I am planning on building a deck in the next few weeks but I am not sure what to do to prepare the ground. The deck will be resting on deck blocks which are concrete foundations desgined for a deck.
With the deck being so low to the ground I want to do something to remove the weed/grass and keep them down. I have thought about using weed killer to just kill the weeds/grass or I thought I could just dig everything up then cover the ground in tarp or garden fabric. Both options have benefits and drawbacks.
How can I remove the weeds/grass under where my deck will be?
I would remove all vegetation, using a turf cutter or box blade first. Then I’d put down a heavy plastic weed barrier, and cover that with medium size gravel (1/2" to 1").
I’ve built plenty of decks right on top of the grass. The shade from the deckboards prevents anything from growing. Go ahead and use Roundup if you want but I see no reason to put down a barrier, especially with a low deck.
Ditto. I built a ground-level deck last summer and didn’t do any prep below it. No problems so far. Nothing seems to be able to grow beneath it.
('course, it could be because I’m putting down a layer of beer bottle caps. I slip 'em between the boards 'cause I don’t want to walk all the way to the trash can :rolleyes: )