I’m currently building a deck with pressure treated wood. I plan to put a border around the decking and I’m wondering about the best way to make the outside corners. I’ve seen the variation in the spaces between 45 degree mitered corners as the wood expands and contracts due to temperature and moisture changes. Is there a better way to make the outside corners?
Thanks.
Replies
I love the look of mitered corners when the job is finished, but inevitably the changes in weather open them up. I use butt joints and try to figure out which side will be seen more by the owners so I can stay away from them looking at end grain. I'd love to hear of a sure proof method of keeping miters tight. I've glued and screwed but still found movement.
MES
On PT wood flat mitres you can guarantee them opening. When I've done them I'll round over that cut edge on both pcs, similar to the roundover along the edge of the decking.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
I agree with other comments that miters are subject to opening up seasonally. I did a herring bone around the corner of a wrap-around porch, with breadboard ends. It was surprisingly easy to do. The actual corner is cut off, but it's just the two breadboards butting, with the end grain exposed on the least-visible end. Bill.
Good picture except for that size nine and a half triple E!
;-)
we call that log cabin corner pattern too. It is what I was going to suggest. The fir, ipe and Merantii doesn't open as bad as long as it is in the 4" size. The PT lumnber is a gaunteed crappy looking deck anyway though
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Piffin - Ummm, I stuck my foot in the shot on purpose to give a sense of scale ... you believe me, right? Totally agree that the PT will be far worse than almost anything else in terms of movement. Mike Smith posted some shots using Ipe that had a mitered corner and said it hasn't moved yet ... but I recall he said his preference would have been the herring bone (make that log cabin) ... Bill.
no.. my mitered corners had an inlay to seperate them.. i hate mitered corners on decks.. i've seen lots of very nice decks that i'm sure the builders spent a lot of time getting their miters just right.. you come back later and they all look like crap...
i have this arguement on every job with my carpenter... i want butt joint details on exterior work.. but if i don't specify, he always manages to sneak in a miter.. and he is VERY particular about making sure they are closed up and stay that way.. well...
guess what... they don't... and here's the pictures what don't lie.. here's 4/4 x 4 Ipe ( Kiln Dried )... and Koma pvc trim fascia.....
you can even see locking SS. trim screws in the Ipe' corners... it doesn't matter.. unless you can glue, prime and finish paint.. a miter will open... and even then.. if teh framing the miter is fastened to moves.. the miter will still open.. on our interior work we biscuit joint all our casing mitersMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
What a resource you are!
Is there anything you don't take pictures of?
never mind...LOL
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ahm gonna take yur picuture this summer... ralph will too... then you'd best bewareMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
You mean I gotta get the tux out?
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i don't know... how do you look in bermuda shorts ?..
hows dem roofer knees holdin up ?Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
My dem knees are dee only part of my body dat don' hurt dee joints
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I do that too. I figure if it's going to open up anyway, why not design it so it looks like it belongs. I'll use the same gap as my deck boards between the two miter cuts and like you say, round over the edges with a 1/4" router. On apron boards, I'll cut the sharpness off the miter and round over each piece to give a shadow line effect. Then butt the miter tight and fasten. When it eventually opens up, it looks like it intended to have the gap.