Residential deck with I-beam construction?


  #1  
Old 05-30-13, 12:11 AM
J
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 24
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Residential deck with I-beam construction?

Have any of the pros here done residential steel decks or know roughly what a plain-jane steel frame would cost?

We have a 50's ranch and would like to have a rear deck going the length of the house (roughly 45' x 12'). For various reasons I won't go into, the spans need to be 25' and 20' AND I don't want to compromise the space underneath with a high beam (ideally 8", 10" max). Also, if we keep those spans we can take advantage of structural half-walls that are already in place so no new footings would be required.

Out of curiosity we started looking at steel and found some really sharp designs integrating exposed I-beam structures with wood elements on the stairs, railings, etc.

Cost now enters the equation and this is where curiosity kills the cat... online, one can configure a freestanding "mezzanine" this size and have it delivered for about $20k-- ready to assemble complete with brackets, screws, steps, railings, powder-coating, and with steel decking ready for flooring. I would never order such a thing but I'm thinking this could be a rough cost of something locally sourced-- about $35/sqft. Am I nuts? Granted, it still needs decking and is very plain-jane without any design elements but structure wise, it seems like a good deal even when you add in several days labor to assemble.

Is a residential deck very different from a mezzanine in the commercial world? I've seen $30/sqft thrown around for wood decks so I was a little surprised by the steel figure coming in relatively close.

Any pitfalls/tips regarding going with steel? I know there is light gauge steel too but something appealing about the I-beams... just not sure of the cost...
 
  #2  
Old 05-30-13, 01:09 AM
BridgeMan45's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: USA
Posts: 2,838
Upvotes: 0
Received 2 Upvotes on 2 Posts
An option to consider would be having an engineer design the thing for you, then shop around for material prices from local steel fabricators. It's been too many years since I was active in the business, but when I left (in 1999), fabricated steel was going for around $3 a pound for the simple stuff. Go with weathering steel, and you'll never have to paint it, allowing the natural, rust-colored patina to do its thing.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description: