Decking in Thirroul, Built for Escarpment Blocks
Thirroul runs from the beach back to the foot of the escarpment in a few hundred metres, and the blocks reflect that. The village is full of cottages from the first wave of subdivision, with sixties and seventies houses filling the streets behind them, and most of them sit on ground that falls one way or the other. The level living area is usually a storey above the yard.
So a deck here is a structure rather than a platform. That brings in footings, bracing and a balustrade that has to meet the rules, and it is why the quotes you get can vary so widely: two builders pricing the same deck can be costing two different jobs without either of them saying so. Salt off the ocean decides the fixings. The escarpment decides how much sun the deck gets, which is less than people expect on the blocks that run back towards the hill.
Marcio is Wollongong based and Thirroul is a straight run up the highway. Decking, stairs, carpentry, pergolas and the balustrade on top are all our own work, and the steel or wire barrier is fabricated in our own shop so the fixings are allowed for in the frame rather than drilled into finished boards at the end.
Decking Work We Do in Thirroul
Compliant Balustrades on a Thirroul Deck
A metre high where the drop exceeds a metre, no 125mm gaps, and nothing climbable between 150mm and 760mm on a high deck. Designed in from the start, because the balustrade fixings have to be allowed for in the frame rather than drilled into finished boards at the end of the job. If you have a design in mind, we will tell you early whether it can be built as drawn.
Matched Fixings Through the Frame
Stainless with stainless, galvanised with galvanised. Mixing them in salt air is what causes the rust streaks on a two year old deck, and the damage is at the join rather than on the surface, so by the time you can see it the fixing has already lost strength. It costs very little to match them and it cannot be corrected later without dismantling the frame.
Decks Built for Escarpment Shade
Escarpment shade means a deck that dries slowly. Board choice, spacing and ventilation under the frame all matter more here than on a sunny block, and a deck that stays damp grows a film that gets slippery long before the timber itself is in trouble. On a shaded block that pushes the timber or composite decision in a particular direction.
Footings and Bracing
An elevated deck is a structure, not a platform. Posts, footings and bracing sized for the height rather than for the look of it. On a tall deck the bracing is what stops the frame flexing when people walk on it, and it is the first thing a cheap quote leaves out because nobody can see it once the boards are down.
Decks We Have Built Around the Illawarra
An elevated deck with a compliant wire balustrade, tensioned so the gaps stay inside the limit.
Height, Salt and Shade
The height is the first thing that shapes the job. Once a deck has a drop off the edge of more than a metre, the Building Code requires a barrier, and that barrier has to be at least a metre high measured from the deck surface. Any opening in it has to refuse a 125mm sphere, which is why wide gaps between wires or slats do not pass. Where the drop is more than four metres, nothing between 150mm and 760mm above the deck can be climbable, which rules out horizontal rails in that zone. Those are not our preferences, they are requirements, and they change the design rather than the trim.
Salt is the second factor. Thirroul is close enough to the ocean that fixings matter more than timber choice. Mixing stainless fixings with galvanised brackets puts two dissimilar metals in contact, and in salt air that causes galvanic attack at the join. The damage is inside the connection rather than on the surface, so by the time you can see the rust streaks on the boards below it the fixing has already lost strength. Matching the metals through the whole frame costs very little and removes the problem.
Shade is the third and it is the one people do not expect. The escarpment puts a lot of Thirroul back yards into shade for part of the day, especially through winter, and a deck that never dries properly grows a film that gets slippery long before the timber itself is in trouble. Board choice, spacing and ventilation under the frame all matter more on a shaded deck than a sunny one.
Underneath all of it is the frame. Boards are consumable and can be replaced on a sound frame. Bearers and joists sit under the boards and under the fixings, so replacing them means dismantling the deck. On an elevated deck the bracing is what stops the frame flexing when people walk on it, and it is the first thing a cheap quote leaves out because nobody can see it.
More on decking, gates, handrails and balustrades, pergolas and patios and carpentry.
Timber or Composite on a Shaded Block?
It depends on how much sun the deck gets and how much maintenance you are willing to do.
Hardwood looks better than anything else and it is the traditional choice here. On a deck that gets good sun and air, it ages well with an oil every year or two. On a deck in escarpment shade that stays damp, hardwood needs more attention, and if it does not get it the surface goes grey and slippery.
Composite does not care about shade in the same way. It does not need oiling and it does not grow a slippery film as readily. It costs more up front, it gets hotter in direct sun, and it does not have the look of real timber. Some brands fade in the first year more than people expect.
What matters more than either choice is the frame and the airflow under it. A deck with no ventilation underneath will hold moisture against the bearers regardless of what the boards are made of, and the frame is the part you cannot replace easily.
We will tell you honestly which one suits your position rather than pushing the one with the better margin.
Thinking about a deck in Thirroul?
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 Thirroul 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.
Thirroul is a straight run up the highway from Wollongong, with Austinmer, Bulli, Woonona and Helensburgh all close by. Work in the northern suburbs gets batched where the timing allows, which keeps travel sensible and makes a short return visit for a part practical. A first look on an elevated deck means measuring the drop and checking what the ground under it is, because the height and the footings decide most of the price before any board is chosen.
Plumbing and electrical work is carried out by licensed partners, not in-house.
Thirroul Decking Questions
What height does a deck balustrade have to be?+
Where the drop off the deck is more than a metre, the Building Code requires a barrier at least one metre high from the deck surface, and openings in it cannot pass a 125mm sphere. If the drop is over four metres, nothing climbable is allowed between 150mm and 760mm above the deck, so horizontal rails in that band are out. We work that into the design rather than treating the balustrade as a decoration added at the end. If you have a design in mind, tell us early and we will say whether it can be built as drawn rather than redrawing it on site.
Why do decks near the ocean get rust streaks?+
Usually because the fixings and the brackets are different metals. Stainless screws into galvanised brackets, or galvanised screws into stainless, sets up galvanic attack at the contact point, and salt air speeds it up a great deal. The streaks appear on the boards below the join. Matching the metals right through the frame is a small cost at build time and it removes the problem. Rinsing exposed hardware with fresh water now and then helps as well, and it costs nothing.
How do I get a deck quoted in Thirroul?+
Photos from a few angles, the rough size you have in mind, and how far the deck surface will be above the ground. That last one matters most, because the height decides the footings and the balustrade, and it is the single biggest reason two quotes for the same deck come out differently. If there is an old deck coming out, a photo of its frame tells us a lot. Call 0413 147 335.
Do you build the balustrade as well as the deck?+
Yes. Timber, steel and wire balustrades are our own work, including the fabrication, so the deck and the barrier are set out as one job. On an elevated deck that matters, because the balustrade fixings have to be allowed for in the frame rather than bolted on afterwards. It also means the metal and the finish are our call rather than whatever a supplier had available, which on a block this close to the ocean is the decision that matters most.
Thirroul jobs we also cover include carpentry, home renovations and welding. Nearby: decking in Figtree.
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