Thread: I don't recommend it but...

I avoid digging after having spent four years leaning on a shovel so don't worry I wont do it Do you dress the boards before you put them down?

[QUOTE=Burnsy;1040519]I avoid digging after having spent four years leaning on a shovel so don't worry I wont do itQUOTE]

did u work for teh concil?

[quote=weisyboy;1040561]

Originally Posted by Burnsy

I avoid digging after having spent four years leaning on a shovel so don't worry I wont do itQUOTE]

did u work for teh concil?

Carl i dont think Work and Council go together do they?

Nice boards sidigi!

And what about getting your self a jack?

Originally Posted by BobL

Nice boards sidigi!

And what about getting your self a jack?

Thanks Bob, I've thought about a jack, maybe one of those hi-lift Land Cruiser types you see, but when you haven't got one, it doesn't matter much if you know what you need hey? I could have easily gained 6-8" with one of them, then blocked up the bolsters to suit, but on site I had an iron bar and a square mouth metal shovel, so digin it was.

Originally Posted by Burnsy

Do you dress the boards before you put them down?

Mike, I've done 3 sets of decking for here at home to date;
1. I sliced, brought home, dressed both faces, sent the boards through the table saw and arised the top two corners, then laid. So they where less than a week from being a tree.
2. Sliced, left stickered and strapped for a month, dressed both faces, table saw, arised, then laid.
3. Stickered and strapped for nearly 3 months then dressed top face, table saw, arised, laid.

So, I was looking at the finish on them while sawing yesterday and am thinking of leaving them rough sawn, table saw and aris then lay. Ultimately I will have to get it past the Minister of Home Affairs and Taste...

What do you reckon? I will get a pic of the finish today maybe so you can have a look.

Originally Posted by Sigidi

Thanks Bob, I've thought about a jack, maybe one of those hi-lift Land Cruiser types you see.

That's what I do.


I still haven't made my anti-tipping over device yet - must do that soon.

Originally Posted by Sigidi

Mike, I've done 3 sets of decking for here at home to date;
1. I sliced, brought home, dressed both faces, sent the boards through the table saw and arised the top two corners, then laid. So they where less than a week from being a tree.
2. Sliced, left stickered and strapped for a month, dressed both faces, table saw, arised, then laid.
3. Stickered and strapped for nearly 3 months then dressed top face, table saw, arised, laid.

So, I was looking at the finish on them while sawing yesterday and am thinking of leaving them rough sawn, table saw and aris then lay. Ultimately I will have to get it past the Minister of Home Affairs and Taste...

What do you reckon? I will get a pic of the finish today maybe so you can have a look.

So was there any noticable difference between the three methods in relation to movement and shrinkage once layed? I have layed a lot of batu and palawan over the years and much of that will shrink so that 3mm gaps open up to 10mm even though it is supposedly kin dried.

Originally Posted by BobL

That's what I do.


I still haven't made my anti-tipping over device yet - must do that soon.

Don't worry about the anti tipping device, I am happy to accept it back as is

Originally Posted by Burnsy

So was there any noticeable difference between the three methods in relation to movement and shrinkage once layed? I have layed a lot of batu and palawan over the years and much of that will shrink so that 3mm gaps open up to 10mm even though it is supposedly kin dried.

1) I laid it really tight, clamped boards together before screwing them down. It was a really great looking bit of decking, but as I expected it has shrunk, which caused gaps between boards around the size I wanted about 5mm, but the face of the boards have surface checking up to 1mm wide, but up to 1012 per board on some boards - boards where 5x1 blanks.
2) I thought 1 month was ok to lose a heap of moisture and didn't gap them when laying, but also didn't clamp them together before screwing down, these have surface checking aswell, but not as wide as 1, but they have gaps up to 1/2"
3) After 2) I didn't want wide gaps again, so again pushed them together, but just used my chisel as a 'clamp' to hold them against each other before screwing down. This deck had been exposed for most of it's life until about 5 months ago. While being exposed it had a heap of trouble with rain and the boards swelled tight against each other. Now it's been covered it has settled down to gaps about 5mm. The best bit is the finish, all the boards are nice smooth and don't have any surface checking.

So of the 3 different decks, I'm happy with giving the boards 3 months air drying, stickered, and strapped, then machine just one face to get them all sitting flat, but use a 2mm nail as spacer between boards if it'll be exposed or push it up lightly if being covered.

With these... I don't have the luxury of 3 months air drying, I'm sure someone will really hurt themselves in that time

So here are a few pics of the finish off the saw. I only had my phone camera, so sorry for the quality - be nice if Bob could come over and take some pics using his contraption!!!



The step on the side of this board is between 0.5mm - 1.0mm. to help with a bit of perspective, the boards are 150x28mm and on most of the sawmarks, when you run your finger nail along the board you don't get caught up by the sawmarks.











What do you guys think? I'm reluctant to dress one side as they are so green, I don't want a difference in surface area between both faces to aid in cupping the boards, also due to finances and time, these will be nailed down instead of screwed, not really happy about using nails, but it's a separate deck area to the others which have screws and I gotta get it down before one of the kids break a leg or something silly. I'll be using those timberlock nails with the annular shanks. Also I think leaving them rough sawn will help to disguise surface checking, I'll clamp them hard against each other when laying and nail about 1" in from each side.

http://www.graysonline.com/Lot.aspx?id=4046215

If you want nail (timber lock)

Originally Posted by Sigidi

With these... I don't have the luxury of 3 months air drying, I'm sure someone will really hurt themselves in that time

When I was living on the west coast of Tassi I owned a holiday house on the north coast at Hawley Beach. I was putting up a decking outside the front door one morning and had a job interview at the pulp mill at around mid day. l left it a little late and was rushing back inside to shower and change when I went through the joists and busted a rib and split the back of my head open. Rushed down to the docs, got my head stitched up, rang the mill and told them I was held up. Got there half an hour late and did the interview with a bandage wrapped around my head that made me look like I had just had a frontal lobotomy.

I was actually told I was the preferred candidtate but they could not employ me because of union restrictions and they had to employ from within the company as they were retrenching staff - this was despite the position being for an environmental specialist for which they had no suitable internal people to transfer. Lucky as if I had of got it I would not have returned to WA and met LOML.

Krunchie we nailin 'cause we already have the hardware, although I don't like using nails, oh well.

Mike, exactly what I am scared off and no matter how much I keep telling eveyone not to walk on bloody joists, they just won't listen. Yeah I walk on 'em, but I have to to do work and if i get hurt well it's my fault and I'm big enough and ugly enough to deal with that, but the kids!!! oh well I gotta get the deck down soon.