Thread: General Decking Advice

G'day Wlesy,
The decking forum moved with our sister forum Renovate Forums to become a separate entity. You'll get pretty good answers over there, but you'll have to register on Reno again.
Just copy and paste your questions over there mate.

Thank You, Much appreciated.
Pete.

Originally Posted by Wilesy

Good Morning All,

I have with interest read many things on this forum in the past and have enjoyed my learning from the experts. Now I need your help.

I am currently building a deck on my new home which surrounds the entire house.

It will be 1.8 metres wide and will cover 270 square metres (Including 10% for wastage) , in addition to the 2 slat overhang around the veranda. Plus the pool and Cabana area which will be done shortly thereafter..

I have calculated that I will need approximately 1890 lineal metres just for the Veranda (Including 10% for waste and overhang) and I intend using 140mm x 19mm.

Now my question, (s)

I will be using Merbau because what I have read it has the best long term stability with less movement and shrinkage than Spotted Gum, (Which incidentally I actually prefer) however I have built a deck on my Mancave in Merbau ( only 28sqm) and after finishing found it bled all over the concrete underneath and made a heck of a mess so understandably I am really worried about bleeding on my veranda over my sandstock bricks of my new home…should I be worried and can I remove the stains easily?

Am I correct on the Merbau vs spotted Gum in terms of stability and movement and long term appearance?

Now what is the absolute best decking I should ask for when purchasing my decking, premium grade, select grade, kiln dried etc, its gobblygook to me.

So, what is the best quality to ask for?

Now, I understand that screws are the best method of fixing, but I don’t like the look of the screws on the deck, especially as there are so many, so is screwless the preferred way to go?
On my mancave, I painstakingly filled and sanded each and every one of the hundreds of screws with wood filler before lacquering and now 12 months later find some of the fillings are falling out….and this deck is quite a bit bigger.

Finally, immediately it is done, should I oil the deck following sanding, or should I do what I did on my mancave and paint sikkens lacquer with a slip retardant inclusion directly after sanding. I have put 8 coats on and it looks absolutely Stunning.

So what is the best? Lacquer or oil?

I really want the absolute best decking money can buy as it is a showcase for my home and cost is not a consideration.

Finally, is there somewhere or someone I should purchase my decking from over someone else? I live in Sydney.
Thanks.

Spotted gum is beautiful as a deck but such a hassle.
Our uncovered spotted gum deck is a constantly needing oil. 2 years later has to be reoiled every 2- 3 months. Even with aged spotted gum we have some warping too.
Stay away from it as I think Varnishing it would be the only thing to do for long term protection but who wants to do the work when it needs redoing.
D Hayes

Wow, that's a lot of decking. I don't envy you.

I've used spotted gum and, IMHO, it looks fabulous. Worth every cent. I don't like merbau much - it is an important rainforest timber and if you have concerns about ethical timber production, I am not convinced that merbau meets those standards. I personally would never use it. We live in the most amazing country, with some of the best timbers in the world. Why import timber when you can use ours? 140mm boards are really wide. Watch out for cupping - may even need 3 nails per board.

Not sure about the shrinkage issues. As long as it is properly dried then it probably won't be an issue. But check with others.

As for fixing, filling nail holes will never last. The movement of the timber will mean the putty pops out and looks horrible. Either learn to love top fixings (whether screws or nails) or buy one of the concealed fixing systems (Camo, Kreg, there are many others too). If the nails all line up (which is pretty simple to do) then I think it looks pretty neat. I agree that top screws look a bit ugly. Remember too that anything that is top nailed or screwed will make it hard to sand the top surface if you ever need to.

I like the look of Ekodeck, a bamboo/composite decking. I've not used it before though. More info is Bamboo Decking | Composite Decking | Build a Deck -Ekologix. The advantage is no finish, ever. Also comes in wide boards (140 I think). No association blah blah...

As for finishes, I have used a decking oil, but as others have said, you need to refinish it pretty regularly. I'd never use a lacquer as over time the weathering will crack the lacquer and it will begin to perish. Very hard to refinish lacquer short of sanding it off and starting again. Again, ekodeck or similar may have an advantage here as I hate oiling decks.

Good luck

Trav