best way to trim deck boards post nailing

[Christopha]

I know you have done the job and very nicely too, but surely you could have simply fixed your straight edge fence so that the nails or screws were located in the gaps between the deck boards......

[kayno]

I know you have done the job and very nicely too, but surely you could have simply fixed your straight edge fence so that the nails or screws were located in the gaps between the deck boards......

i could have done that too - a piece of scrap timber under the decking for the screw to sink into and there would be no damage to the deck.

oh well - its done now.

Now all i need to do is add up the number of threads in hear that say "weather your deck for 6 to 8 weeks, then oil it", and the ones that say "use a chem wash then oil it" and the ones that say "oil it straight away" and see which ones wins, and go with the winner.

if only it were easy!

[Vernonv]

Hi Kayno,
I had the same dilemma in regards to oiling the deck.

I'm about 1/3 of the way through a 100sqm deck and as it has taken about 3 weeks to get this far (laying the decking), I decided to oil it to provide some protection to it.

I figured I would rather "waste" money on oil and oil too soon, then wait and possibly regret not oiling it.

I plan to oil each 1/3 as I get it nailed down and then do the second coat on the whole lot.

I chem washed first (with Feast Watson deck cleaner), then washed with washing soda in water (it's supposed to neutralise the oxalic acid in the deck cleaner).

After allowing the whole lot to dry, I oiled it with Eco Wood Oil.

So far, so good ... but it's only been a week.

[kayno]

thanks for your post Vernonv. I think I am going to chem wash it first and then oil. It has already started to go a dark colour along he front (the first boards, which where laid 5th November) as they are more exposed to the elements. The final boards that were laid (15th November) havent really changed (they are under cover). Hopefully the chem wash will make them all look the same again.