Deck Building has begun

[silentC]

make a cut in the post and have the bearer sitting on it and then bolt..

Yes that is the correct way. Bearer should be either be housed into the post or sitting directly on top of it.

[oohsam]

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[silentC]

Actually someone here pointed out the other day that the load rating for decks is higher than it is for an internal floor in a house. I think you would find that if it was being inspected, it might not pass. Concrete for posts is not mandatory, you can use driven timber piles, or posts bedded in aggregate.

It's part of the Building Code of Australia. I suppose you can say it's overkill in many situations, but they have to make it bullet proof, so obviously things are scaled up a bit to cover the worst case. However, when people are asking questions on a forum, I think it's good practice to quote what's in the code. Not that I'm all that conversant with the code, but I had a quick look in my framing manual and it is covered under Nominal Fixings - Bearers to Stumps/Piers/Posts.

[pawnhead]

I'd house them in, but as oohsam said, it would take a hell of a lot of weight to shear through the bolts, and I have seen them just bolted, unhoused, on those backyard makeover shows.
You'd have to make sure that the holes you're drilling are a tight fit for the bolts, but the problem is that the threads are often a slightly larger diameter than the rest of the shank. It would be an idea to whack a few 4" galv nails in as well.

[silentC]

those backyard makeover shows

I rest my case

[oohsam]

hehehe....I see what you're saying Silent C, about giving the correct info

[thebuildingsurv]

Bolts with washers should have been used, not coach screws, but is no big deal just dont put them to close to the edges. The deck manual put out by the timber promotion council allows unhoused connections. They have a table which bases the amont and size of bolts on the area supported. Generally 2-m12 will take a heap of weight.

[oohsam]

Ah well waddya know, I used bolts and washers...NICE!

[thebuildingsurv]

sorry i thought you used srew type bolts

[silentC]

Yes it would seem to be acceptable for a deck, although I find that a bit contradictory, given other discussions we've had in the past regarding load ratings.

[oohsam]

Hey all,
Well, I only got 5 boards laid on Sunday, it was great weather (actually pretty hot) and I was on my own..its tricky carrying 5m long boards from the garage, placing them down, measuring, cutting and putting them back in place, then predrilling every hole, then countersinking every hole..
(Bunnings were out of stock of the carbi Tool bits...damn)
I have 2 power drills so its not a big deal.

Boy Can i tell you how much I love my new Makita Impact driver!
What I have found, is that I need to predrill every hole, wether its on the end of the board or not, otherwise, the head of the screw snaps off..its not a big deal though...Screws are expensive $40 for 250 screws, i think I got ripped off, but no one in my area had them.

Im a little worried that the 53mm long screws maybe too short..The boards are 140mmx22mm which leaves 21mm of screw in joist..
Hope it holds...

i was using the 5th board screwed down method and fillin the gaps to lay the boards on the first 5 boards..but since I was working so slow, I realised that it would take me some time to get the boards down..I work full time and have 1 hour of daylight a day plus weekends to finish the deck.
Due to the weather raining and sunshine every day, I was worried the boards would shrink/expand etc and then my gaps would be bigger/smaller if I did that, so Im diong 5 at a time.

I laid 2 boards down when i got home last night, took me 20 mins, so Im getting better.

Hope to have it finished by sunday. Still have to run the wires for the lights, shouldnt take too long.

Enjoy the snaps.

[Loki429]

Hi Oohsam

The deck's looking good! I know what you mean about stuggling for time doing it after work. That's why I opted to take some annual leave and work on mine full time. I've found I'm able to concentrate better and don't waste as much time packing and unpacking tools away each day. Keep at it - its worth it in the end.

Re the screws I believe they will be fine. 53mm screw - 22mm deck leaves 31mm into the joist. Plus the screws are countersunk meaning almost another 5mm will be going into the joist. That's about 36mm total - plenty!

The screws I'm using are 50mm macsim stainless steel. I measured them end-to-end, exactly 50mm. Perhaps your ones are measured differently and don't take into account the size of the head? The price you paid is about right though; I paid $164 for 1000.

cheers!

[silentC]

I was worried the boards would shrink/expand etc and then my gaps would be bigger/smaller

Hate to tell you this, but that is going to happen anyway, like it or not. Also don't be surprised if some of your butt joints open up too. I had one open up about 3mm. Boards don't shrink much longitudinally, but they can and do.

[oohsam]

Loki - Thanks I feel much better about the screws. All i need I think is 2 days off to get the boards on. I prefer to cut all the boards, then drill all the holes then screw everything in, You get into a good flow when you're doing one job over and over. Much easier than swaping tools all the time.

Silent - I know they will shrink, i have seen some shrink quite a bit, on the butt joints too. Im just being paranoid. I want everything to turn out perfet..but it wont!

[silentC]

Thing is, after the first week or so, you'll never look at it!

Oh, that is until it's time to put on the deck oil