Decks, verandas and balconies
Draw a deck, a veranda, a balcony or a porch with steps, railing and a roof, and see the joists, beams, posts and footings under it.
In the video0:41
How to do it
Choose Deck (T) and click two corners or drag, or draw an outline. Start on a house wall to fix the deck to it.
Set the height: on the ground (a platting), at the floor (a veranda or a balcony) or a height you type.
Choose the decking and the board direction, a railing for each open side, and add steps down to the garden.
Add a roof – shed, gable or flat – with any covering, glass and polycarbonate too.
Switch the plan to Structure to see the ledger, joists, beams, posts and footings, with the materials and the permit notes in the panel.
Good to know
- The structure is roughly pre-sized in C24 and glulam for a balcony’s load and the site’s snow, with joists at c/c 600 mm. A structural engineer must check it before you build.
- The steps are checked against your country’s stair rules, and the app warns about open sides more than 0.5 m above the ground without a railing.
- Decks show in 3D, on the plans, elevations, sections and the site plan, and they stand on the planned terrain.
Questions and answers
Does my deck need a permit?
It depends on its height above the ground, its size, a roof over it, the distance to the boundary and the local plan. In Norway the app checks the limits of the SAK10 § 4-1 exemption one by one; elsewhere it gives a note to check with the building authority. Either way, the authority decides.
Does a deck count in the built-up area?
In Norway, a deck more than 0.5 m above the ground, or under a roof, counts in the BYA, and the site plan adds it. In the area table, open decks, terraces and balconies are TBA, not BRA.
What can it stand on?
A ledger bolted to the house wall, or posts all round for a free-standing deck. The posts stand on cast pads, on piers down to frost-free depth or on ground screws.