Strong Decks

[bormans]

Hi,
We are building a deck out the back of our house and are not sure on what timber to go for.
I have seen alot of good arguments between Jarrah and Marabo and one of those is probably what we would go for. However my question is this....
Which one would be stronger? and I guess stronger for longer?
I'm a very heavy person, I'm talkin very VERY, and I get nervous on alot of timber, so am lookin for somethin thats nice and strong... I know the obvious answer is Hardwood, but i've read that they have different level of strength and my common sense tells me that some timber weakens over time so would one weaken quicker than the other.

Well thanks for your time and I would love some opinions....on the deck not on my self discription thanks.

Sarah.
Canberra

[silentC]

Jarrah has a slightly higher hardness rating than Merbau but I doubt it would be significant enough to make a difference.

If you're worried about the strength of the frame, then you're better to over-engineer your deck rather than trying to pick timber based on its strength. Instead of choosing bearer and joist sizes at the low end of the table, scale them up a size or two.

[silentC]

BTW for decking boards, you can get this quite thick up to around 38 or 40mm. This combined with standard joist spacings would be very strong. You could drive a car on it. But be prepared to pay for it.

[bormans]

Thanks for your reply, I kinda figured as much.
Yeah I believe that my uncle's that are building it have planned for ALOT of frame work lol mostly cause thats just the way they are, they like things to last and so they wont fall down in the next strong wind.

So which then would just be a better over all choice then....i've heard something about Merbau 'bleeding' or something what does that mean should it factor into the decision?

THanks agian

[russall]

Do a search on Merbau/Kwila bleeding, you'll soo know what its all about.
Basically Tannins within the wood seep out when the wood is exposed outdoors, they are not bad and protect the wood in its natural state. Basically you have to leave the deck exposed to the elements <hose regulary if it does not rain> for about 3 or so months before you clean and seal it with your choice of oil...

As for making the deck a little stronger, you could still use Standard Decking such as 90x19, but instead of putting the Joists under them at 450mm centres you could reduce that to 350mm centres, you'd use more nails & Joists but under your feet would feel better.
Also beefing up bracing underneith and oversizing all of the other components woudl also help.

Unlike houses decks are overengineered by design, on the theory that you'll never have that many people in your kitchen jumping around, but the chances of having a lot of people on your deck jumping around at the same time around is quite high... Anyway, thats what a builder told me once..
Good Luck,

[bormans]

Thanks for your help guys its greatly appreciated.

Sarah