Another "Look at my deck" thread

[Ben (TM)]

G'day,

I've posted to a few threads and asked a few questions, so I thought it might be time to actually post one of my projects. Got the sub floor in for a 30m2 deck on the back of a reno I've been at for a bit over a year now - nice old 20's bungalow that I've saved from almost certain knock down.

Anyway, with the sub floor done - I'm hoping that I might be able to get the decking on next weekend - although hand driving 1600 odd nails might be a bit ambitious in a weekend.

I have some recycled 85mm WA Karri coming at the end of the week which should be a great match for the Karri flooring that I put down inside.

[masoth]

Progressing nicely Ben, but surely hiring a nail gun would save time and the potential for painful wrists and sore palms. Would not cost too much for half a day, I reckon.

soth

[Bloss]

Nail gun for decking - not IMHO and experience. The nails tend to either stay too proud of the decking or to tear and splinter the timber if the gun is set to punch the head lower. (I use a Paslode airless gun which allows fine adjustment - still with not a good result on decking).

Best is drilling and screwing, but easiest is to pre-drill (into hardwood) and nail using suitably coated nails - galvanised for your timber.

You could use the deformed decking nails that grip better into the joists (such as TitaDeck), but my preference is to use at least 50mm x 2.8 mm galvanised into hardwood (65mm into treated pine) and use a 2mm drill.

Skew nail no closer than 13mm from each edge. Slow work, but if you get a mate to help one can be drilling and one nailing.

Decks I have done like this are still in good condition after more than 20 years. If the decking is second hand then you can expect little twisting or warping.

BTW - deck sub-structure looks great - always envious of the great red hardwoods and other timbers you have for your use in WA.

[Ben (TM)]

Hi Bloss - I'm with you - while it will take longer, I'm going to hand drive to have the best control over the drive. My past experience with guns has been a bit hit and miss. I can understand why commercial guys would use them because time is money - but when you are doing it for yourself, it doesn't feature as much in the equation.

I wanted to use screws, but due to expense and lack of availability, I've opted for Stainless dome head nails with the twisted shank.

I wish the sub floor was one of the WA reds! It's actually just generic F17 hardwood (Mountain or Alpine Ash) painted Deep Indian Red so that it sort of matches in with the Karri top. I painted it for just a bit of extra longevity - another thing you can afford to do when you are just doing it for yourself!

[Spelunx]

Yep, I am planning to nail my decking down too. Jarrah decking into treated pine joists, using Titadeck galv nails. Got myself a pair of knee pads and a new hammer too!

[manoftalent]

good luck with your decks guys, and dont forget to leave a small gap between lengths (about nail thickness) as jarra and merbu swells and shrinks with the seasons, ya dont want it lifting up now do ya

[strangerep]

I have some recycled 85mm WA Karri coming at the end of the week which should be a great match for the Karri flooring that I put down inside.

Karri?? But that's durability class-3 and not resistant to termites.
It's not very suitable for outdoors (you need class-2 or class-1).

I wish the sub floor was one of the WA reds! It's actually just
generic F17 hardwood (Mountain or Alpine Ash) painted Deep Indian
Red so that it sort of matches in with the Karri top.

Are you sure it's Mountain/Alpine Ash? Both are durability class-4 which
is rubbish for outdoors. Painting them like you did will help a bit,
but did you also coat them all-around (including cut ends) with stoprot
or creasote? In any case, you might want to look at joist-protector plastic
along the top of the joists (if you weren't already planning on doing so).
Alternatively, fold some (0.45mm) alcor flashing along the tops.
Protecting the tops of the joists like that can add 10 years or more to
their life, and is even more critical when using poor-durability timber
species.

[Bloss]

good luck with your decks guys, and dont forget to leave a small gap between lengths (about nail thickness) as jarra and merbu swells and shrinks with the seasons, ya dont want it lifting up now do ya

For gaps I use a a couple of spacers made with 75mm 2.8 mm flathead nail driven part way through a piece of offcut or even MDF. easy to slide along and easy to pull out too. And if you drop one who cares - make another one.

I assume you know how to use a chisel as a cramp to get the boards tight against the spacers? Just use a largish chisel (I use a 50mm Stanley firmer) with the bevel facing the board you wish to cramp, embed the chisel into the corner of the joist at about 45 degrees to the edge then lever back towards the board. And the end joins should be tight of course - and I oil and sometimes carefully prime the ends before they go down and always drill them to prevent splitting.

Sounds easy to me because my dear old Dad showed me, not so easy to describe! Maybe I should do some video clips of the stuff he taught me . . .

I should have looked at your location - thrown by your use of WA karri, but a good idea to paint the joists too. I've done the same on my own places, but as you say - wouldn't pay a builder or painter to do it.

BTW - here's my latest deck finished last year. Treated pine underfloor and merbau decking. Had to cut and frame around the tree. Hand rail is all second hand timber (DAR oregon rails and spotted gum uprights) from a great timber place in the ACT - Thors Hammer (see http://www.thors.com.au/ )

Bloss

[UteMad]

Hi Bloss

Be careful with your oregon it useally doesn't weather to well outside.... We get plenty of jobs brought on by oregon used for decks..... Looked at one today.... Redid a gazebo the other week ....Got paid by Dept Fair trading to replace a 3 year old oregon framed balcony that pretty much fell off the new town house..... Its great for us but be warned

cheers ute mad

www.dialadeck.com.au

[Ben (TM)]

Got the last of what I had down today - unfortunately I was 6 lengths short, so I will need to wait until next weekend to get the last 2 runs on. All in all, I'm pretty happy for a first attempt - it has almost doubled our living space

[Tools]

Nice floor Ben.Did you polish it yourself?

Tools

[Ben (TM)]

Nice floor Ben.Did you polish it yourself?

Tools

I wish! I got it done. Didn't have the guts to mess up 7 grand worth of timber on my first try - better left to the pro's.

[Ben (TM)]

Oh - and for those of you who are interested, here is what the back of this house looked like 12 months ago as I started to pull it apart (along with the rest of the house).....Let's just say, it's been a long year