Thread: To Glue, Screw or Nail

Originally Posted by gsouth

All,

I am thinking of replacing a treated pine decking (TP bearers and joists) with a hardwood deck.
The person who didn't put it down, didn't use proper nails so they have rusted away.....

The deck faces north and pretty much gets sun all day.
My questions are:

1 - screw or nail? (will all be pre-drilled)
2 - which screws or nails?
3 - Do you recommend gluing the boards to the frame as well?
4 - which glue?
5 - what product do you recommend for finishing the deck?


Thanks all for your input.

Geoff

1)Screws into joists if they are TP. Hardwood may pull nails from TP
2)50mm 10g class3 galvanised chipboard screws by Bremick are the screws I use. Use a self-countersinking drill bit
3)glueing is superfluous
4) N/A
5) Spa-n-Deck acrylic is convenient and excellent durability. So is the Sikkens range.

Cheers
Michael

I built a deck with hardwood decking over TP bearers and joists. I used hot dipped gal twist shank decking nails (2 per board per joist). You can buy them from any hardware store in big boxes. I've had no problems with the nails slipping after 18 months. In fact, I bent a few nails when hammering them in (no way I hear you say ), and pulling them out of the TP and decking was hard yakka. I pre-drilled every last bloody hole. It takes ages.

I think screws are a bit excessive (but I could be wrong). They are also much more expensive for gal screws. You'd still need 2 per board per joist, otherwise it would cup at the edges. I then think that this would look kinda funny as the heads of the screws are much bigger than the heads of the nails. You will be surprised at how many nails and screws you need - I think screws will stand out too much.

As Michael said, glueing is not needed.

I used a decking oil - Wattyl brand. They all seem to be much the same to me. I have heard that Sikkens is good. But more $$.

Good luck

Trav

Copper nails are an option. They don't rust and offer a little bit of rot resistance.

Hot dipped galvanised twisted shank nails are the way to go. The length of them depends on how thick your boards are. As a rule of thumb you use a nail three times as long as the boards are thick. Having said that I used 65 mm nails on 25 mm thick blackbutt. Predrill them as they make it easier to insert and they actually hold better. You might need to buy some extra long twist drill bits though.