation with the owners and the architect, it was decided to put a new fog coat of stucco color over the entire back of the house and the new deck to bring the entire area into harmony.
• Pre-cast Concrete Edge Details: the basic shape and the stucco texture tied the new deck into the existing house, but the finishing details were what really enhanced the design. The architect needed shapes to match the molding and caps found around the existing structure, but their use on a surface that was going to be constantly subjected to wet and dry periods called for something other than wood. The architect decided to design and manufacture moldings out of concrete. The edge details for the deck are precast pieces attached to the deck before the slate was laid, and pinned together with stainless steel pins.
• Pre-cast Concrete Steps: The steps leading from the house to the deck and the ones leading up to the hot tub are all pre-cast concrete. The curved stairs at the hot tub match the stairs at the front door of the house. The pre-cast pieces were all made off-site, loaded onto pallets, and delivered to the site, where we lifted them with a crane from the driveway over the garage to the deck.
• Stucco Cap: The stucco caps for the deck walls were designed to match the wooden caps found on top of the garage and elsewhere on the house. They were given a smooth sand finish and left the natural stucco color to distinguish them from the wall texture.
• Wood Handrails and Caps: The tall wall behind the hot tub was a continuation of the garage wall. It had the same shingles and we manufactured a wood cap to match the garage. The handrail was milled out of 4" v 6" redwood. It sat on the iron work balustrades and was notched to receive a line of low voltage lights that ran around the entire length of the wooden handrail.
• Iron Handrails: The free standing handrails were an independent design, as there was nothing of a similar nature on the existing house. Their massive size (1 ½" x 1 ½" ) with a full revolution at their mid-point made them unique. The initial design called for them to be bolted into the deck. We decided that a more secure installation required drilling through the deck and anchoring the handrails to the joists below.
• Hot Tub: the hot tub was approximately 6' x 8' and was tiled on the inside at the factory. It weighed about 1,200 lbs and had to be lifted into place over the garage and through the trees by a crane.
• Slate Deck: The slate provided the finished surface for a complicated system to remove water from the deck. First came the ¾" plywood over the joists. Over this we poured a layer of concrete sloped to remove the water from the deck. Over the  concrete we laid a sheet of Jiffy Seal as a waterproof membrane. This was in turn followed by a layer of Miradrain, a waffle shaped material with drain fabric on it, to actually carry any water that made it through the slate. This portion of the job came during the rainy season, and the mason had to erect a plastic canopy over the deck surface to keep it dry and warm.

The final result is an inviting area that opens up the back of the house and gives the owners a way to enjoy the sunlight and their wonderful view. It is now the prime area for entertaining, and with the doors open from both the kitchen and the dining room, guests now have free flowing access to the house and the deck.

Click on an image to view enlarged.

The site of the new deck and hot tub. The site is a very steep undeveloped slope with a view through the redwood trees of San Francisco Bay. The stucco texture of the house is unique with an integral color and a different colored plaster splatter as a finish coat. Note the stain damage from water running down the face of the wall.		The existing garage which is to be incorporated into the design. The shingles were a special manufacture, extra long redwood shingles.
Forms with rebar in place. Single sided forms are for the tiebeams at the three arches.		Note the special fastening for the handrails.
Iron railings were heavy and specially formed. Free standing handrails were drilled through the deck and fastened to the framing underneath. Stucco cap was built-up and then finished smooth and in a natural color to distinguish it from the wall texture.		Pre-cast concrete nosings for the deck. Stucco texture to match the house.
View back toward the house. Note the beam structure supporting the deck cantilever. The beams were sized to match those of the house.
		Beautiful setting in the redwoods of the Berkeley Hills.
The slate deck with the pre-cast concrete steps.

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