Deck Builders Mermaid Waters

Residential and commercial decking around Mermaid Waters

Alongside home decks, we take on decking for managed and commercial properties: outdoor customer areas for cafes and retail, office break-out decks, body corporate common areas, and replacement decks on investment properties for landlords and property managers. Commercial work can be timber or composite, and is scoped and quoted the same way: measure, assess what is there, then a fixed written price.

Why heavy items change the design

A normal deck is designed for people, furniture and a barbecue spread across the surface. A spa concentrates a large weight in one spot. A four-seat spa with water and people in it can weigh well over two tonnes. Large concrete planters, an outdoor kitchen with a stone bench, or a fire pit on pavers add up too. Put any of these on a deck built for ordinary loads and you can get sagging joists, cracked bearers or a footing that sinks.

Three ways to handle a spa

Sit it on a slab and build the deck around it

This is often the simplest and cheapest option. The spa sits on its own concrete pad at ground level or slightly recessed, and the deck is built around it with a neat edge. The deck frame carries no spa load at all.

Build a reinforced section of frame

Where the spa needs to sit on the deck, that section of frame is engineered with closer joists, bigger bearers and extra footings directly under it. The rest of the deck is built normally.

Inset the spa into the deck

The spa sits on a slab, and the deck is built up to its top lip so you step down into it. It looks built-in, but it needs careful planning for access to the pump and controls, and for the spa's own maintenance panels.

Access to the spa equipment

Spas need servicing. Whatever option you choose, the side panels and equipment bay must stay reachable. We leave removable deck sections or a hatch over that side.

Outdoor kitchens and planters

A built-in barbecue bench with a stone top is also a point load. We either put extra joists and a footing under it or set it on a separate base. Large planters should sit on a frame designed for the wet soil weight and drain so water does not sit on the boards. Grease from a barbecue stains composite and timber, so a removable mat or tiled section in front of the cooker is worth considering.

Engineering and approval

Any deck designed for a spa should have an engineer's design for the loaded section. Whether the deck also needs building approval depends on height, size and other factors. We coordinate this where needed and show the cost separately.

Boards and prices

Composite from Ekodeck or Ezy Decking handles splash and wet feet well. Hardwood works too. As a general guide, timber decking runs roughly $350 to $550 per m² and composite $450 to $700 per m² supplied and installed, depending on height, access, framing and finishes. Spa reinforcement, slabs and engineering are added. You can also have us install boards you bought. More on composite decking and the decking cost guide.