DIY - Decking

[Mike]

Will soon be starting a mahoosive garden decking project here at home, anyone got any advice for when it comes to erecting it?

[lee coley]

last year i did my mates decking with him,he put a swimming pool on 15ft x 15ft,we dug 3 trenches out 2ft deep and 17ft long and 3ft wide,we then boxed them out and made sure they was level and filled them with concrete to take the weight,we then laid the decking directly on the 3 blocks of concrete.

This was done a bit OTT but the pool is something like 4 ton when full.

[Shaun_O'Donnell]

If you are erecting in on soft ground, i.e. not on a patio etc, don't just drive the posts in. Dig down a couple of feet, lay in a concrete block and treat that as a foundation.

If you can, build the frame first, that way you can position the posts to suit the frame and not build the frame to suit the posts.

[Jack]

I will be expecting to see a "Mike's Garden" WIP thread.

[mowgli]

for decking just call a scouser a puff.

Honestly though, dig down until you get well into the subsoil, about 450mm-600mm usually. concrete your posts in, making sure you have concrete below as well as around them. you can use post fix or mix up 2 parts sand, 3 parts gravel & 1part cement. leave them to set for a couple of days.

spend loads of time measuring up & setting out, those cheap laser levels are actually quite good.

make sure the grooves run downhill to drain off surface water.

make sure the run off water has got a drain to go to, soakaways rarely work & just letting it soak in around the deck will weaken the structure.

make sure you have space for a cool box on the finished deck for easy access to your beer

[draper]

and if there a manhole make sure you lave access - my boss' neighbour didnt and it blocked up :rollseyes:

[Lynsey]

anyone got any advice for when it comes to erecting it? lol Well, if you come on MSN I will give you a few tips ;)

[djbrowney]

hire a paslode gun for the day it will save you loads and loads of time, but dont shot your self trust me it hurts ;)

[Matt2107]

lol Well, if you come on MSN I will give you a few tips ;)

Sod the decking Mike... I think you should go with this answer.

[Mike]

Sod the decking Mike... I think you should go with this answer.

:D to right lol


I will be expecting to see a "Mike's Garden" WIP thread.

lol the whole house is undergoing surgery :D starting with the garden, then planning on ripping out the kids toy room to convert it back to a garage lol also awaiting the marble tiles for the kitchen floor, which is going to look mint once its all done!


lol Well, if you come on MSN I will give you a few tips ;)

Kerching :D Nows theres an offer to good to refuse :eek:

[Mike]

for decking just call a scouser a puff.

Honestly though, dig down until you get well into the subsoil, about 450mm-600mm usually. concrete your posts in, making sure you have concrete below as well as around them. you can use post fix or mix up 2 parts sand, 3 parts gravel & 1part cement. leave them to set for a couple of days.

spend loads of time measuring up & setting out, those cheap laser levels are actually quite good.

make sure the grooves run downhill to drain off surface water.

make sure the run off water has got a drain to go to, soakaways rarely work & just letting it soak in around the deck will weaken the structure.

make sure you have space for a cool box on the finished deck for easy access to your beer

Super :D Nice one for that Mr M.

Where its going is a slabbed area, so im planning on lifting all the slabs, fitting them out with a weed proof membrane, relaying the slabs nice and level and then building up the frame work, fitting the actual deck, then putting up a truely enormous pagoda that is the length of the rear of the house :eek:

Ive measured most of it up, shopped about for the decking and the price is leaning towards ?600 (free delivery :D) the pagoda will set me back around ?250 for matierials as a guess so far.

[Stuart]

I knocked up a small dexk last year... remarkably easy and only took me 2 days.

My old man however had to level the area, put posts in, build a baaaaaaad ass frame and build a wendy (oops summer) house on there before putting the composite deckboards down.

If you have a big deck to lay, its definately worth considering composite boards as they need no treatment year on year, where as I've had to retreat my normal wood boards once already and will do it again mid spring to make sure its good for summer.

[Mike]

Hhhhmmm, composite boards....ive looked at the pressure treated stuff, as theres kazillions of sqaure meters of it knocking about at bulk buy prices on eBay...

[mowgli]

Super :D Nice one for that Mr M.

Where its going is a slabbed area, so im planning on lifting all the slabs, fitting them out with a weed proof membrane, relaying the slabs nice and level and then building up the frame work, fitting the actual deck, then putting up a truely enormous pagoda that is the length of the rear of the house :eek:

Ive measured most of it up, shopped about for the decking and the price is leaning towards ?600 (free delivery :D) the pagoda will set me back around ?250 for matierials as a guess so far.

the trouble with that method is that slabs are not actually structurally very strong at all. if you surface mount the deck staight onto the slabs, then you get loads of places where water & crap will collect, upsetting the slabs sub-base & rendering the membrane useless. you would be better off removing the slabs altogether (you could sell them) & mounting it on posts. this will also keep it up off the ground & help preserve the timber. the area under the deck will benefit from a plant membrane though. If the pagoda (pergola?) is going to be the size of the deck, sink the uprights into the ground & build the deck onto it as well.

use pressure treated timber (tanalised) & galvanised nails & screws(anything else will & does rust away quickly). try your local timber merchants & builders merchants. 4x2, 3x3 & 6x2 are very common stock & 'decking specialists' charge tons for them.

I am in general groundworks & we have built loads of wooden structures over the years & rot caused by damp is the biggest enemy.

[Stuart]

wickes are good for normal deck boards.

I used some funky screws from screwfix for mine... they go in, then a reverse thread for the thickness of the deckboard drags the splintering back into the board :D but they are a whore to remove lol