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By following these tips and tricks, you could build a deck in no time. The steps include planning, setting stumps, bearers, joists, laying of deckboards, and even a step. Here we are with the finished deck. A lot of planning has gone into this deck before work's even begun. While this deck is perfect for this location, it might not be perfect for yours. Here are a few things you should consider before planning your deck at your place.
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Firstly, check with your local council if you require a permit. Before you do anything further, you need to assess the ground you're building on. Whatever surface you're building on will determine the materials you use. In some cases, your deck might be built on two different surfaces, like we have here. Our deck in this space will be on existing concrete and soil. Once you've sorted out your position, think about what the right level is for your deck. Figure out whether you're level with the door or if you'll need a step. There's so many different types of decking; it just depends on the look and durability you're after. Choosing the layout of your deck is what's next. You could decide on the orientation, going perpendicular, parallel, or even a mix of both.
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The last thing you want is rusty old screws. Make sure you use stainless or galvanized decking screws to ensure a wide range of weather conditions. To maintain your deck and protect it from the elements, you can decide to finish it off with either a stain or a decking oil.
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Okay, here we are back at ground zero. The most important thing to do before you begin any construction is to set out your deck and check your measurements. Firstly, start by marking out your decking area with your marking paint. This way, you know exactly where to place your hurdles. It's a great way to visualize the deck and check you're comfortable with the size. You'll notice I'm positioning my hurdles away from the deck to allow you enough room to work.
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Use a string line to create the shape of your deck to your desired dimensions. Then, once your strings are in place, check your deck measurements are square. Use a diagonal or 3-4-5 method to ensure your deck is square. The 3-4-5 rule works by going to your corner and measuring three meters in one direction, then measuring out four meters in the other direction. When measuring between those two points to complete the triangle, the length should equal five meters. If you're using the diagonal measuring method, you measure from one corner to the other and repeat the steps on the other corners. If your measurements are the same, that means you have a square deck. Now that we know our deck is square, we need to install our stumps. Not every deck needs stumps; for example, if you're building over a concrete slab, you'd use adjustable decking feet. But if you do need stumps, this is how you do it.
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Check your heights and ensure you have enough clearance between the ground and your bearer. The clearance heights are different based on where you live, so check with local guidelines ahead of time. In this instance, we don't have enough clearance, so we have to dig out and remove some soil.
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Now that we have the right amount of clearance, we can mark out where our stumps need to go. To determine your stump and bearer positions, always refer to timber span tables. If you are building a deck on top of a concrete slab, you won't need stumps; you will be using adjustable decking feet instead. Then you're ready to dig your holes for your stumps. Just make sure that your depth of your hole is found at least 100 millimeters into stiff clay. 300 by 300 by 600 millimeters deep will generally be sufficient, but the depth of your hole will vary depending on your location. We've cut these stumps to roughly the height of our deck. Before these go into the hole, we need to apply a coat of bitumen paint. This ensures the timber doesn't rot.
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While the bitumen paint is drying, mix the concrete so that you have enough to fill each hole approximately halfway. You want a minimum of 150 millimeters of concrete beneath your stump for support.
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Fill each hole halfway and place your stumps into the hole in line with your string line. We will cut these off at the correct height once they set. Ensure each stump is plumb and backfilled with soil and leave to dry overnight. As you can see, we're making progress. We're going to let the concrete dry and do a thing overnight. We'll come back tomorrow morning, mark the stumps, and cut them off to height.
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As you can see now, our stumps are well and truly set. We can now get cracking on installing the bearers. Firstly, we need to mark the stumps at the bottom of the bearer and cut them off. To work out where to cut, you have to subtract the height of your joists, bearers, and decking from the overall height of your deck.
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Measure the distance from your house to the string line. This will determine the length of the bearer. Once we've got our measurement, it's time to cut the bearer.
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We are laminating two pieces of timber together to give us the required strength. To do this, simply fix the two together. You can install your bearers using framing nails, but you should always tie it in using hoop iron. Just be sure to wear your gloves whilst working with it.
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So.
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We've also added a waving plate against our wall.
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How good does this look? We're almost there with our framing. Next up is just to put in our joists. So, your joists are spaced correctly. Divide the width of your deck into even sections, but make sure your joists are no more than 450 millimeters apart. Once your joists are marked out, lay them over the top of the bearers and nail them using galvanized nails. For extra rigidity, we are adding noggins in between every second joist. You can use brackets and screws for further support.
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And there you have it, joists to support your deck boards.
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Now that our deck subfloor is complete, before we can start laying the decking boards, we need to put a frame in for our step. So, first up, we need to measure and mark out where our stumps will go.
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Once that's done, dig the holes for our stumps.
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It's now time to cut the stump. Before these go into the hole, we need to apply a coat of bitumen paint. This ensures the timber doesn't rot.
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Now that the depth of our hole is correct, it's time to mix the concrete and pour it into the hole. From here, we need to place the stump in and ensure that it's level and in line with our string. Once that's lined up and leveled, backfill with soil and let it set overnight. To work out the length of the step, measure the height from the top of the joist to the ground.
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From here, divide this by two, then subtract the height of your subfloor, which will give you the height of your stump. Keep in mind the minimum height of a step is 140 to max 190. Now that we have the measurement marked, it's time to cut the stump. To check out your post, measure and mark the depth and thickness of your timber. Ours is 140 by 45, so I've measured and marked out 140 on our stump and set the saw to the thickness of our timber.
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It's important to keep the joist spacing the same. To do this, sit your outside beam up on the deck and mark the existing joists. We are now going to build our subfloor with joists. This is a quick and easy way to pre-build a subfloor.
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To complete our subfloor, we need to screw it into place. Just make sure you keep checking it's leveled along the way. For some further support, we're going to screw in these joist hangers. The steps in. Now time for the fun part, laying the deck boards. Let's get into it. Running measurements are a great way to ensure your spacings remain accurate.
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Measure from the house 475 and continue along the way.
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It's now time to cut and lay our intermediate boards to size.
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An easy way to lay your decking is to place every fifth board down first.
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Don't forget to use your pre-drawn marks for accuracy.
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The next step is to pre-drill so we don't split the timber when we drill into it.
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We grab our screws and drill them in. Always make sure that the joints in each board are staggered and occur on top of the joist. Leave some extra length overhanging on your board so that you can cut them off with a saw after completing the step. To ensure our screws are in line, use the chalk line to mark this out. Now we're going to put these wedges in between every board. Pre-drill and screw into place. Wedges help with spacing the deck boards evenly.
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Handy tip: Use a straight edge as a guide to ensure a straight cut.
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Once that's done, grab your circular saw and saw these off.
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Lastly, we need to attach our screening. Work your way from the top to the bottom. This looks so good. Just don't forget to lay decking on your steps. Measure the length of your step so you know your measurements for your deck boards. Just ensure you add 20 millimeters on either side for overhang.
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It's time to lay the boards for your step. Begin by laying the outside board first with the correct overhang, then work your way in. Use an offcut to place on the screening to make sure you have the correct overhang. Keep in mind you may need to cut the board depending on the length of the step and board.
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From here, we're going to put these wedges in between every board. Wedges help with spacing the deck evenly. Our step is built to fit five boards with five millimeter gaps in between. To ensure our screws are in line, use a chalk line to mark this out. Now it's time to pre-drill and screw our deck into place.
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Place the first screening closest to the board on the step and fix into position.
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Lastly, all that's left to do is saw off the edges.
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And there you have it, the tools to build your deck to entertain your family and friends from day to night. If you like this video, don't forget to like and subscribe for more tips and tricks.
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Uh.
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