Suspended concrete deck cover

by Lynette
(Idaho)

Question:

I am building a suspended concrete deck using angle iron as a border. How do I keep the concrete and/or water from running underneath and down the walls?

Answer:

Hi Lynette,

Thanks for visiting all-concrete-cement.com

It appears the suspended concrete deck you are building is exposed to the weather. If that is the case, make sure the steel angles are galvanized or painted to give it more life

For concrete decks that are exposed to the weather, the common practice is to use concrete shoring. This is done by building a structure strictly to support the concrete until the concrete is poured and reach it's full strength, which is usually takes 28 days, before the shoring can be removed.

The benefit to concrete shoring is you rely on concrete to do all the work because concrete is much more durable and can withstand weather much better than steel, whether or not steel is protected.

On the other hand the benefit to using steel angles is only temporary. It is much faster to install, and cheaper perhaps but corrosion down the road can outweigh the benefit.

As far as the question of preventing water from draining down to the walls below creating water marks and water damages, there is none that I can think of beside building a shade to cover the area.

This is more a waterproofing question than concrete. Roofers, since they deal a lot more with preventing water from entering a structure will probably have better solution / suggestion than a guy who does structural stuff.

Hope this helps