What are decking & paver supports and how to use them?

Adjustable flooring supports, such as MESA Supports, are plastic support structures, often described as pedestals, feet or risers; they act as miniature pillars, supporting the joist sub-structure for decking, flooring or sitting between the corners of paving. The support pedestals create a professional standard surface, being both even and stable, that can be installed quickly irrespective of the surface levels underneath.

Why should I use decking and paver supports?

• Supports can save you the laborious job of levelling a surface through digging out a surface levels, laying cement or installing lumber support posts. They simply sit on the underlying hard surface and a small adjustment brings the support to the required support height.
• If you need to create a floating surface that cannot penetration any underlying membranes, such as on a flat roof area; the risers come with protective rubber mats to sit on, where there is minimal risk of scratching a waterproof layer.
• Supports improve drainage by lifting sub structures and preventing localised pooling, as well as improving ventilation under the sub structure. This also helps to reduce the build-up of mould under the flooring surface.
• When used with paving they remove the need to deal with sand levelling and concrete fixing, allowing a much quicker installation.
• Compared to traditional post supports, the support pedestals are far lighter making them easier and safer to work with, especially in high locations.

Components of MESA Support risers:

1. The base and the head of the support are the basic components of a MESA Support riser and are required for all builds.
2. For taller supports there may also be a collar fixing ring, this locks the head in the desired adjusted height – reinforcing the support against shock movement and vibrations. 

3. If you are using the supports on sloping ground, which has a fall from 0% - 5%, a slope corrector is an easy way to create a perfectly level surface without having to re-engineer your project. Slope correctors are simply placed under the supports and adjusted to the slope level.

4. Rubber pads – these are recommended if constructing your decking or paving surface on a roof terrace or other situations where a waterproof membrane is at risk of being compromised. 

5. Joist cradles – an added feature that are secured to the head of the supports and form a cradle system for joists and bearers. The 4-way channels are 60mm wide, allowing most joists to fit and have slotted screw holes to secure joists in place. 

6. Paving spacer – a quick and simple way of creating consistent spacing between pavers or tiles, these can create a 2, 3.5 or 5mm gap between pavers. The supports are placed where the four corners of each paver meet. For different shapes, individual spacer tabs can be bought. They perform the same function but allow greater flexibility in design.

7. Rubber paving shims – on paved areas, these allow for fine tuned levelling and help noise dampening.

How to use MESA Supports?

The multi-functional capability of adjustable supports makes them especially useful for constructing hard landscaping areas on terraces, balconies, ballasted flat roofs and podium decks.

This is because they are applicable to projects with strict height allowances, they can support heavy loads and provide risk free support over a sensitive waterproof membranes (when used in conjunction with a rubber pad) i.e. roof terrace projects.

The functionality of support risers is not limited to decking, in fact support can be used to support paving, tiling, metal grates and fibreglass grids – in both a residential and commercial spaces.

Support pedestals are very easy to use; you simply place the pedestals at the manufacturer recommended support centres for your sub-frame, then twist the adjustable head to the desired height. If you have opted for a MESA Joist Cradle or paving spacer, this will simply click onto the top of your positioned support.

MESA Supports, as sold at EnviroBuild.com, are the most intelligent, robust and sustainable decking support in the market. They are made from 90% recycled materials, ranging from 10mm – 1280mm, with huge weight bearing capabilities.