Create a new job filling in all the details required
In the Design section, choose Deck
The deck wizard will open
Make the choices required and move through the steps
RECTANGLE SHAPE
The default deck is 3000 wide x 6000 long with the joists running north-south and the flooring running perpendicular.
Deck Dimensions
On the plan, select the dimensions to change your desired size
Choose Rotate Left, or Rotate Right to turn the outline 90 degrees - joist will always run north south
Set your Deck Height
ATTACHMENTS
Select the construction material of the structure the deck is attaching to
Masonry attachments have specific requirements which are outlined in a pop-up window if chosen
Left click on the side(s) which will be attached
If there are no attaching sides, select NEXT to move to the next window
JOIST SPACING & MATERIAL
The joists can be spaced to suit three types of flooring material
Softwood
Hardwood
Fibre Cement
This option can be changed after the wizard has been exited
Once all the choices have been made, you can Create your Deck
If you need to go back to change any of the properties, select BACK at the bottom of the wizard window
When the Deck wizard closes, your deck plan will appear in the workspace with the Properties tab to the right just like the Skillion and Gable structures
The Engineering for the structure will calculate automatically
Bracing is usually only required in decks 1m or greater in height
BRACING (deck Height > 1000mm)
When your deck height is >1000mm, the system will request Bracing be added
Bracing must be added to both the NS and EW directions
To Add Bracing:
Select the perimeter beam where the bracing is to be added
Select the Brace Type in the drop-down box
The force value of the brace will be recorded in the bracing calculator
Keep adding bracing in each direction until the requirements are met
In this case, the angle or length of the bracing is outside the allowed range, a warning will appear
A post will need to be added to reduce the span of the bracing
ADDING A POST
Click the bracing and choose Delete Brace
Select the Perimeter beam and choose ADD POST - a post will be added in the spot you selected along the beam
Select the beam again and add your bracing
The warning now disappears
Once all bracing requirements have been met, the green Engineering tick will appear
BEAMS AND POSTS
Select your Post Size and Colour
Choose your Post Position
Post Spacing can be altered within the range given by the software
The footing Shape can also be changed from Square to Circular
You can attempt to reduce the number of posts by increasing the post spacing If the spacing is too great, the Engineering will not pass
In the example below, the spacing was increased to 3000mm in a 6000mm wide deck and the bearers fail. Increasing the bearer size did the solve the issue
DECK BEARERS
These are the perimeter beams and any other horizontal beams that run in the same direction as the flooring
Bearer spacing is set at 2960mm by default so an intermediate bearer will only be added in a deck longer than 3000mm
The initial design spaces the bearers evenly through the structure
ADDING AND MOVING BEARERS
If more bearers are required, the Bearer Locations function can be used
Bearers can be added at a minimum distance of 1000mm from the top bearer
In this example the user has chosen to add a bearer to the model of their deck at 1000mm from the top beam
Enter the value and press Enter
The bearer is added and listed next to Bearer Locations
To modify that bearer, the user can click on the Location and edit or delete that Bearer
The user can add a second bearer by adding another value in the Bearer Locations box and pressing Enter
DECK JOISTS
The spacing of the joists was chosen in the wizard but can be altered here if needed
The EDGE JOIST forms the rest of the perimeter of the deck with the bearers
If your Bearers are selected as 200mm Firmlock, and your joists are 150mm, the edge joists will be 150mm
By ticking the "Match Edge Joist to Bearer" option, all the joist size will be the same as the Bearers, and all perimeter beams will be the same beam size
