Somebody here has vetoed the use of applied walk-on roof materials or proprietary systems such as Lock-dry for the pocket deck to be added to our victorian home, citing aesthetic considerations.
I’m wondering if a wood deck, particularly tongue and groove, can be installed floating over a waterproof roofing material. There is an issue of the overall thickness of the wood, so I’m thinking 1x decking over 5/4 sleepers using a tropical hardwood. We don’t want a gap between deck boards because of debris from nearby towering pines.
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Howdy Howdy, sorry... not, you set that up and I fell right in.
We don't want a gap between deck boards
Cee, that gap is there for the integrity of the structural system. ALL wood shrinks as it drys and swells when wet. And the swelling/shrinking just happens to occur mostly across the width of the wood.
using a tropical hardwood
Since you are going to use a high quality wood ($$$) I will reccommend a high quality ($$$) solution.
Loose Ship Lap Assembly: Plan the dims of the joint to leave an 1/8" space for water to flow. Something like a 1/4" x 1/4" top tounge and a 5/8" x 3/8" (long) bottom tounge will allow a 1/4" gap, (dry), about the minimum for ease of cleaning. You should radius the top corner of the bottom tounge @ 1/16" radius to promote water flow around the corner.
When you are cleaning the needles off the deck, sweep accross the gaps, then vacuum the gaps with a little help from a broom.
After the needles quit falling in the summer and while the deck is still dry, put a pointy (Hi-tech name) nozzle on your garden hose and flush out the gaps, starting at the edge, work to the house and then back to the edge.
Check into using Trex for the sleepers.
can you post pictures when you're done? I would really like to see this project.
Good Luck,
SamT
"Law reflects, but in no sense determines the moral worth of a society.... The better the society, the less law there will be. In Heaven, there will be no law, and the lion will lie down with the lamb.... The worse the society, the more law there will be. In Hell, there will be nothing but law, and due process will be meticulously observed."
Grant Gilmore, The Ages of American Law (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1977), pp. 110-111.
From 32866.117
Take a look at http://WWW.Duradek.Com This may be the answer for your problem. I would not trust a wood floor no mater how tight to keep water out.