Deck - please give advice

Hi everyone, I am new here and I'm just after a bit of advice. We bought our place almost 4 years ago and since then our ageing tiny deck has been falling apart. We would really like to re-build the deck, make it bigger and put a roof over it.

As we are getting a large lump of tax back I thought now would be the perfect time, however we won't have enough to do the roof just yet.

We are a bit lost at where to start. We are thinking of doing the deck under the 24m squared so we don't have to seek our local councils approval. Basically I want to know what provisions we would need to put on the deck in order for us to attach a roof a year or two down the track? We would want to put a nice roof on (lined with lighting etc). We would love to make the deck bigger (around 8x4) but we're thinking it might not be worth the hassle of council, so instead we could go something like 6x4, and get council approval for the roof at a later date.

Any help or tips you can offer will be greatly appreciated!!!

Thank you

If it has a roof, it needs approval no matter the size. There are a zillion “how to build a deck” sites but be careful as you’ll need to follow council/ncc standards.

Thanks for your reply. I know I will have to get council approval for a roof regardless. But I was thinking we could do the deck now, and then get approval for the roof and build that later. Therefore we would need to know what provisions to put on the deck now for the roof to go on later... if that makes sense.

I understand your thinking. You’ll need to research your state and council regulations regarding what plans you need to provide and if you need footing inspections etc.