Move a Heavy Deck

This falls into the category of "It's obvious once you know".

I needed to move my back deck. It's 12' x 12' and made of pressure treated wood. Heavy. We had placed it on the back of our house but as that area got little sun it became problematic. Moving it to the middle of our backyard seemed a way to continue to enjoy it. But moving it was the trick. Again, heavy. We tried to lift and end and flip it and flip it again to the spot, but it would not budge.

There was little online. I did find a YouTube video of a guy who used peeler posts to roll a smaller deck; he laid them down and the deck rolled on the posts as the posts rolled. For someone who grew up watching In Search Of and knew "the secrets of the pyramids" it was an obvious solution. But his deck seemed light.

Our local hardware store had peeler posts, but they were not uniformly round and cost a bit of money. I balked.

Then, on a contractor forum where a guy was seeking advice on moving a deck so an old oil tank could be dug out below it, the final solution revealed itself. PVC pipe. Everyone the forum advocated for just tearing it down and starting new or using a forklift. But, at the bottom, someone said if the ground was flat to use PVC pipe on top of boards.

This is that solution.

Note: I did this alone. One person job, but having friends makes it easier.

Note: Decks are heavy. Watch fingers, toes, hands....

PVC Pipe: It was unclear to me if PVC pipe would crack under the weight, but even two lengths on a side held strong. On runners, 2" rolls fine. I had some scrap 2" pipe in my basement from an upgrade. It was enough to cut 8 six inch lengths. That worked, but I would recommend at least 2' lengths--longer if you think you'll reuse them for another project. The deck moves around and every foot or so the short length would slip off the runner and I'd have to jack that edge with a lever. Frustrating.

Runner Boards: At least 6" wide. Your 2" pipe will probably not roll on the ground. The wider the board the more latitude for the rollers and deck to move around without it dislodging--this will give you time to readjust with ease. I started with the 2 x 3s I had laying around--it offered proof of concept but after a foot was a bust. For the successful move, I used 2 x 4s and doubled them up next to each other.

Rope: I attached a strong rope to each side of the deck. This not only allowed me to pull the sides evenly, but I could correct direction as it drifted to one side or the other.

Note: Decks are heavy. Watch fingers, toes, hands....

You will be dealing with the edges of the deck running in the direction you want the deck to go. In this step, you want to place the runners under those edges and then put your rollers on the runner and under the deck's edge.

For me, I had to both lift the deck up to remove the blocks holding it up and place the runners and PVC pipe under it. At the start, I used a car jack. Soon, though, I realized that a) I could not get everywhere around the deck because it was against the house and b) once the deck was off the blocks it was too low for the jack to get under.

"Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.."

So said Archimedes. I found an iron bar in my garage (lever) and used a 2 x 6 wood block I had around, putting it on it's edge for height (fulcrum). With it, I could lift the deck and do all adjustments needed.

When placing the runners and PVC, I lifted the deck and placed it on a scrap piece of 2 x 6 that could easily be pulled away. Note: It easily being pulled away means it can also easily fall away, and that heavy deck will land on your fingers, toes, hand.... Be careful.

I first laid on the ground a runner board along the side of the deck where it would go under. Then, I put one end on a piece of scrap and lifted the other high enough to kick the runner under the edge of the deck. With the runner in place, I lifted one end of the deck and placed the PVC roller in place under that end. With the deck now raised on one end, I used my lever to raise the deck where I wanted to place the next roller. On a 12' deck I used four rollers per side, although it went down to two or three in the thick of the move.

With the deck ready to roll, I then tied a strong rope I had to the front of each side of the deck. Attaching it on each side not only allowed me to pull evenly, but, more important, I could adjust the direction of the deck as it drifted.

Pull on the rope. The deck should move.

If not, check if the rollers can actually roll. Is it caught on something? If you have a gap between runner boards it might be stuck there. My rollers, 6' short and on 2 x 3 for the trail, simply flipped to the side. But when I had it right--the roller on two 2 x 4s, I was surprised by just how easily the whole thing moved.

Gone six inches? Stop. Check rollers. Note if the deck is wandering. Correct it. From your vantage point it is hard to tell, but fixing problem now saves a lot of effort later. As it moves further, you should check it every foot or so.

Note: Decks are heavy. Watch fingers, toes, hands....

When I got to my final resting spot, I left the rollers and runners in place. With my lever, I was able to lift it and slide a 4" thick cinder block under each corner. The blocks were higher than the rollers; in the end, removing everything was a breeze. Then, I just readjusted the blocks where I wanted them, going corner by corner. Done.

Now, put a chair on it and relax.

Issues to be aware of:

Your rear roller will pop out the back as your progress. Grab it and put it at the front. Your rollers will rotate like this as you go.

Gaps in the running board. I had two 2 x 4s running parallel to each other, but I staggered where the end of each met with the next one so the roller did not drop into a single gap. If you are using planks, just be aware. Often, the other rollers will accommodate; you can just adjust as you go.

Keep that lever handy! Expect all sorts of issues where you'll need to raise the deck and inch and slip a roller in or adjust a runner. The lever makes quick work of that.

Go slow. Foot by foot adds up quickly, but at first I was thinking twenty-feet. I rushed. The deck swerved and I spent twenty minutes setting it back up.

Decks are heavy. Watch fingers, toes, hands....

If you change directions: I dragged my deck 30' from the house, then moved it 15' to the left. When I got 30', I simply redid the set up. But I didn't have to start from scratch!

I had runners that were not in use at that moment. Because the deck was already at the height I wanted I was able to place some runners where I wanted them on the new edge of the deck. Then, using my lever, I lifted the deck on the edge I was using and pulled out a single roller and moved it to where the new runner was. Slowly, I transferred each roller to the new runner, transferring the weight along with it.

Rollers and runners in place, I dragged the deck to its final resting spot.