How Lay Decking Boards
This creates dimensional changes in the wood.
How lay decking boards. Wood warps in the opposite orientation of the growth rings. When positioning your next board you should leave a small gap for expansion during wet weather though not so large so as to create a large gap should your boards shrink. The setting out of the decking boards will make or break any deck. As the wood dries it will shrink leaving a small gap between each board.
When deck boards get wet they do not get wet consistently. Spacers let you run sleepers parallel to the house so decking can run perpendicular to the house if that s what you prefer. If you use the conventional method of using a spacer in between each decking board eventually the decking boards look like they are starting to bend and continue reading how to lay straight decking boards. As a result the wood fibers on the top side expand more than the fibers on the bottom.
Lay the decking on the grass in your decided design and leave the right expansion gaps between boards 5 to 8 mm along the length of timber boards and 3 mm along the ends. Start on one end of bent boards and straighten them as you nail or screw them to each consecutive joist. To begin laying the boards of your deck position the first board to the edge of the frame closest to your building. Lay about six boards at a time leaving spaces between boards of 5mm approximately the width of a fixing screw.
Continue laying boards in each row until you have completed the entire length of the two rows. This will show you if you have enough decking to complete the job. Step 8 repeat steps 1 through 7 to continue laying two rows of boards until the deck is filled. 3 5mm is normally ample width to allow for this.
When using pressure treated wood that s still saturated with preservative install the boards without a gap between them. We all have seen decks where the decking boards are not running in straight lines. If you find your timber boards will overhang the frame reduce the gap to no smaller than. If you ultimately need an odd number of rows just follow the pattern for the first row without laying any second row boards in the final pass.
Use purpose made stainless steel or galvanised screws so your decking isn t spoilt by rust stains. Here are some tips when laying the deck boards. Most deck boards are relatively straight and easy to lay but there are always a few that need a little extra coaxing.