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I have an area about 4 metre x 8 metres that I am thinking of building a deck on backing up to the rear ranch slider. The height would only be around 10 cm.
Dose anyone know of generic plans for a deck i,e ideal spacing for posts, thicknesses and depth. Deck plank sizes and ideal spacing? Am looking at using Merbau for the deck but cheapest I have found is $3.30 per metre 69 x 19 mm.
Regards
A good place to start would be to look at either the timber promotion councils or alan staines books on decks. Both provide all the info you should need.
Below is the link to the timber promotion councils site. Alan's book should be available through the technical bookshops in the cbd or from the building display center (master builders building, east melbourne).
http://www.tpcvic.org.au/frame_publications.htm
Cheers
Thanks Eastie!
You might also want to give the local council a call - they may have info that would be helpful on the local regulations you need to abide by.
G'day Wood Knot.
I agree with Eastie - Alan Staine's book is a great start. The timber promotion council's book is also really good.
I did a course at Holmesglen, but found it to be marginally helpful, more geared towards people that didn't know anything about anything (particularly woodwork).
Read up on whatever you can - suss out the lingo like footings, bearers, joists, ledger strips, span and spacing etc. After this the publications (like from the TPC) will make a lot more sense to you.
Plan EVERYTHING, and draw up a plan (preferably to scale) so you don't run into probs. List all your materials, including fasteners, and cement for your footings - this will help you to accurately cost it out. If you want/need council approval you'll most likely need a plan drawing anyway.
A drop saw will come in very handy, I bought an el cheapo Ryobi SCMS from Bunnings, and was glad I did. Could have used the Triton, but it would have been a bit awkward. Also, make yourself a water level out of about 10 metres of clear plastic tube and some food dye, 'cause getting everything properly level is very important.
Being only low to the ground, you won't need a handrail, which makes construction life a bit easier. A pergola over the top will add a bit of complexity (wind lift calculations for example).
10cm high might give you a bit of trouble - it's really close to the ground and you may strike some clearance issues. Anyway, after you do your research and planning you'll figure it out. Hint : 90mm high bearers, 90mm high joists and 19mm decking add up to 199mm (19.9cm), already double your intended height, without ground clearance or post height factored in.
Good luck, it's a challenging job but very satisfying when it's all finished and you're sitting on it having a beer with your mates....
Cheers,
Justin.
[This message has been edited by Justin (edited 01 October 2002).]
Perhaps you can look at http://www.buildex.net.au for your decking I did not see your size but a call may be worth, they have fairly competitive pricing.
I also agree about Alan Staine's, decks and pergolas construction manual, it is an excellent book.
Jack
Guys, thanks for all the feedback.
I found the Timber Councils office was only about 2 kilometres away from work, so I made the effort and trudged my way over to buy a copy of the book. And guess what? They told me it was no longer in print!
But... they offered to photocopy it for me and post it out. When they found out how far I had walked they waved the photo copy fee.
That was very decent of them.