Thread: Tools required to Build Deck?? Help required.

mmm... easy answer if your not going to use them again? go to a hire place and tell them what your doing and what should you hire... they will suggest things like...

sliding compound saw (to cut the timber to length on site)
air compressor (to power up the next one)
air nail gun (to nail down the boards to the joists) and a box of appropriate nails
Drill, bits and appropriate sized bolts (to bolt it all together)
tape measure rule and carpenters square

if your going to sink some stumps into the gound as supports then they should also suggest...

cement mixer
trailer (to cart concrete sand and gravel if your getting your own)

you will also need pencils to mark it all but a nail will do at a pinch also the company may well suggest you go across the road to Bunnings and buy a few of the cheeper items its just not woth their hassle with the smaller items... those are the basic tool set a hire company will suggest

Another way if a basic tool kit... cause I dont give a rats what you say YOU WILL make something else with wood one day!!

In this instance...

a sliding compound saw and stand
post levels
drill bits and bolts
hammer
nailbag and nails
carpenters square

Ive built pergolas and decks with just those tools so thats the basic kit for this job... All available from Bunnings cheep as chups!

Cheers Dingo, that was the kind of answer I needed. I think I will go with your suggesstion and purchase the gear from Bunnings. (except the trailer)

Thanks

Pat

Then add the tools like a wheel barrow, shovel, crowbar, level, stringline/pegs etc etc

Don't forget a chippie...

By the time you buy the tools you are probably getting close to the cost of a chippie doing it for you.

Originally Posted by echnidna

By the time you buy the tools you are probably getting close to the cost of a chippie doing it for you.

Especially if you are not going to use most of the tools again.

what about getting a contractor in to so some of the work for you.

Dividing up the job into stages you can jump in whenever you feel confident and tooled up.

Stumper does the stumps. Pretty important to get em level. Stumpers can be a bit pricey but if you dont have levels etc and you're using concrete stumps it can be a bit tricky. If you're using timber stumps you've got a bit more leeway coz you can cut overlength down to the right height.
Barest neccessary tools: tape measure, string lines, shovel, levels, saw (electrical or the hard way)
Handy to have tools: crowbar, compound mitre saw but could get away with a largish circular saw.


Chippie to do the subfloor. Again important to get level.
barest neccessary tools: saw, tape measure, hammer, drill and bits, level
set square.
Handy to have: anything with power cord attached, saw, drill, plane etc

Decking: Too easy, do this bit yourself.
Barest neccessary tools: saw, hammer, set square
Handy to have: compressor and nail gun, circular saw


A lot is dependant on your deck design. What materials are you using?
Are you doing a hardwood subfloor or a treated pine? You dont want to be hand sawing your hardwood bearers (trust me)

Are you having baulstrades and hand rails, how are they attached?
Will you need to make stairs to get to the deck?

Many timber places run by old chippies can give you good advice. We found one that even gave you free hire of a coil nail gun and compressor if you purchased your decking from them. That certainly saves a lot of time and 20 cent pieces in the deck. Have you got a friend with some of the above tools? Borrow them or beer and bbq him into helping.

SF

I would suggest buying the tools. As a beginner it will take ages to build the deck. Hiring will be too expensive.

You could buy a GMC compound mitre saw for about $100. The slide function would be handy for cutting bearers etc, but a 255mm mitre saw would do the trick I think. Check what the cutting sizes are and compare to your timber specs.

You couldn't even hire a (albeit much better Makita) mitre saw for the weekend for that kind of money. You will need to buy a better blade though (for the GMC).

A hammer - everyone should have one regardless. Buy a decent one, as you'll probably never need to replace it. It is not a big deck, so you will be OK to hand nail. I think you would probably want to predrill though.

a tape measure - same as for the hammer.

drill - I'd be tempted to buy a corded drill as cheap cordless drills won't be able to do what you will need to do. Again, GMC would be OK. I've got a green bosch drill with a tail that works well. You'll need to drill 12mm holes for bolts and you may need to predrill your decking boards.

You'll also need a spirit level, one of those levels that attach to a string, a chalk line, a circular saw, digging equipment depending on your soil (shovel, spade, bar, clamshell digger). I recommend you buy a book (avail at bunnings) by Alan Staines called the Australian deck and pergola manual (or something like that). It shows you how to build a deck - depending on the deck itself, it can be a challenging project. Make sure you are confident that you can do it all before before buying the stuff from bunnings. You might find that someone can build it for you for only marginally more than it would cost you to build it if you don't have the tools. Plus, you can kick back and watch while they do it!

There are heaps of threads about decks in one of the sections down below. Have aread of how others have done their decks.

Good luck

Trav

You don't need a SCMS to build a deck. Basic tools required:
1200 level
stringline
tape measure
pencil
water level (length of clear 10 - 12mm hose a bit longer than the diagonal of your deck)
shovel
wheelbarrow and larry for mixing concrete
sledgehammer (to drive in pegs for bracing and profiles)
hammer
nailbag
nail set (punch)
1 1/2" chisel (or thereabouts)
drill and bits to suit (probably 10mm 13mm and slightly under the shank size of your nails, say 2.5mm)
7 1/4" circular saw
saw guide/protractor/square doodad for cutting square

I may have missed out some, but that lot will see you through the job. You don't want or need a nail gun for the decking, unless you use (apparently) domed head Stainless steel nails. Never seen them up here, I've always handnailed my decking with 50mm gal bullet head nails into hardwood joists. As you won't be needing/using the tools after you build the deck it seems pointless to spend any more than neccesary.

Mick

Mick

I'll weigh in - what Mick said!

Not that I've ever read it, but with a level of toolkit already had, I'd suggest Alan Staines book as well - you can read it while on the can (for some that will mean multiple reads ;D ), and it'll be a good for planning for sizing, and it'll be a reference piece for when you cnat figure out whether the bearers have to be housed and how deep the housing should and can be etc etc.

PS - if using HW, definately get the power drill, the el cheapo battery operated ones will be on the charger for more than their on the job.

I'm just about finished building a multi level deck.
I used the basic tools Mick suggested except I didn't use a water level.
And I used a nailgun & compressor (coz I have them) with Gal Nails