Bearer span advice - HELP!!

[n00bie]

Hi folks!

i'm hoping for some advice on my first ever decking project...
It's going to be a low-level square deck roughly 25sqm in size (5mx5m), with 90x90 H3 TP bearers bolted directly onto post stirrups (on-top of a concrete base), 90x45 H3 TP joists and 90x22 TP/merbau decking boards (TBD)...

However I need to know how far apart I should fit my stirrups on each bearer... For example, if I have a bearer which spans say 2000m, how many stirrups would I need to support each bearer?

Also, given the preferred size of the joist (which will be nailed at 450mm centres), how far apart should my bearers be placed from each other? Is it ok for the joist to have some amount of 'overhang' from the bearers (say, 125mm?)

I've had a go at checking the span tables but I'm just not having much luck at understanding how it works, so I'm hoping someone can help me out...

...and finally, what is the best way to 'box' up a 90mx90m wooden post on my verandah so that it looks like a rendered column? (approx 300mm x 300mm - see this image (http://www.spanline.com.au/data/portal/00000005/content/93405001155604506965.jpg)for example)

Any advice is much appreciated - THANK YOU!! :U

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

For decking that low to the ground with those materials, so long as you work in a grid pattern no larger than 1800mm you should be right. For a 5m sq deck I'd work on 1600mm spans with the bearers spaced (ie joist span) at 1200. Some would consider this overkill (a few extra $$$) but TP is still only TP.

Errrm... keep in mind that I'm not looking at span tables, so I could be way wrong. I don't think so, but... :roll:

As for cantilevering, AS1684.2 (4.3.2.1) states:"For floor joists supporting floor loads only, floor joists may cantilever up to 25% of their allowable span provided that the minimum backspan is at least twice the cantilever distance." and AS1684.4 (4.3.3.1) restates the same.

ie. 125mm? No problem.

[n00bie]

thanks mate - i've just stumbled into some threads with references to 'packers' - can anybody show me how this is used (ie: photos / illustrations)? I tried to google it but most of what i can find are either portraits of james/Kerry packer and the NFL team...(sigh)