I am building on of the bigger decks I have done in a while. Normally say on a 12 or 16′ deck I would use the full length on the 5/4″ decking with no cuts. My deck is 24 feet long and want to know what size decking to use and how best to stagger them. Also pre drilling at the butts?
Thanks in advance,
Dave
Replies
We use random lenghts from 12' up so we can stagger the joints as much as possible. We try to keep our joints at least 5 or 6 boards away from each other. We use a countersink on the ends of the boards before we install screws.
deck boards
Dave,
use 16' boards as follows, install 2 -16' boards(2 parallel rows) from one end of the deck, (either right or left end), then install 2-8 footers (a 16 footer cut in half) in 2 rows in front of those first two 16 foot rows, finish the rows with 2- 8' boards butted to the 16 footers and 2-16's butted to the 8 footers, continue away from the house to the end of the deck.
Frame the deck joists with this layout in mind
I'm assuming your starting the decking from the building and working out. just continue that pattern, from right to left, then from left to right, then right to left etc. till you reach the end of the deck, When you get about 6' from the end, check your layout and adjust accordingly, so you won't end up with a small rip at the final row.
Oh , and yes, pre-drill at the butts, and counter sink is OK as well, it'll help prevent splitting at the board ends.
Good luck!
Geoff
Like the idea
Geoff,
Love this idea. Do you have a pic that actually shows this method. I have be looking on the internet but can't find one. I wanted to get a visualization. If you see one please share.
Dave
Plan your layout so that the joints between any two adjacent rows are at least two joists apart.
Depending on the "look" you want, either make the lengths "random" (often takes some planning) or make them in a rigid pattern (bearing in mind that any departure from the pattern can be visually jarring).
Deck pics
Hey Dave,
sorry, I don't have any pics available
Hope my suggested method worked out for you.
Geoff
WAS ON HOLD
I had to change the configuration of the deck a bit so now its 19 Feet in lengh. I imagine instead of using 16' and 8' staggered I can use 12' and 8'. correct?
You can buy 20' deck boards, in SYP, TREX, and AZEK.