DIY Wooden Boardwalk

5 Materials
$800
2 Months
Advanced

Our backyard is pretty wide open and since we renovated our basement, we wanted to create a walkway/path from our deck to the basement entry. My husband came up with an idea for a walkway that mimics a beach boardwalk.

Here is the area where we built the walkway. We also moved the pool pump and filter away from the deck, which is why those pipes are uncovered.

We measured out the size of the deck, then dug post holes to sink pressure treated 4X4's in on each corner with concrete in order to create a stable base for the deck. It is built pretty much like a mini deck with a frame and cross pieces attached with joist hangers.

Before we screwed the top deck boards on, we put down a layer of landscape fabric to keep grass/weeds from growing up through the deck.

We used deck screws to attach the pressure treated deck boards to each joist.

We repeated the process for another deck, which is a step up from the previous one and staggered by a couple of feet so that the walkway ended up in front of the pool equipment.

This is the finished boardwalk. I will eventually stain the boards to match our deck and add flowers to the area on the left where there is a gap.

If you are interested in seeing how we covered the pool equipment, head over to my Hinged Cover for Pool Equipment post.

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  3 questions
  • Pac12719888 Pac12719888 on Aug 18, 2018

    For the deck that is ground level, did you do the 4x4s on the corners? Or is it on the ground?

  • Hlpinghand Hlpinghand on Aug 21, 2018

    Did one of your decks cover the pool equipment? If yes, how will you get to the equipment if you need to? Thank you for sharing your project, it's beautiful!!!!


  • Michelle Lynes Michelle Lynes on Jul 13, 2020

    How long is your deck?

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  • PAMELA PAMELA on Oct 06, 2018

    LOOKS LIKE AN ADVENTURE ON THE BOARDWALK. YOU ARE IN NC? DO YOU DRAIN ALL THE WATER IN THE PIPES FOR WINTER? WE HAVE TO BURY OUR WATER PIPES FOR SPRINKLER SYSTEMS, LOW ENOUGH NOT TO FREEZE THE WATER THAT CAN BREAK THE PIPES AND I AM IN SAN ANTONIO, TX. JUST A THOUGHT I HAD, I IMAGINE YOU USED DECK SCREWS? IF YOU NEED TO INSULATE THE PIPES, BUY PIPE INSULATION THAT WRAPS AROUND THE PIPES. YOU CAN ALSO USE THEM ON YOUR OUTDOOR FAUCETS.

    CHEERIO, PAMELA

    • Yes, we are in NC and we do drain our pipes when we close the pool. We did use deck screws on the boardwalk..it was essentially built like a deck, just in sections. Thanks for commenting!

  • Diana H Diana H on Oct 07, 2019

    Currently working to replace wooden front walkway, didn't think of using pallets as replacement to top boards. Thank you.

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