Deck Building has begun

[oohsam]

Hey guys
I am glad to say my project is finally lifting off the ground.
We have marked out the area and are going to start digging holes this saturday.
I have hired a dingo with post hole digger attatchments (200mm and 350mm) and a bucket, incase i need to scrape or level anywhere.

We have decided to stay 1 meter away from the fenceline and put handrails all the way around the decking, and plant some shrubs in there.

I will post images on saturday of my progress for all who is intersted.

This project will run over a few weeks, completing each stage per weekend.
1. Dig holes
2. Put in stumps/bearers
3. Begin setting joists
4. Lay Deckboards
5. Finish handrails

Depending on time per day/weekend, we may do some of the stuff in one day.

Peace.

[oohsam]

Ok Here is an update.
Got all 40 Stumps in, cement in the base of every hole, posts resting on a brick at the bottom of each hole.

The 3 outer stumps are large becuase of the handrail. We didnt make every second/third stump long becuase there are 10 stumps and couldnt get the spanning even, so the solution was to use stirrups for the hand rail supports and bolt to the bearer for support. Thsi way we could put the hand rails nice and even and achieve that proffesional look.

Stump tops were cut to 5degrees on top so water slides off nicley. Bearers will bolt to side of stumps and joists on top at 450mm.

Levels were acheved using a laser level.
I have some digging out to do on the house line as the stumps are only comign up a little, will dig that dirt out and make a slight slope for water to run off when it rains.

Enjoy the pics. More to come as we go along.

[Spelunx]

Wow, that a whole lot of stumps you have there!


It's going to be a pretty big deck when it's finished.


Keep up the good work.

[oohsam]

hehe yeah thanks
Its about 11 x 4....That whole area is totally unusable if we didnt have the deck there.
We're really high up and from the deck once its finished you can see the whole city. Its really quite amazing.

I am thinking of putting a roof on half of it later downt the track. Hopefully it wont be too hard.

[oohsam]

Hey all.
Well after a long weekend, we have finally some decent progress.

On saturday we got most of the bearers on. I had to go to an engagement so I only got 3 hours of work in. We measuered everything perfectly before we bought the bearers so we only managed to waste about 30cms of wood in bearers. Worked out real well.

I had a look at protect a deck but it was too expensive so I bought soem of that black plastic that brickies use, staple gun on top of bearers and on sides to keep it neat. worked well just takes a bit of tiem.

On saturday got all the joists on. Skew nails into the joist, and then joist straps (4) on every joist to keep it down and from twisting.

I will be also protecting these with the black plastic, but I ran out of staples.

All thas left now is to do the hand rails and put the merbu on...Should be fun.
Its a massive area and its great that You can actualy walk on it now. I love it. So exciting!

Enjoy the snaps...

[oohsam]

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[oohsam]

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[brynk]

lookin good bloke - some nice progress it is always rewarding when the hard work getting things level & square pays off!

glad to see you have a good number of helpers too! i like the taper on the tops of the posts - how are you fixing your bearers to them? i didn't bother tapering my posts but we put some d(amp) p(roof) c(ourse) over the top end-grains & i also sealed them with candle wax.

r's brynk

[oohsam]

Thanks Brynk!
Yeah got the family in to help!!

We used Screw Bolts. Predrill and BAM...with a ratchet its all in place.

On the bearer closest to the wall i had to use long bolts with a nut as we couldnt get the drill to fit betwen the wall and the bearer so we couldnt predrill on that side at all.

yeah the taper on the posts/stumps is ncie so the water just runs off..I like the idea of wax..I might just put some extra plastic on top once im done to cover the stumps up. Wont hurt.


Should I seal the end of the joists?

[brynk]

gday oohsam

i think you would be able to get away without sealing the end-grain of your joists. i sealed them to slow the rapid loss of moisture through the end-grain. as the treated pine is already equalised with the environment then it will not give up water. dunno how much water it will take on during periods of high humidity. also, once your joists have decking fixed to them they are considered fully restrained and would be doing little or no moving; r's brynk

[oohsam]

Ah yes. I see what you're saying about the joists..but with the spare time I have to do the decking it may take me a few weeks. bit by bit and its spring now and u know how the rains come heavy and long and then sunshine dries it out..its enough to warp my nice joists..hence why I have also left the braces on the beams for the hand rails. Dont want them moving too much till I get the cross beam for the hand rail on them.
I just thought might as well do this stuff now while i can access it then I never have to worry bout it again.

Do it once, do it right.
(and cheap)

[brynk]

if you're putting the dpc down over the joists also then i wouldnt be overly concerned though what does it take to smear a bit of vaseline on the ends to tide them over until the decking goes down?

if your beer rail is a while in the making then it may well pay dividends to seal the top end-grains of the posts from the weather, as these are ultimately face work then you would want them staying true when it comes time to mount the handrail. you could use virtually anything to do this (wax, bitumen, paint, etcet) if you are going to cut them down size later.

[oohsam]

Thanks brynk. I'll give that ago. It hasnt rained since so Im hoping the weather will hold out till friday coz I'll be putting the rest of the plastic on.

How come u know so much mate?

[clackerz]

I always slap paint on all timber and where there are joins/cuts etc. Anything to keep moistire away from the timber.
The previous owner to my house built a pergola and only painted the parts that you could see. Then laid shade cloth over the top (not painted).
Obviously over time the moisture has gotten into the timber, and with 3 of the 4 sides painted the moisture had nowhere to go, so rotted from the inside out.
Some gentle persuasion and it came down (in pieces!) - all the bolts, nails etc where rusted through as well.

[Paul2012]

Is that correct that you have just attached the bearers to the side of the posts with screw bolts, will this be strong enough. I'm about to build a deck wich will be 300 mm off the ground it would be a lot easier to do it this way I'm just not sure that this is the right way as all the books I have seen on building decks get you to make a cut in the post and have the bearer sitting on it and then bolt.. Any thoughts ?