Decking ,Do's & Dont's

311

Hello ,I've a decking job to do at home ,I'm not sure about what exactly I can get away with.

I was going to put in supports and have everything ready ,so all that I have to do is lay the actual decking.
What timber do I need to use as support ,special treated joists ? ,standard ones with treatment in a can?

I have a good idea of how to approach fixing everything ,just not sure what materials are best to use.
Thanks,
Brian.

Hellrazer

I built a 12 x 10 raised decking last year.
Its raised about 18" off the ground.
Ordinary 4x4 treated posts which you treat at the ends when cut will do the job nicely with damp proof stuff under each one.I actually covered the last 6-8 inches with damp proofing for a bit more peace of mind.

If you have it going up against a wall of the house bolt the joists to the house for extra stability.

Build the fream first and make sure its completely level(actually if your bolting it to the wall like above tilt it ever so slightly away from the house) before putting and of the decking planks in place--it`ll save you loads of hardship.

Hope this helps

Richie

ardara1

_Brian_ wrote:

Hello ,I've a decking job to do at home ,I'm not sure about what exactly I can get away with.

I was going to put in supports and have everything ready ,so all that I have to do is lay the actual decking.
What timber do I need to use as support ,special treated joists ? ,standard ones with treatment in a can?

I have a good idea of how to approach fixing everything ,just not sure what materials are best to use.
Thanks,
Brian.

I'll give you a don't - don't do it!

Just in my 5th week of recuperation after slipping on the deck - it's down 3 years (40mm 2 in 2 levels, full handrail AND uplighters!) - cleaned with Swafega deck cleaner & treated twice a year - and have spent 4 years telling all our visitors to be CAREFUL ON THE DECK - ITS LIKE ICE!

Went tits up 5 weeks ago, torn ligament in ankle, and from it happened have heard numberous nightmares! - you can get planks with routed channels filled with appoxy and grit - it'd be worth it!

Mines getting up rooted this year!

311

Great stuff richie ,never thought of using posts
Thanks.

311

ardara1 wrote:

you can get planks with routed channels filled with appoxy and grit - it'd be worth it!

Mines getting up rooted this year!

Would throwing a large rugged mat over the decking ,make this less of a situation?. Maybe tack it down in case it slipped a little.

Macy

Make sure you put weed surpressing material under the deck. Pretty hard to weed or spare under a finished deck. You could use polythene, although personally I went with the porous weed membrane as I didn't think it'd help the life span of the deck to create a humid atmosphere under it...

For sinking the posts I dug 1 foot square holes, and put half a block at the bottom, and then concreted them in with quite a dry mix. They won't be moving! I bolted the frame to the house with expansion bolts. So far so good...

dubtom

I have mine down about 3 years and it's not in the least slippy. I put the boards down at right angles so that generally when walking on it I'm going across the ribs and not with them, which I believe is what they are intended for.

hobie

The gal in my life did her complete back garden with decking ..... the guys that did it used steel decking screws and over the past 3 years or so many of them have broken and the planks rising in places (as you would expect) ...... I got her a box of stainless steel screws from WURTH (5 x 60 if I rem correctly) and not one of them has failed .....

If I was building a deck I would definetely use stainless steel screws ........ they cost big money but should last longer than the deck ..... :rolleyes:

edit .... stainless steel screws are 5 x 70 Posi drive head

conceptdecking

Before you lay any decking look into Composite Decking,stay away from timber as it is lethal in wet weather.The composite board is fantastic in wet or dry weather and has a twenty-twenty five year warranty.As for the timber substructure only use pressure treated timber (6x2 or greater if desired) Hope this helps
Dec

hobie

conceptdecking wrote:

Before you lay any decking look into Composite Decking,stay away from timber as it is lethal in wet weather.The composite board is fantastic in wet or dry weather and has a twenty-twenty five year warranty.As for the timber substructure only use pressure treated timber (6x2 or greater if desired) Hope this helps
Dec

I must admit I like the idea of composite rather than real timber ..... the Project I mentioned above needs Oiling every year and it costs a $$$$$ fortune ....

Why not see some samples from these guys ....

http://www.fendec.com/

I would certaily do a good amount of research before committing to Timber ....

311

Thanks for the replies ,never heard of composite timber.
We got very busy again ,so I probably won't get a start on it for a couple of weeks.
I was thinking of getting the supports in on a saturday and covering them with some plywood ,until I get to finish it.

Sonnenblumen

25 year warranty on composite decking sounds fine and dandy, but how long has such product being available in Ireland, methinks only a few years?

So where is the Irish track record and where is the evidence to substantiate long life claims?

azzeretti

I just finished laying a 20X16 foot deck. I had never done decking before but have building and roofing experience do I gave this a whack.

Not too much too it actually. I built the frame on the ground (20x16) and just nailed it together. I then laid some 4 inch blocks on each corner and moved the frame to them. Got Some 4x4 posts and bolted the frame to the posts, this was handy cause I could get the level on this and not worry about the uneven ground (TIP: When you have bolted the posts, get a bit of 5x1 and screw it across the post from one side of the frame to the other, this helps to stablise the post later on for the handrails!). After the frame I put in the joists, at 600mm spacing, I strenghted it up a little bit too along the way. Once the frame was level on the posts, I then broke up some 4 inch blocks and started to fortifiy the center and surrounds of the frame. After this, I lay the decking itself, using a roof tile as a spacer (looking back, I think I could have left the space little wider, but it still looks ok)

Once the decking was down, measured up the height of the spindels. I measured the lenght and build these on the ground, again using a bit of measured 4x1 as spacer. This part went pretty swiftly. Fixed that to the decking and posts, then screwed on the hand rail from the underneath (I had seen a lot of desks with screws in the handrail downwards, looks bad IMO).

Anyway, after this I used the remaining spindle as to hangover the edging to front all the way around the decking. As a result there is no eveidence of blocks etc. Only thing left to do is the steps.

Only thing I found out was that I underestimated how long it would take. It took me 4 solids days labour!!!

Good luck.

yop

azzeretti wrote:

I just finished laying a 20X16 foot deck. I had never done decking before but have building and roofing experience do I gave this a whack.

Not too much too it actually. I built the frame on the ground (20x16) and just nailed it together. I then laid some 4 inch blocks on each corner and moved the frame to them. Got Some 4x4 posts and bolted the frame to the posts, this was handy cause I could get the level on this and not worry about the uneven ground (TIP: When you have bolted the posts, get a bit of 5x1 and screw it across the post from one side of the frame to the other, this helps to stablise the post later on for the handrails!). After the frame I put in the joists, at 600mm spacing, I strenghted it up a little bit too along the way. Once the frame was level on the posts, I then broke up some 4 inch blocks and started to fortifiy the center and surrounds of the frame. After this, I lay the decking itself, using a roof tile as a spacer (looking back, I think I could have left the space little wider, but it still looks ok)

Once the decking was down, measured up the height of the spindels. I measured the lenght and build these on the ground, again using a bit of measured 4x1 as spacer. This part went pretty swiftly. Fixed that to the decking and posts, then screwed on the hand rail from the underneath (I had seen a lot of desks with screws in the handrail downwards, looks bad IMO).

Anyway, after this I used the remaining spindle as to hangover the edging to front all the way around the decking. As a result there is no eveidence of blocks etc. Only thing left to do is the steps.

Only thing I found out was that I underestimated how long it would take. It took me 4 solids days labour!!!

Good luck.

Well done lad, any pics to show us?

What sort of costs do you mind me asking?

311

azzeretti wrote:

I just finished laying a 20X16 foot deck. I had never done decking before but have building and roofing experience do I gave this a whack.

Not too much too it actually. I built the frame on the ground (20x16) and just nailed it together. I then laid some 4 inch blocks on each corner and moved the frame to them. Got Some 4x4 posts and bolted the frame to the posts, this was handy cause I could get the level on this and not worry about the uneven ground (TIP: When you have bolted the posts, get a bit of 5x1 and screw it across the post from one side of the frame to the other, this helps to stablise the post later on for the handrails!). After the frame I put in the joists, at 600mm spacing, I strenghted it up a little bit too along the way. Once the frame was level on the posts, I then broke up some 4 inch blocks and started to fortifiy the center and surrounds of the frame. After this, I lay the decking itself, using a roof tile as a spacer (looking back, I think I could have left the space little wider, but it still looks ok)

Once the decking was down, measured up the height of the spindels. I measured the lenght and build these on the ground, again using a bit of measured 4x1 as spacer. This part went pretty swiftly. Fixed that to the decking and posts, then screwed on the hand rail from the underneath (I had seen a lot of desks with screws in the handrail downwards, looks bad IMO).

Anyway, after this I used the remaining spindle as to hangover the edging to front all the way around the decking. As a result there is no eveidence of blocks etc. Only thing left to do is the steps.

Only thing I found out was that I underestimated how long it would take. It took me 4 solids days labour!!!

Good luck.

thanks for the insight ,wasnt sure how to approach it
im starting to look forward to it now

hobie

Sonnenblumen wrote:

25 year warranty on composite decking sounds fine and dandy, but how long has such product being available in Ireland, methinks only a few years?

So where is the Irish track record and where is the evidence to substantiate long life claims?

Probably the States but that is where the research comes in .....

azzeretti

yop wrote:

Well done lad, any pics to show us?

What sort of costs do you mind me asking?

Pics attached.

The materials cost me €1050 (decking, joists, spindles, handrails plus extra for facing, all pressure treated) from a local sawmill, I reckon I could have got it a little cheaper elsewhere, but this price was competitive enough, and it does good to it keep it local when you can!

BO-JANGLES

Hi,
Is the a book for absolute biginers ? When it comes to timber I have no experience .Just had a quote to build a deck (25 X16) for over €3000 . Thinking of having ago myself but don't know where to start.

BaZmO*

azzeretti wrote:

Pics attached.

The materials cost me €1050 (decking, joists, spindles, handrails plus extra for facing, all pressure treated) from a local sawmill, I reckon I could have got it a little cheaper elsewhere, but this price was competitive enough, and it does good to it keep it local when you can!

That's not Decking, that's a stage!

conceptdecking

This is a composite deck i am fitting at the moment.Note the post covers and railing system have yet to be fitted.It has taken two days labour and does cost three times more than Azzeretti's .
P51000311.jpg

P51000291.jpg

P50500101.jpg

Ciara22

Hey just a word of warning, we had decking put down a couple of years ago, attached to the back of the house. Ever since then, we have had mice problems. They like to nest under it and then find a way into your house!

Also, every winter it gets covered in green slime which is really slippy and disgusting, no amount of decking stain can prevent that, and it has to be restained every summer.

Apart from that, its all good!

CJhaughey

Ciara22 wrote:

Also, every winter it gets covered in green slime which is really slippy and disgusting, no amount of decking stain can prevent that, and it has to be restained every summer.

Slime is easily removed with a solution of 4 parts water to 1 part bleach.
Just spray it on or mop it on with a mop and it will kill all the algae.

cider

What depth did you go with the posts??? and did you concrete them in azzeretti? Also what height have you the rails at.
The finished job looks good bye the way

azzeretti

cider wrote:

What depth did you go with the posts??? and did you concrete them in azzeretti? Also what height have you the rails at.
The finished job looks good bye the way

I didn't got to any depth with the posts. I removed some sod and just lay half a 4inch block under each one. The weight of the structure should be enough to keep it in place (I HOPE!!)

If I remember correctly, and I can measure again later, the rails are around 40cm.

ircoha

Is the composite decking a non-slip deck?
Need some non-slip material for my elderly in-laws.

North facing aspect
Thanks

comput1

11 years on, how did the composite decking stand up to age?

comput1

comput1 wrote: »

11 years on, how did the composite decking stand up to age?

Would be interested in this, too.

Dog Man Star

Do: Make sure you put the boards the right way up. The ridged bit goes underneath.

https://www.softwoods.com.au/blog/should-decking-ridges-face-up-or-down/