How To Lay Decking Boards Australia
How to lay out place secure decking.
How to lay decking boards australia. When using pressure treated wood that s still saturated with preservative install the boards without a gap between them. Learn how to lay decking with this guide from bunnings. As the wood dries it will shrink leaving a small gap between each board. The exact sizing varies with the different timber species and composite boards are also available in 88 and 137mm widths.
We describe how to lay out and fasten deck boards to the deck floor joist structure and how to decide on the appropriate deck board gap. Repeat this process along the decking piece at every joist. A better approach is to let the deck boards run wild as shown in the photo. Then secure the decking as before drilling your screws into both sides using the camo fastener as your guide.
This guarantees a 3mm spacing. It s suggested you only cut boards when you need a shorter length. Position the first board. Cutting the ends of deck boards as you go not only takes longer but it s harder to get a crisp straight line.
Draw a line across the boards above the joists and use it as a guide to keep the nails straight. The setting out of the decking boards will make or break any deck. 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. This creates dimensional changes in the wood.
Boards may be flat on both sides or ribbed on one side. Laying boards ribbed side up or down is a personal choice but we prefer ribbed side down to reduce surface contact between joist and decking. Here are some tips when laying the deck boards. When joining decking boards make sure the join is directly over the centre of the joists.
Once this is done you can confidently cut your decking boards to size if required. Then screw a straight board to the deck as a saw guide and cut all the boards at once. This saves work for you and ensures the lengths are more likely to be consistent. As a result the wood fibers on the top side expand more than the fibers on the bottom.
Wood warps in the opposite orientation of the growth rings. When deck boards get wet they do not get wet consistently. Now for the fun part it s time to lay your first board. Choices of deck board fastener types and methods include nails screws clips and a wide variety of hidden deck board fastener systems that we describe here as well.
The wood on the top of each board is exposed to more moisture than the wood on the bottom.