Screw or Nail Decking

[sol381]

500mm is about maximum with 19mm boards. Would have to go to 25mm or 28mm thick to span that.. You used to be able ot use t-nails but most authorities recommend coil nails.. I use a 50mm dome head screw shank nail . they twist into the wood and seem to hold the wood firm against the joist. Screwing the joists probably will hold a bit better but wont look good and will take you 10 times as long.
stef

[julianx]

I prefer to stagger the nails as lining the nails up tends to increase the chance of the joists splitting.

[Ashore]

Go with the galvo nails , pre drilled , extra work but well worth it in the end.
You don't have to nail to each joist
The plastic over the joists is a great idea ( a lot of decking is grooved on one side and some people put this side up , but its designed to go down to allow air to flow between joists and deck to stop dry rot etc )
Newer flooring is toung and grooved on the ends so you don't need to join at the joists but in your case you have to butt up , so do it at the joist
So as to the but ends of the boards , if you take care and per drill (2 To each board ) at a slight angle you should have no trouble

The other alternative is to glue with very few nails / screws

As to twist nails , I have no idea , always gone straight , guess it was the way I was bought up.


The trouble with life is there's no background music.



Russell

[Geno]

Personally I prefer screws. I prefer the flush, sleek look and being able to easily pull a board up if need be. No concern about nails coming up ready for a little tacker to stub their toe on either. Neighbour went with the deformed shank nail ("Twistlock" or something) and they eventually work their way up.

Screws cost more and take longer though, and in some cases the look of the screws won't be what you are after.

Never had a problem with the heads shearing off and I did 600 linear metres of boards.

Like a lot of these things it is a subjective, with nails and screws each having their pros and cons.

[MrFixIt]

Hi

650 spacing is NOT a problem for decking spacing.

Use galvanised nails. You may be limited in what you can get as the nail "head" by the choice of nail hun you buy/hire.

With a width of 145mm I would not expect you to have ANY problem with splitting (except at the very end of course). So I do not see any need for predrilling, again except for the very ends. Allow the decking ends to cover half the width of the joists, a 45deg (vertical) mitre is good, but butt loints are just as good. Of course some of this is dependant on what appearnce the decking needs to have when finished.

Of course, in case you are not aware, stagger the joints on different joists. Lining them all up will weaken the structural ridgidity of the deck

Use two nails through the decking in each joist. Skew nail them, ie like this \ /, so that each nail helps prevent the other from pulling up. Use the nails with either a slight thread or "ribs" on them to help hold, though they may not be available for the nail gun. Check out what nails are available for any nail gun you may purchase.

Though I assume autostore compresors would work for a nail gun, as nail guns dont need a huge continuous CFM compresor output, I would not buy one of those autostore compresors as a first compressor. I think they would make a great little backup compressor.

When you buy a compressor, you'll find that you have other uses for it and therefore a good quality unit is best for your first compressor (IMHO).

[seriph1]

I think we used ring shank nails in our gun, the day we did the beck - 92 sq mtrs of it .... fun fun fun!

[sol381]

650 spacing is NOT a problem for decking spacing.

Mr fixit , 650 is a problem and i assume you mean joist spacing. The maximum you should go is 500, 450mm is standard with 19mm boards. You`ll find the wider spacing you use the more bounce in the flooring you`ll get when you walk between joists. If this was getting inspected by a certifier it would have zero chance of passing. The widthe of the board at 145mm might help a bit but joist spacing is judged by thickness.
Seriph1, the ring shank nails are used for pins joists and twist are for hardwood. Ring shank hold really well but would have trouble nailing into hardwood.
stef

[Pulse]

I think type 17 50mm bugle head screw (batten screws) would look fantastic on 145 mm boards. They are used in commercial decking often at wharfs and jettys. They are driven in with 5mm internal hex driver bit. They look classy and will never shear.

Cheers
Pulse