Decking in Figtree for Sloping Back Yards
Figtree sits on the lower slopes of the escarpment, and the usual decking job here starts with a back yard nobody uses. The ground falls away from the house hard enough that the lawn is no good for a table, a trampoline or anything else, and the only flat part is a strip near the back door. The suburb filled in through the fifties, sixties and seventies, mostly on stepped footings or tall piers, and anything you add outside has to deal with the same fall.
A deck is usually the cheapest way to turn that fall into a space, because it spans the slope rather than fighting it. On these blocks it is a high deck on posts, with the far end carrying a good deal more height than the house end. That means footings into Figtree clay, bracing sized for the post height, and a proper flight of stairs down to the yard with somewhere level to land.
Marcio is Wollongong based and Figtree is minutes away. Decking, stairs, retaining walls, balustrades and the concreting for footings are all our own work, which matters on a sloping block because the deck, the stair landing and any wall at the bottom of the yard get set out as one job instead of by two trades working around each other.
Decking Work We Do in Figtree
High Decks on Posts for Figtree Blocks
Where the yard falls away, the deck works off the house level on posts. Bracing sized for the height so the frame does not move underfoot. A tall deck with no proper bracing feels springy from the first day and there is no fixing it without pulling boards up, so it is worth getting right once rather than cheaply.
Footings Below the Clay Zone
Reactive clay lifts and drops through the year. Footings that stop inside that moving layer take the post with them, which shows up as a deck that has twisted or a post that has pushed up proud. We go past that layer, and we say so in the quote so you can see where the difference sits against a cheaper figure.
Stairs and a Real Landing
A flight down a steep yard needs level ground at the bottom. The pad or low wall is in the quote rather than appearing later as a variation. Stairs themselves are predictable. It is the landing that gets left out of a cheap quote, and it is the part that cannot be skipped once the deck is up.
Using the Space Underneath
A high deck creates covered storage or a shaded sitting area below it. Worth planning for at frame stage, because retrofitting it is harder. Even just deciding now whether that space stays open or gets closed in changes how the posts and the ground beneath them are handled, and the drainage under there matters either way.
Decks We Have Built Around the Illawarra
A high deck off the house level on a falling block, with the stair flight landing on a levelled pad.
Slope, Clay and Stairs
On a sloping block the deck is built off the house level and the ground drops away underneath it, so the posts at the far end can be a good deal longer than the ones at the house. That is normal and it is not a problem, but it does mean the footings and the bracing have to be right. A tall post on an unbraced frame moves, and you feel it when you walk on the deck. Past a certain height a post stops being a simple prop and becomes a structural element in its own right, which changes its size, its fixings and the bracing around it.
The footings go into Figtree clay, which is the second factor. Clay swells when it is wet and shrinks when it dries, so a shallow footing lifts and settles through the year and takes the post with it. That shows up as a deck that feels springy or a post that has pushed up proud of the frame. The footings need to get down past the zone that moves, and on this ground that is deeper than most people expect. We say so in the quote so you can compare it against a cheaper one and see where the difference is.
The stairs are the third thing, and they are where a lot of sloping block decks go wrong. A deck a good height above the yard needs a proper flight down, not a ladder, and the flight needs somewhere to land. On a steep yard the landing often needs a small retaining wall or a pad, and if that is not in the quote it turns up as a variation. The stairs themselves are predictable. It is the landing that gets left out.
The last thing is water, which on an escarpment block comes down the hill and finds whatever timber is closest to the ground. Posts on galvanised stirrups rather than set into concrete is a small decision that decides how long the structure lasts, because a post cast into concrete looks solid on day one and rots at the line where the two meet.
More on decking, retaining walls, carpentry and landscaping.
Is a Deck Cheaper Than Levelling the Yard?
On a steep Figtree block, usually yes, and often by a lot.
Levelling a falling yard means retaining walls, excavation, spoil removal and drainage. On a serious slope that is a big job, and when it is finished you have flat ground that still needs surfacing and planting.
A deck spans the fall instead of fighting it. The posts carry the structure down to the ground at whatever height each one needs, and you get a usable flat area at the level you actually want it, which is the same level as the house.
There are cases where the yard work wins. If you want lawn for kids or a shed on a slab, a deck does not give you that, and terracing is the answer. A combination is common too, with a deck off the house and a single low wall further down making one level area in the yard.
We do both, so there is no reason for us to steer you towards one. What we will do is give you a figure for each so the comparison is real rather than theoretical.
Thinking about a deck in Figtree?
Send through photos of the area and the rough size you have in mind, and you will get a straight answer on what it involves and what it costs.
Contracts, Deposits and What NSW Asks For
Renovation work in NSW comes with consumer protections worth knowing before you sign anything. A written contract is required once the contract price is over $5,000 including GST. Work between $5,000 and $20,000 can run under a small works contract; above $20,000 it needs a full home building contract, and home building compensation cover with the certificate that goes with it. The maximum deposit anyone can ask for is 10 per cent, on a small job or a large one. Variations should be agreed in writing before the varied work happens, not reconciled at the end. None of that is unique to us, and you should expect it from whoever you use.
Quoting a Figtree Deck
Every job gets quoted on what it actually needs. We look at the access, the condition of what is already there, the materials you want and how much of the existing work can be kept, then give you a figure before anything starts. Two jobs that look identical in photos can be very different once someone is standing in the room, so we do not publish a rate card. You get a price for your job, and it does not move once we have agreed it.
Figtree is minutes from Wollongong, with Unanderra, Mount Keira, Mount Pleasant and Mangerton all close by. Work on this side of the city gets batched where the timing allows, which keeps travel off the invoice and makes a return visit for a part straightforward. A first look on a sloping block means walking the fall from the back door to the fence and checking the side access, because the drop and what can get in decide most of the price.
Plumbing and electrical work is carried out by licensed partners, not in-house.
Figtree Decking Questions
How deep do footings need to go on a Figtree block?+
Deeper than people expect, because of the clay. Reactive clay swells and shrinks with the seasons, and a footing that sits inside that moving zone lifts and settles with it, which shows up as a deck that feels springy or a post that has pushed up proud of the frame. The footing has to get below the layer that moves. Where the deck is high or the slope is severe we will say that engineering input is needed rather than guessing at it, and that is a separate cost charged by the engineer rather than something we mark up.
Do the stairs cost much more on a sloping yard?+
They can, and the reason is the landing rather than the stairs themselves. A flight has to land on something level, and on a steep yard that often means a pad or a low retaining wall at the bottom. The stairs are predictable. The landing is the part that gets left out of a cheap quote and then appears as a variation. We include it from the start so the figure means something when you put it next to another one, and we build the wall ourselves if one is needed.
How do I get a deck quoted in Figtree?+
Photos from the back door looking out, and from the bottom of the yard looking back, plus a rough size. The fall across the block is the main thing we are reading from those, because it sets the posts, the footings and the stairs. If you know roughly how far the ground drops from the house to the fence, that helps more than anything else. You get the exclusions listed in writing. Call 0413 147 335.
Can you do the retaining wall and the deck together?+
Yes, and on a sloping block that combination is common. Retaining walls, decking, stairs and balustrades are all our own work, so the deck, the stair landing and any wall at the bottom of the yard get set out as one job instead of two trades working around each other. It also means one figure for the whole yard rather than two quotes that each assume the other trade will handle the middle, which is where the money usually leaks.
While we are in Figtree, we also take on carpentry, landscaping, welding and fencing. Nearby: decking in Oak Flats.
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