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help with rendering deck


cso

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Hello,

 

We are redecking our deck and we currently have a hot tub that is built and the top extends about 25" above the deck. I want to sink it more, but my husband has a bad back, so we are at an impass! I came up with a possible design, that may work.

 

I really wanted to attach my drawing to get advice but it is too big (1.67 MB). Is there a way around this?

 

I am trying to render the deck to show wood (just the pressure treated kind). When I right click on the material the "assign to selection" is not highlighted for me to choose it. Can anyone help with this?

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I hope you have some good supports under that thing otherwise you're going to end up with an in-ground swimming pool...by accident.

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F7 kindly offered to post my drawing.

 

 

The supports are in place. The hot tub is staying in the same location. What can change is the hot top elevation and the steps going between the upper and lower deck.

 

My drawing is not finished, but hopefully you can get an idea of what I am trying to show. I am having a hard time making the angles on the steps look correct to match the sketch.

 

Also, how can I add water? If this is easy for someone to do, I would greatly appreciate it. (although it certainly isn't criticle). I know when I had my class and made a mug, one of you added hot chocolate and whipped cream! All I'm asking for is a filled hot tub this time!

 

Finally, what do you think of the design? Any other ideas?

 

Thank you!!!

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One way to handle materials is to assign them by layer. But you have managed to put both your decking and the hot tub on the same layer and override the color. Not a good practice.

 

You are showing half-inch spacing between deck boards. I believe this is too much. As the wood dries out this gap will widen further.

 

I would suggest you also show some of the framing lumber below the decking. This is an important element of the design in my opinion even if it is existing and won't be changed. I'd also add the framing members that will support the decking used for the stair treads.

 

You have shown the decking penetrating as well as one stair tread penetrating the hot tub.

 

Some of the boards making up the riser and treads overlay each other.

 

There are a couple of "non-dimensional" boards used in the design. It's like you had a gap and decided to put something there to fill it. Do you really want to do that?

 

Adding water to the design is not going to address these design flaws. I'd concentrate on them first.

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Good start, need to add some more posts as there might be too much span for most areas. Steps need some clean-up and the structure needs to be added.

 

c-deck.jpg

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You are showing half-inch spacing between deck boards. I believe this is too much. As the wood dries out this gap will widen further.

 

What is the rule of thumb, deck nail gap between boards?

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What is the rule of thumb, deck nail gap between boards?

 

A 16d nail is what the builder will use, I believe 1/8" is usual for the drawing, not sure the exact size of a 16d nail.

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To cut your solid stair treads you could make use of the SLICE command or you could have done them in 2D (to get the right angle/shape) and used PressPull to extrude them.

 

Forget pressure treated wood. If you want a great looking deck without any maintenance issues opt for ipe or mahogany and use the new "hidden" fasteners to give it a clean look and reap the side benefit that the fasteners also double as spacers.

 

Add layers for the deck, hot tub and stairs.

 

When you go for your permit the building department isn't going to be looking for a rendering. They will be looking at the structure and how it will be put together.

 

For your husband's sake I'd also add a handrail so he has something to hold on to. People have been known to slip even on wood decks as they go up and down stairs.

Edited by ReMark
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What is the rule of thumb, deck nail gap between boards?

 

 

i believe it depends on the climate and season you are installing the deck boards. But generally if you fasten the decking down tight it will dry out and give you spacing for drainage.

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You guys are tough! Iagree with all your points, but it will take me too long to fix them. We have a builder who is working on it and he knows what he is doing for spacing and supports, etc. As for the wood, we looked at ipe and different composites, and it was just too much money. We are upgrading to ipe for the railings.

 

The builder is not counting on my drawing, I’m just doing it to try to visualize what he is suggesting and trying to come up with some last minute alternatives. They already have torn up the old boards and they just delivered the wood, and will probably start tomorrow. The builder suggested having the tub lower than I have shown and just having a platform extending from the bottom step, one step up. That won’t work, so our fallback option is to leave it the way it is and just have two steps coming down (with the hot-tub sitting higher than shown), or to try something like I have drawn; with the extension to the hot-tub one step down.

 

I really like the semi-sunken look, but I don’t want my husband to suffer getting in and out of it. That is why I am hoping for a compromise that will look good too. I know my drawing needs to be cleaned up alot, I was hoping for some ideas or suggestions on the design of the steps (looking beyond the cad drawing flaws) and how it looks with the hot tub elevation.

 

As for the Cad part, I can’t get it to apply a material. When I right click on the material the"assign to selection" is not highlighted for me to choose it.

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Concentrate on the design not on the materials. You want to be able to show the carpenter what you have in mind for the hot tub and stairs. He won't care if it's rendered or not. A shaded view will be of just as much use to him.

 

I have two slipped discs in my back and one in my neck. I know all about back pain. I would want to be able to enter the hot tub in the easiest manner possible. For me that would mean walking up to it, sitting down on the edge and swinging my legs over and into the tub then lowering myself to a seated position.

 

If you are going to retain the stairs make sure the treads are the same width.

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I applaud you for using CAD for this but in all honesty this is what SketchUp was made for. You can knock this deck out in 1/4 of the time in SketchUp and even show materials. This design is just for you, not an assignment or any other required method. Just for you and the builder to get together on some ideas. In my screen print above I have it in sketchup but no reason to just not start it in there to begin with. You obviously can use AutoCAD so sketchup will be easy to pickup. I know I give this as an answer sometimes but it really is that easy.

 

Edit: Model this in SketchUp and then throw it in Kerkythea (rendering engine) and you will have a sweet image!

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