question about deck flooring

I've got a question for the chaps who have built their own decks or had a deck put on their house

We are currently in an Old and I mean old Queenslander and while we are renting here I do a lot of work on my back deck but the deck floor has been put together with absolutely No Spaces at all in the flooring
Is this normal or something new?

Now when it rains and is blowy and the rains comes into the deck from the west I've noticed that the edge of the deck flooring is starting to rot (the floor has been painted with what I have no idea)

Is it me or shouldn't wooden decks have some spacing in the floor if even a couple of mm?

Mind you this Old Fixer upper that we live in just sold for 445K and to be honest it needs a hell of a lot of work like a new roof and guttering and re-wiring and other wood rot behind the tiles in the shower to be honest to do it up you would need to spend at least $50+ K on it

but it has character and 12ft ceilings but has a beautiful set of 4 concertina'd
silky oak door which can open the TV/Lounge room into the dinning/computer room and even on the hotest day catches the slightest breeze from the front door down through the middle of the house straight out onto the deck.

Cheers Bio

These days we leave gaps between the decking
but back back in the olden days they didnt.
Some old timers even used T&G flooring on their verandahs and it lasted many years.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by echnidna

These days we leave gaps between the decking
but back back in the olden days they didnt.
Some old timers even used T&G flooring on their verandahs and it lasted many years.

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Hi Echnidna this is definately T&G but I don't think they sealed it correctly
as on the outer edges there is rot forming where the T&G is so obviously when it rains heavily the water has been getting in but this house is over 80yrs old but the kitchen and deck and bathroom were added around the mid 70's and the landlord hasn't done squat with it in years, theres even a break (in the floor) in front of the built in robe in the main bedroom you can feel it through the carpet I've put down a small piece of board to mark where not to stand LOLOL
but it is on a double block and only 5 mins from the city so price was dictated by size of block and being so central to Brisbane but gee it needs heaps of work
me when I build it will be a steel frame rendered brick house with a huge deck
I'm so over queenslanders LOLOL

Quote:

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Originally Posted by biotechy2k

this is definately T&G but I don't think they sealed it correctly
as on the outer edges there is rot forming where the T&G is so obviously when it rains heavily the water has been getting in but this house is over 80yrs old but the kitchen and deck and bathroom were added around the mid 70's and the landlord hasn't done squat with it in years, theres even a

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That's still 35 odd years ago. I doubt that any seal would stand up that long without some form of maintenance.

I'd say the real problem is "the landlord hasn't done squat with it in years"

My folks' place is a 110yo colonial farmstead, with the verandah all the way 'round. It's all 1 1/2" thick T&G :eek: but the verandah was constructed seperate to the house flooring, 2" lower than the internal floors. As far as I can tell it wasn't maintained, apart from the initial seal if any, until my folks moved in some 40 years ago.

The outer ends had started to rot but recovered nicely with a few coats of decking oil, since reapplied about every 5 years. I won't go so far as to say they're worth polishing :D but they're OK for an outside verandah and will see the house through to the end.

Which'll probably be all too soon, sadly. It's a lovely old place but the trend around here is to subdivide housing blocks and build 2 or more units. I've a nasty feeling that when the folks' move out the house'll be dozed by developers. [sigh]

I hope I'm around to salvage the wood then!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by biotechy2k

but it is on a double block and only 5 mins from the city

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If it was in Sydney, it would've been townhouses long ago. :(

Or maybe 4 McMansions :( :(

[QUOTE=Skew ChiDAMN!!]
Which'll probably be all too soon, sadly. It's a lovely old place but the trend around here is to subdivide housing blocks and build 2 or more units. I've a nasty feeling that when the folks' move out the house'll be dozed by developers. [sigh]

Yep in our street so far there have been 3 sub divisions cause they were all large blocks and I swear you can't swing a cat between them now
I was over at the neighbours place giving him a hand with a fence he's building and I swear when you stand in his kitchen you can hear the next doors Loo Flush

there must be JUST and only JUST the requiset 90cm/1m

I'll have to get my sister to take a pic of the beautiful doors in this house they are pretty stunning
Cheers Bio

Or maybe 4 McMansions :( :([/QUOTE]

yeah its sad all the urban development

I like a little grass between me and my neighbours Oh say about 5 acres LOL
and I absolutely hate Mc Mansions

I'm lucky but the kids wont touch the stuff so if we got shopping its
Can I have Sushi Mum

which is fine by me LOL

My Bro in Law was going to buy in Sydney a few years ago but ended working in London and the price of the houses were just way over the top and not enough yard to plant mint
so he goes to London and bought something even smaller called a 2up and 2 down and he paid a fortune for it and he even has to rent a garage the next suburb over for store his car Crazy if you ask me
LOL
Cheers Bio

Bio, quite a lot of the earlier verandah boards were jarrah t&g with a slight slope away from the home to shed water. It was not unusual to leave them unsealed & they were very practical with the womens footware fashions of that time.
Replacement boards can be purchased in either merbau or jarrah.