Deck repairs

[deckhand]

I’ve recently moved into a 10 y.o. house on the Gold Coast. On the side of the house, there is a NW facing pine board deck (approx 12.5m x 2.7m). The deck is covered and protected/shaded by tall trees. The boards have been nailed down with the corrugated side facing up. Some boards are starting to splinter, some are loose and there is rot at the end of some of the boards. I have heard that the boards should be be laid corrugated side down. Is this true and if so, is it practical to pull up the boards and turn them over or is a new set of boards in order.

[Bluegum]

Welcome to the club deckhand. From what you have said it might be easier to replace the boards if they are that badly worn. if they are splitting then you are more than likely going to waste your time putting band aid repairs down. As most will tell you its best if the ribbed side of this sort of timber be nailed down to avoid similar problems to what your going through. If you can though perhaps a couple of pictures could give more of an idea to how bad it is.

[Auspiciousdna]

You can put the boards any way you like, if it’s your place! But the reason the boards are fixed ribs up is anti-slip, they can get slippery smooth side up. Are the boards treated? they will look grey if they are. If so the would have to be older the 10 years one would think. I’d just replace the rotten ones and aging will blend them in.

[Trav]

Careful here - we don't want to re-open the poll of the century! :D See http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=7521.

Consensus is that ribs go down, smooth side up.

I'd be tempted to replace the whole lot with real timber - hardwood. But that is just me. Treated pine is cheaper, easier to nail, horrible to look at etc. I'm not sure whether you can still buy treated pine decking - didn;t they pass some kind of law against it for use as a surface (ie ok for framing etc, but not for decking, tables, playgrounds etc). Or perhaps they were thinking of doing this....

Trav

[conwood]

Hi Deckhand,
When you rip them up, tack (staples) that black palstic damp course stuff over the bearers to shield them from water.

You can buy special stuff for this purpose, but it's too expensive.

Another alternative with your boards is, if they are butted close to each other, you may be able to replce them with wider spacing, thereby requiring less boards. This means you can discard the split ones. I'll be doing this on my 120 yr old verandah boards, and turning them over.

cheers,
conwood

[Auspiciousdna]

Still selling T.P. for private home here, I’ve used it in the last two months. I like H.W. myself but it’s about 4 times the cost and I think T.P. looks good enough for outside use!

[mic-d]

You'll probably find the underside of the boards are in worse condition than the top where they cross the joists, because they have been laid upside down. People lay them upside down in the mistaken belief that it is antislip, but if you are in a moist shady situation, the grooves end up trapping little bits of debris and nutrients and you end up with a mossy slippery surface. Grooves down minimises rot by allowing the joint to dry out faster. Either replace a few boards upside down or put a new deck down right side up.

Cheers
Michael

[deckhand]

Thanks everyone for your prompt replies.
I've had another look and there is quite a lot of splintering and broken/rotting board ends so I think I will replace all of them with hardwood. Next question: which hardwood would (npi) you recommend and why?
Regards

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

If you're not particularly fussed with "colour-matching to the existing structure" Jarrah is pretty hard to beat. Durable, low maintenance and looks good.

IMHO, for better value you have to start looking at the exotics and harder to source timbers.

What I wouldn't do for a truckload of Kapur... [sigh]

[mic-d]

Yellow belau is an economical and durable timber.

Cheers
Michael

[Stu]

Batu is another option, jarrah looks good down but the prices seem to be getting high, pine is still available over here and has the advantage of easy nailing but in my opinion doesnt look as good when it is down.
Cheers Stu

[Trav]

Not wanting to sound too much like a greenie, but keep in mind that the merbau, meranti etc come from rainforest timbers in SE Asia. I would suggest that few of these countries would be managing those rainforests sustainably. I like timber much more than the next bloke (except everyone on here of course :D), but I would like to think that my kids and their kids will be able to enjoy it as well.

For my 5c, I prefer Australian hardwoods - while Gunns ltd are not without problems, I am sure our management of forests is much better than the management in, say, indonesia.

I have a deck made from spotted gum. It is a nice mid brown colour and is as as hard as hell. A great decking timber.

Trav

[attie]

Hello Deckhand,
If you decide to replace the decking may I suggest you check out the auctions in Brisbane for the material, see each Saturdays Courier Mail for details. I've bought at different auctions and picked up some bargains.
Wayne

[attie]

"I have a deck made from spotted gum"

You're making me envious Trav, it's pretty well extinct up here.

Being out of the trade for 10 years now, I notice you guys using timber names I've never heard of. When I was building spotted gum and yellow stringy bark was the prefered hardwood, then blue gum and some iron bark. We used a lot of hoop pine and scrub wood of different varieties for partitions including red cedar, maple, silky oak mackay cedar and pencil cedar. Mouldings were mainly milk wood or red cedar. Times sure have changed

[deckhand]

Thanks everyone. So many options ... so little time. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Regards