Thread: Is Tallowwood good for decking?

Yep. it's the best.

Originally Posted by glock40sw

Yep. it's the best.

I'll second that wholeheartedly, in fact our fully exposed to the elements pool deck is none other than Tallow(E. Microcorys)wood.

....seems overkill but if that tickles yer ....

Bruce, dont suppose theres any d\g t\w in the packs heading to robbos
(cross finger, cross legs , cross eyes)

When buying check if the decking is kiln dried or air dried, the kd stuff is a lot better and does not tend to split.

Originally Posted by echnidna

Bruce, dont suppose theres any d\g t\w in the packs heading to robbos
(cross finger, cross legs , cross eyes)

To be honest Bob I wouldn't have a clue, haven't been up there since I posted the first hypothetical post, there was a few packs of that sorta stuff there last time I looked, but goodness knows where they ended up at, with any luck maybe on the way to you. Let us know what you reckon of the value once you sort it out, I'm very interested in what you guys reckon about it, cause I'll maybe keep an eye out for other suppliers as well if everyone thinks it was a worthy effort.

it is good stuff - but hard as ****. Good excuse to buy a new hammer. And a new saw blade. Bugger it. While you are at it, buy a new sliding compound mitre saw too.

Make sure you wash it once you've laid it and before you oil/stain it. Use any of the deckclean products and give it a good scrub. This will stop the timber coming out with all these little black spots all over it. Kind of like measles for decks.

Trav

Thanks everyone, I did buy a new compound saw Trav. While I was at Bunnings I "saw" an Ozito slide compound saw and a GMC slide compound saw each for $200. I went for the Ozito because it had a 3 year replacement warranty and the slide mechanism felt very smooth where as the GMC unit felt very jagged as it slid across. Then to my frustration I read on this forum that Ozito is *****. Owe well we live and learn.

I was thinking of buying a paslode framing impulse gun and using their decking nails as all up I'll be doing arounf 80 square metre's. Is the Tallowwood too hard for this gun? The frame is only treated pine.

Yes tallowood is good decking material as is turpentine and the itron barcks. Theese are very durable. The Tallowood and Turpentine are both insect resistant, good hardness and turpentine in particular is resistant to water (traditionally used as wharf piers).

If you're happy to go recycled I think the guy the down the road from me does turpentine at a better price than the $5 to $6 you've been quoted.

Slabman - who is it that provides cheap decking/other timber in Canberra? I'm always interested in new timber suppliers!

Trav

The GMC is pretty good, but nothing to write home about. Certainly not as good as a makita etc. I don't know much about the Ozito. I do suggest, regardless of which saw you have, that you invest in a new blade. For 80 sq m it will give you a much nicer cut with less tearout and splintering. I thought that the existing one was OK until I bought a 60 tooth tungsten carbide tip blade (irwin perhaps?) and now I couldn't even imagine putting the old one back in. Certainly worth the $$.

I know I probably shouldn't have, but I've fitted a 254mm blade to the GMC which is supposed to only be 250mm. So far I've had no problems. But, make sure it spins freely. Check your arbour too as you may need a bush to fit some blades.

I thought about a nailgun too. In the end, I bought a new hammer and did it by hand. Predrill of course! Tallowood is hard. I think recycled timber is extra hard and dry and is more likely to split. But if you pre-drill, it should be OK. You just need to work out if it is worthwhile - 80sq m is a lot of decking so it might be justifiable. Others will have views too.

Good luck

Trav

G'day All.
A nail gun is fine for fixing all but the cut ends.
These will need drilling and hand nailing.
I found out by doing 45sq/m of Spotted Gun decking on my place.
When you cut to join on the joists, set your saw to slightly undercut the end. This allows the ends to butt up tightly.
I used 3" nails as the gap between the boards.

Hooroo.
Regards, Trevor
Grafton

Thanks for all the reply's.

I got the Tallowwood yesterday from an auction for $1.50 l/m. It is utility grade but I got 1550 l/m so I have alot to be selective with. I haven't had a chance to see what condition the timber inside the pack is in but the outside looks ok, nicely bundles and plastic wrapped (getting delivered now but I'm at work). I've got 3 packs at around 500 l/m each.

I think I will hand nail. I'm going to have an extra pair of hands and they can work ahead of me pre-drilling while I follow and nail.

Thanks trevor for the tip about slightly undercutting the end, what are we talking, 1-2 degree's?

Have fun. Try not to hit your thumb.

Trav

btw, I found using a 240v (ie corded) drill worked better than a cordless as my dodgy cordless doesn't spin fast enough and I kept breaking the drill bits. Or maybe it was just me. In any case, buy about 10 drill bits as it is a pain to have to go back to the hardware store every few hours to buy more.