The Internet is littered with photos and stories about ground-contact treated lumber that has rotted or been attacked by insects.

The blocks have to be buried which means the wood deck post is also partially buried, leaving it subject to moisture penetration and wood-destroying insects.

The post just rests on the block and you hope the concrete lugs don’t break off the block over time.

Concrete pier blocks don’t have any way to mechanically connect to the wood deck posts.

The deck blocks can almost always be handled by one person.It’s important to realize the pier blocks are small and offer the least amount of support most decks require. There are more cons to concrete deck blocks than there are pros. It’s a minimalist approach to supporting a deck. Just as you pull on the cap to expose the pen, you can lift up a deck off the blocks. Concrete lugs on the block act like the sidewalls of a pen cap. A wood deck support post fits down inside the concrete pier block. Precast concrete piers must be set with a crane or backhoe on the job site.Ĭoncrete deck blocks are very crude and resemble the cap you might have on a cheap ballpoint pen. They cannot, however, be simply placed at grade level.ĭeck blocks are not to be confused with real concrete piers that are either precast and weigh hundreds and hundreds of pounds or with piers you cast in place using precut rebar reinforced plastic forms that can easily be placed and handled by the average person. They must have a sufficient bearing area (the area of the block that sits on the earth) and be a minimum of 12-inches below grade, or below the local frost depth. They’re subject to all of the same requirements as a typical footing, regardless of not being cast-in-place.

What are Concrete Deck Blocks?Ī deck block is in many ways just a simplified version of a “precast foundation,” a foundation type recognized by building codes. Perhaps the biggest drawback to concrete deck blocks is their limited potential as you never want to bury them in the ground thus causing potential rot issues with the wooden deck posts. They are just one option for support deck weight and come with certain pros and cons. Their purpose is to spread out the extreme concentrated loads at the bottom of wooden deck posts onto strong soil. It was cheaper, but cheaper isn't always better.Concrete deck blocks are primitive building materials that look similar to children’s toys that snap together to build things. With the stuff from the discount store, getting the film off is very difficult. With Shurtape, all that is necessary to remove the film from the back of the tape is to snag near a corner with a knife and lift the film. I found a roll of double-stick tape at a discount store (kinda like a dollar store but larger) that looks a lot like Shurtape, but with one very important difference. Also, fabric is resilient and can withstand catches without breaking the bond. The adhesive is very sticky, especially if the taped joint is compressed for a few minutes. The fact that it is fabric means that the tape itself is somewhat compressable which means that it can more readily conform to the irregular surfaces of the glue block and workpiece. Shurtape is a fabric tape with a removable blue film to protect the adhesive on the back side of the tape. Unfortunately, the other issue at Lowes is that no one who works there knows where anything is, so you are on your own to search for whatever you are looking for. Of course Lowes is like the supermarket - they move things around weekly so that you can never find what you are looking for - that way you are more likely to see something you didn't know you need until you actually see it. I bought a couple of rolls at Lowes - the first time it was on one of those 'appendage racks' added to the end of row in the floor covering department, but the next time I found it in with the other tapes and adhesives in the paint department. In one of his videos many years ago, Captain Eddy recommended Shurtape brand carpet tape. The books say that you should never use 'carpet tape', but rather should use only fit-for-purpose turning tape.

Home depot double sided carpet tape