Thread: Nail-holes filler for merbau decking

Originally Posted by Simplicity

I’m just in the finishing stages of a Deck for a client, would you like to quote for 700 ish screw holes too be timber plugged [emoji6][emoji6].

An it’s a small deck !!.

Cheers Matt.

If a client is prepared to pay for it then they can have whatever they want.

Dad was a registered builder up until the mid 1980's. What we hated was a client who would want PC items listed at minimum but actually achievable $$$$ values to get a loan then want to "upgrade" to higher end appliances during the build. Dad would warn them up front but most could never understand that any variation over a PC item was at their cost. Every single variation by the client was signed for in a "day book" then billed as additional sums. So many arguments over that caper! Dad insisted that for fixed appliances that they pay the additional sum to the supplier before any appliance was installed.

Close… but the specific item I was thinking about is no longer made . It was Veritas’ “The Plugger”

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Originally Posted by Simplicity

would you like to quote for 700 ish screw holes too be timber plugged

Certainly; I only charge a dollar-fifty per hole plus mobilisation costs to & from Bundy, providing that suitable plugging material is provided by the client. You might need to loan me a hammer. And a sharp chisel. And another sharp chisel in case I hit one of the screw heads with the first one.

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

Certainly; I only charge a dollar-fifty per hole plus mobilisation costs to & from Bundy, providing that suitable plugging material is provided by the client. You might need to loan me a hammer. And a sharp chisel. And another sharp chisel in case I hit one of the screw heads with the first one.

Sounds fair an reasonable,I be in touch,[emoji6][emoji6][emoji6] maybe.

Cheers Matt.

Thank you very much for your valuable inputs. woodPixel - I'll definitely add that dowel banger tool to my wishlist.

I think at this stage I'll go with that Earl's merbau-tint putty mainly because I want to finish this project while it's still warm enough here in Melb to apply Cutek
It also the easiest one to undo/replace should something go terribly wrong with it (and again, my deck is more like balcony - covered and with waist-height side walls). I'll definitely post some pictures when I'm done and hopefully more in 12 months to see how it fares.

While I have your attention:
* What should be recommended gap size between boards? Couldn't find any references for 70x19mm merbau. For 90mm they recommend 3-4mm which sounds a bit too small. My wood is seasoned (I'm reusing the wood that was on the same deck before for the most of it). On my other deck (same materials) the gaps are around 4.8-5.5mm. Should I go with 5mm?
* Would 50mm screws will be enough? Or better 65mm? (My joists are some kind of old softwood, 50mm wide: Deck joist - Album on Imgur)


Thanks again for all your wisdom.

If your joists are in good condition with no rot from the previous holes then 50mm should be OK, but you will need to go deeper if the fibres are soft and have started to rot. I use G-Tape on top of the joists before laying the boards. Also I bought some deck clamp attachments for my Irwin type clamps from Bunnings, see link for how they work Quick Tip: Clamping Deck Boards With An Irwin Mod || Dr Decks - YouTube

Originally Posted by Camelot

If your joists are in good condition with no rot from the previous holes then 50mm should be OK, but you will need to go deeper if the fibres are soft and have started to rot. I use G-Tape on top of the joists before laying the boards. Also I bought some deck clamp attachments for my Irwin type clamps from Bunnings, see link for how they work Quick Tip: Clamping Deck Boards With An Irwin Mod || Dr Decks - YouTube

Joists are still solid. And yeah, g-tape all the way! : Joists with g-tape - Album on Imgur
50mm it is then.
If I become paranoid I'll mb put 65mm on the ends of the boards.
Another thought for 50mm is if in the future I will need to replace a board, I can then switch to 65mm screws for it.

And I'll be going with 5mm gaps after all.