Imagine you pull your RV into your seasonal site and finally have the perfect spot picked out. There's room for your outdoor furniture, a BBQ, maybe even a fire pit.
There's just one problem.
The site isn't level.
One side of the area is a few inches higher than the other, and suddenly building a traditional deck doesn't seem quite so simple.
You could dig out the higher side. You could add soil or gravel to the lower side. You could build a more complicated structure to compensate for the slope.
Or, you could work with the ground you already have.
With blokDEK, your ground doesn't have to be perfectly level for your deck to be level.
blokDEK's modular aluminum frame has built-in leveling feet that allow you to adjust the height of the deck by up to 4 inches. For sites with more of a slope, patio stones can be placed underneath the leveling feet to create additional height where it's needed.
And if you're looking to build a deck significantly off the ground, our team can help you determine the best approach for your project.
Let's look at how it works.
Why Uneven Ground Is Usually the Hard Part
Building a deck on uneven ground isn't necessarily about the deck itself. It's about creating a level, stable foundation for the deck when the ground underneath isn't level.
Traditional deck builds often require more site preparation when you're working with uneven terrain. Depending on the property, that can mean digging, grading, moving soil or creating additional support to account for changes in elevation before the deck can be built.
The more uneven the site, the more complicated that preparation can become.
But there's another way to approach it.
Instead of making the entire yard level, you can build a frame that adjusts to the yard you actually have.
That's where a modular deck system with built-in leveling comes in.
And because blokDEK is modular, you can adjust the individual sections of the deck rather than trying to solve the entire site's elevation difference at once.
How blokDEK Handles Grade Changes
Every blokDEK frame includes leveling feet built into the base, adjustable up to 4 inches. That range is enough to compensate for a lot of natural variation in a yard: a gentle slope, a slightly low corner, or soil that settled unevenly over time, without any digging, contractors, or pouring a new pad.
In practice, that means you can:
- Set each module independently, adjusting the feet until the deck surface is level even if the ground underneath isn't
- Work with the existing terrain instead of trying to make the entire deck footprint perfectly flat
- Avoid excavation and grading costs that traditional framing usually requires
- Correct for minor settling after installation, rather than tearing the deck apart to fix it
- Move or reconfigure the modular deck if your needs or location change
The modular design and being able to reconfigure or level the deck is particularly useful for RV owners and seasonal properties. You're not necessarily making a permanent change to the landscape just to create a level outdoor living space.
Planning Your Build on a Sloped or Uneven Site
1. Measure the grade before you order. Walk the footprint and note the high and low points. If the difference across the site is within a few inches, blokDEK's leveling feet can likely handle it directly. For anything beyond 4 inches of variation, you may need to address the most extreme high or low spots first, but you won't need to level the whole yard, just the outliers. In most cases this can be achieved with patio stones. For more extreme cases, our team would be happy to recommend an installation solution.
2. Start from the highest point. Set your first module or frame section at the highest point of the site and use it as your reference height. Working from there makes it easier to see how much adjustment each subsequent module will need.
3. Adjust the leveling feet module by module. Rather than leveling the entire sub-frame at once, adjust each module's feet as you place it, checking it is level as you go off the first module that you leveled. This is where the modular design pays off, you're solving the unevenness in small, manageable sections instead of one large, unforgiving span.
What If Your Yard Has More Than 4 Inches of Slope?
The built-in leveling feet provide up to 4 inches of adjustment. If your site has more of a slope than that, you don't necessarily need to abandon the idea of a ground-level deck.
Patio stones can be stacked underneath the leveling feet to create additional height where it's needed.
Think of the patio stones as helping you bridge the larger difference in elevation, while the leveling feet handle the final adjustments.
For example, if one side of your RV site is several inches lower than the other, you can use additional patio stones underneath the leveling feet on the lower side. You can then use the leveling feet to make the final adjustments and bring the frame level.
The goal isn't to make the ground flat. The goal is to create level support points for the deck.
If you're dealing with a significant elevation change or want your deck raised substantially off the ground, that's when you should reach out to our team. We can help you determine the best approach for your particular site.
The Bottom Line
You don't need a flat yard to get a level deck. With up to 4 inches of adjustment built into every frame, blokDEK's leveling feet are designed to handle the kind of everyday grade changes that would otherwise require regrading, extra labor, and added cost. Measure your site, start high, level module by module, and let the frame do the rest.
Ready to plan your build? Explore blokDEK deck kits to get started.
