Deck Building has begun

[Loki429]

All i need I think is 2 days off to get the boards on.

That's what I thought
Once you're in a routine and don't break any tools then you should be ok however. I'm sure some of the professional deckers here will be chuckling at this and saying that they'd have it done by morning tea break!

[oohsam]

Yeah, I read from others experiences, I bought 3 bits for the screws for my impact driver, and 5 drill bits...havn't snapped one yet but if I do, I can be safe that I dont have to go bunnings 5 times a day like I have been.

[UteMad]

Yeah, I read from others experiences, I bought 3 bits for the screws for my impact driver, and 5 drill bits...havn't snapped one yet but if I do, I can be safe that I dont have to go bunnings 5 times a day like I have been.

Square drive bits are a lottery.... We buy them in packs of 10 and run 3 impact drivers at once... All holes are predrilled and counter sunk... Some decks i will shatter a tonne of bits others i wont break a single one but never would i turn up with less than 6 - 10 bits...
Its good to see your having a go at a decent size deck....
I hope it all works well for you and as to the speed of us paid deck guys and our methods well that is a fine tuned thing developed over 100's of decks so enjoy your project and learn from any mistakes....
Bolting bearers on the sides of posts with either nails...screws ...bolts... what ever i have always seen as cheating but i constantly get beaten and see guys doing it all the time the worst is a few gas gun nails into the posts as every handy bob owns a gas gun now...For speed for example i would have put all your posts in the ground 200mm longer then leveled the bearers to them and cut the tops off after which is way quicker...If i was pressed for time as yours was so low and if i had 2 blokes on site we would have pre checked the posts bolted the bearers on then put the posts in the holes leveled the bearers and packed them off the ground to level put all the joists on then put the concrete in and gone home... Whollah deck structure all done in 1 day....... Possibly not as big as yours but none the less 1 day and posts checked in aswell...

Once again a great size deck to do first go ...Enjoy your efforts & learn from any mistakes and best yet you wont make them again when you return the favour to all your helpers for there decks LoL

Cheers Utemad

[oohsam]

Thanks UteMad.
Yes, This is my frist time working with wood actually, and Im still a young fella (26!) I learn pretty quickly and learn little tips as I go along to make my life easier...dunno how..it just happens!
I've just laid another 5 boards in 1.5 hours, considering the first 5 boards took me 5 hours, thats a pretty big acheivement!! LoL

I have not had any trouble with my square drive bit yet. I've sheared some heads off the screws, and I've split the end of 1 board but I know why these things happend and have taken preventative measures.
at .60c a screw, Im trying to save every one! LOL.

U know, we were actually considering bolting bearers to stumps and putting the stumps in set in concrete and have most of the subframe done that way, and it be all level...but we opted against it. We had access to a laser level, which helped us set up our levels, so it was pretty easy.

Thanks again utemad, it is good to hear good things from a tradie!

[UteMad]

Thanks UteMad.
Yes, This is my frist time working with wood actually, and Im still a young fella (26!)
I have not had any trouble with my square drive bit yet. I've sheared some heads off the screws, and I've split the end of 1 board but I know why these things happend and have taken preventative measures.
at .60c a screw, Im trying to save every one! LOL.


Thanks again utemad, it is good to hear good things from a tradie!

Don't let 26 worry you....I opened up on my own at 23 as a self employed tradie and that was fun.... No stubble and asking customers twice my age for 10 to $20K all i ever heard was are you going to go on holidays now with all that money LoL.. I only have a handful of years on you now...

Snapping the screws is usually from using too small a pilot hole. 10G screw uses a 1/8 pilot hole... Make sure you countersink enough to set the head flush... or by buying 8-10G screws with chipboard shanks instead of true 10G wood screws... I would be unlucky to snap a single screw on a deck unless i hit another fixing thats in the joist which usually only happens on batten down decks where there are dyna bolts etc...

Carbitool make a countersink and pilot in one for around 40 - 50 bucks its what we use for all our projects buy the 10 gauge one it will save you time

good luck with it post finished pic

cheers utemad

[oohsam]

hehehe 23!! Thats damn young. Good on ya though. It seems as though You're pretty succesful. I've seen ur website a few times.

I have 9g screws...and am using a 3mm pilot hole. I will go out this weekend and buy a carbitool bit if I can find one.
Should the pilot hole be a little bigger? Some of the screws are going beyond the countersink and sinking into the Merbau to get it to sit flush wit the joist, as some of the boards are warped and slightly wavy, the screws are holding them flat...so I find that sometimes I have to tighten the screws beyond 'flush' to get the board to hold down. Since they are self countersinking screws and have the little nibbles on the heads, they are lodging themselves futher down into the merbau..

Will a bigger pilot hole fix this?

Cheers.

[UteMad]

hehehe 23!! Thats damn young. Good on ya though. It seems as though You're pretty succesful. I've seen ur website a few times.

I have 9g screws...and am using a 3mm pilot hole. I will go out this weekend and buy a carbitool bit if I can find one.
Should the pilot hole be a little bigger? Some of the screws are going beyond the countersink and sinking into the Merbau to get it to sit flush wit the joist, as some of the boards are warped and slightly wavy, the screws are holding them flat...so I find that sometimes I have to tighten the screws beyond 'flush' to get the board to hold down. Since they are self countersinking screws and have the little nibbles on the heads, they are lodging themselves futher down into the merbau..

Will a bigger pilot hole fix this?

Cheers.

No a bigger pilot won't fix it and if you say went to 4mm it would make it worse as the pilot being bigger makes it easier for the the self countersinking head to pull down into the boards without pulling the board down.... You can slow your driving speed down which is easy if your using an impact driver just blip the trigger went your nearly up to flush which will make it harder for the head to self counter sink or slightly lesson you counter sink depth... Merbau is a softer hard wood but with 90mm boards it shouldn't be a prob ...we geenerally leave the screws 1/2 mm lower than the face.... I gather your not using the little trim head 9G screws? They should have a head approx the same size as a standard chipboard screw....

cheers utemad

[oohsam]

Ok I see.
These are the screws Im using...They are made by "Power Fastners" They are trim head screws..The thread does not go all the way to the head.

[UteMad]

Ok I see.
These are the screws Im using...They are made by "Power Fastners" They are trim head screws..The thread does not go all the way to the head.

This explains plenty!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hate trim head screws with a passion thats why nearly every post is say to get 10G type 17 square drive screws ...... Your snapping these cause there isn't much meat on the shaft before the counter sink head...... The heads are driving through the board beacause the heads are so small they aren't much bigger than the pilot hole..... Hard to say cause i don't know how far you've gotten but if you can switch them over to the right screws now before you go to far i would..... Don't buy the carbitool i mention if you intend to use these screws as the countersink will be tooo large.....

cheers utemad

[UteMad]

i will post photo's of decking screws tonight

utemad

[oohsam]

OK, I look forward to seeing them so I know what to look out for.

hehehe....These are 9g Type 17 square drive screws. Someone here told me to get the self countersinking ones...
I've only snapped 2, and in both instances they snapped just where the thread starts. I've screwd in 250 with 2 snaps, which is ok If the numbers stay up to this level. I can always return the screws I haven't used..Only used 1 box out of the 6 I bought.

I will look into this utemad...I think I'll just keep goin with em though if I cant find the screws you show me...

[Loki429]

Here's a pic of the screws I'm using. Macsim 10G x 50mm.
As soon as I started using the 4.0mm Carbitool all my problems with breaking screws stopped. I haven't had any problems with the head countersinking too far either.
The head on your screw looks a bit smaller than these and could be a factor in why they are going too deep too.

Now all I need is the rain to stop so I can get back outside and carry on working on my deck

(Sorry Utemad I may have preempted you on this one - but I'm getting bored with this rain!)

[oohsam]

Ah I see, The heads are different...Thats why they are going down.....

Thanks Loki!

Edit: on closer inspection, they look the same, except I have 9g and yours are 10g hence why mine look smaller.
I googled "chipboard screw" to compare, and this is what I came up with.

The heads look the same to me...But I dont know what Im looking for.... Are they not on as much of a 'slant' so they dont 'slide' into the wood easier...Gosh I really have no idea what im talking about!

[UteMad]

Yeah no bother....

The Macsim 10G 50mm type 17 sq drive are one of my favourites for srews

Below is the difference side by side between your trim heads and what i consider the right screw for the job (right as in my opinion)



Below is a picture showing on the left your 9G trim heads ..then 8-10G type 17 with coarse chipboard thread... Then the Macsim 10G type 17 with a finer wood thread ...The type 17 part is the cut in the initial point of the screw which can be seen on the macsim screw... Alternatively some just have a chipboard point which isn't as good at self drilling.. All have ribbed self sinking heads.



Below is the easiest to find stainless screws that will do the job they are available at bunnings and mitre 10 ...Yes they are 8-10G but still have a relatively good shank diameter and dont snap at the head.... Cost would be around 40 - 45 bucks per 250 at a guess


Cheers Utemad

[oohsam]

OK. I think I might return my screws and get those ones.
Thanks heaps fo teh info Utemad. You have gone to great lengths to put these pictures up for me.
If I find these screws I'll be getting the Carbitool bit as well.