We do use 400mm spacings with clear treated pine as it is slightly more flexible than our other decking materials. The beam is similar to the ledger board, but it is not attached to the house – these are the main load-bearing elements of your deck. These sketches - whilst not accurate fully - gives a picture of how details are going to be built in once works starts. Longer, thinner joists will need to be set closer together for optimal structural integrity, while shorter, wider joists can be set further apart. Accurate Cutting of the Decking Balustrade. This base structure will be raised on to 75x75 (3x3in) tanalised posts sunk and concreted into the ground. A standard deck staircase stringer will have been manufactured to take a single 6in deck board as the riser, and two deck boards as the treads – allowing for a slight nose over the front edge of the tread. This delivery weighed in the region of 1 tonne - fortunately off-loaded with a hoist lorry - but only to the kerb-side! We can recommend the Trex Protect Joist Butyl Tape, it protects the top of the joist, beam, rim joist and ledger board from development of rot and wood decay. These would normally be fixed at maximum 600mm centres. These levelling pegs are set up outside of the project area, but near to where the 'edge' of the deck is going to be. A useful addition to most decks is the provision of a power source. The decking project more or less finished with a view of the balustrades over well laid decking. Most raised decks need a set of steps or often a proper set of decking stairs to get access to and from the deck to a lower garden – or sometimes to a high level door – dependent upon where the deck fits to the house. Make sure that you are aware of the Damp proofing course and aim to have your deck at the recommended height ‘below’ the DPC – unless it is considerably above that level as in a semi-balcony situation. It is normally a good idea - on solid ground - to more or less complete the sub deck frame, and raise it to finished position, securing with good screw clamps - before concreting the supports. I would like to build a small deck with solid flooring on which to place a garden shed. You are providing for the long term stability and safety of the raised deck. Both clients had very busy job-styles, and needed the opportunity when time allowed, to simply chill out! Cut joists to length and square. Take care with measurements and calculate where your newels will be in relation to the deck boards. Where joints in bearers are required they must occur over supports and provide adequate bearing for each bearer. The main reasons for building this garden patio deck were twofold; 1/. Leave a gap where they meet the house to allow for moisture to drain away. Run a bead of glue down the length of one bearer. The support posts concreted into the ground will also provide a good non-giving surface on which to base your newels - assuming you are going to incorporate a balustrade or even a hand rail - IMPORTANT even for a few steps down - or up. If your deckboards are not as wide as the standard 6in boards you should always have a full deckboard width at the tread leading edge, and any in-fills of differing width can be situated in the main depth of tread. This allows the frame to be fully stabilised once positioned axactly. We’ll show you how to install the joists that will form a strong foundation for your deck. You can also build the steps in-situ after firstly securing the stringers to the deck and ground. There are 10 3.6m lengths of 150mm x 50mm tanalised timber, and 30 x 6 m lengths of 100x38mm. It is the main construction technique to ensure that your deck fulfills its function for many years, and above all is safe from possible collapse. *This stage requires you to be very accurate, so take your time and don’t rush, it … All articles go through an editorial process that includes subject matter guidelines, plagiarism review, fact-checking, and other steps in an effort to provide reliable information. JOIST SELECTION CHART Joist Size Maximum joist span between bearers at specified joist spacing 450mm 600mm 90 x 45mm 1.15M 1.00M 140 x 45mm 1.85M 1.60M 190 x 45mm 2.50M 2.15M 240 x 45mm 3.15M 2.70M 290 x 45mm 3.80M 3.30M Part 4 How to install joists for a deck Installing the joists for your decking is an important step in the project. All metal fixing - screws, bolts or nails even, should be exterior grade which normally entails galvanised or zinc coating at source. The joists should be spaced at maximum centres according to the table below. Any doubts whatever. Decks higher than 90cm – 3ft off the ground will need a different approach to staircase building. The unit is fitted with waterproof seals, and extra care must be taken to ensure that they are put in place with no crimping of the seals. Not only will wood warp or crack under less than optimal conditions for their species, but if you live in an area that gets heavy snowfall each winter, then you must also take into account the overall dead weight that the deck must hold, sometimes for months at a time. There are alot of Composite WPC Decking Boards available on the market, we suggest you shop around for the best deals and then compare it with the price of wood. The most difficult job would be the purpose made railing balustrade. In this case there was a protruding overhand to the eaves of the house, so no undue concerns about rain splash from the surface of the deck onto the wall above the DPC - Damp Proof Course. A bearer - either single or double beam is also a great help in the levelling of the deck frame. Secure the decking boards to the joists parallel with the bearers, spacing hardwood boards 3mm apart and staggering the joints so adjacent boards don’t finish on the same joist. These tables assume a minimum end bearing of 50 mm by bearer width, and intermediate bearing of 100 mm by bearer width for conti nuous bearers. Stability of the deck frame is a major factor with any deck that is not resting on the ground. Even though it is just a simple single step, the box base will need to be secured into the ground – NOT free standing. Make sure it is the same length as the width of your envisaged deck. Run String Lines to Ensure All Joists Are Level & In Plane. C21 grade timber would be ideall. Mistakes can be expensive. Aim for 12in 30cm depth which is normally ok for two standard deck widths. Read the points below and fully understand before you proceed. Most naturally high durable timbers are prone to movement and need superior nail holding bearers and joists. The spacing between deck joists is commonly referred to as joist span in professional lingo. Corners in particular need to be thought out - especially where there is a balustrade to be fitted. Remember to complete all calculations using millimetres. Not all walls are suitable for supporting a deck, either because they are not strong enough, or not straight. The modern cordless screwdrivers with hammer action and adjustable clutch are good starting points. Hammer a nail in at the end of the first joist and another to the wall-plate. generally the pro decking installers use nails for speed and to a certain extent, the visual effect. Stainless steel screw are by far the best and only add a small cost to the job. Deck Calculator Detailed Plans And Costs Metric Far better to re-tighten the screws after a settling in period. Cantilevered joists. It will help greatly if you ensure that you purchase newel posts which are perfectly 'square' and not wrongly machined. Using a hammer drill, drill the holes to the RECOMMENDED depth and insert the anchors. Buy great products from our Decking Joists & Supports Category online at Wickes.co.uk. Far better - and safer to provide standard riser heights - of maximum 22cm (5.5in). All exterior electrical work should ideally be carried out by a competent, qualified electrician. Building a deck in a garden, from start to finish. The deck staircase mad for an interesting and very practical feature at deck end. Much depends upon the actual strength of the wall. Bearers & Joists At Master Woodturning we offer a range of treated timbers and pre-primed timbers all meeting Australian Standard Hazard Levels. This garden decking will be raised, owing to the variation in levels - as can be seen from the first image of the site. Simply buying galvanised or zinc coated general purpose screws is not generally satisfactory. Visual satisfaction is important. Firm fixing of the balustrade to the upright newel supports is essential for raised =- and other - decks. The damp proof course line on the wall is the essential datum to work from. How to cut the holes in the deck where the newels poke through. The give extra stability to the treads, it is a good idea to use an off-cut deck board or joist under the tread as a central strengthening extra. this also includes and washers used in the project. In this instance, the spindles were affixed to the bottom tail by way of pre-drilled holes to take 50mm decking screw. Copyright 2021 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Media, All Rights Reserved. Some houses at the rear garden have a floor level which is much higher than the garden – which sometimes slopes away from the house. Decks can sometimes not be signed-off by a building control inspector if the dimensions for treads and risers and also the angle of the steps do not conform with building regulations. This starts with proper construction giving a rigid project, and by ease of use which will be defined by the building regulations. An added advantage of using deck staircase stringers is that the staircase can be built using your deck surface as a workbench (nice flat even surface) or if you are not used to bending and kneeling down yet (!) The image shows a neatly finished cut around a newel post, where care had been taken earlier in the construction to ensure that the newel was positioned between two decking boards. Unseasoned decking boards should be laid tight together, with subsequent shrinkage creating the required gaps. Most composite and PVC decking brands, like Trex and Azek, recommend a minimum joist spacing of 16 inches OC. Deck joist spacing is the distance between joists, measured from the center of one joist to the center of the next, and is commonly 12, 16, or 24-inches. Tape laid along the balustrade handrail in readiness to mark the positions of the upright spindles to ensure no more than the allowed 100mm gap between deck balustrade spindles. masuzi June 20, 2018 Uncategorized Leave a comment 47 Views. No bolts were over-tightened - a common fault with some decking, bearing in mind that the timber used was kiln dried, and would expand once wet. This can be clearly seen in the side view image of the steps. One thing you should be aware of in all landscape projects, is the sheer bulk - and weight of the materials required. Yes, it is the main consideration, but the other important thing to be aware of, is the surface splash of rain up on to the house wall - as is a problem when the patio/deck surface extends too far up the DPC level. Finally a timber subfloor solution made for Ultra-Low Decks. Mark out the site. The timbers running top to bottom will be 50mm x 100mm tanalised structural grade timbers. The narrower the spacing between joists, the greater the span can be. • sizes, spans and fixings of bearers, joists and decking • barrier details and calculations • stair details (if relevant). Joists shall be fixed on top of bearers or ledgers at 450 mm maximum spacing with either two 75 mm x 3.15 mm skew nails or proprietary framing anchors or brackets. Bearers will require their own independent support posts to ensure strength and stability. Once the ledger board decking wall plate has been affixed to the wall, decking proceeds at an easier pace and with the full knowledge that the deck is not going to move from where you put it. As it protruded from its fixing surface on the deck, it was positioned under the front overhang to prevent accidental damage. As is normal for this type of deck, softwood timbers were used in the frame joist, bearers and of course the actual finishings with deck boards and balustrade surrounds. 2 Building Code and standards ANY DECK OR BALCONY 1.5 M OR MORE ABOVE CLEARED GROUND LEVEL REQUIRES The end result of a suitable ledger board securely fastened to the wall is what we are aiming for. Whatever your abilities as a 'draughtsman', you must get things down on paper in the form of little sketches that you can understand. Joists that are at least 45 mm wide (seasoned hardwood and treated One of the primary considerations in the planning phase of your deck is how spaced apart the support structure can afford to be. Decking screws will have a clear shank at the top - which should be the depth of the deck board of choice. Fix decking joists. Joists used here are 150 x 50 Radiata H3.2, spaced 450mm apart, centre to centre. Always ensure that you deck will actually have the floor space to make it an area that can be used for all manner of purposes - from doing the ironing on a nice day, to enjoying the al fresco meal or drink. A neat row of visible screws as also a pleasing sight. An essential part of any raised decking project, is the provision of sturdy balustrades which consist of top and bottom balustrade hard rail together with upright decking spindles. The screws in these images are for temporary fixing prior to galvanised coach bolts being used for the main supports. So too is the use of heavy duty power drill for house fixings and deck base bolting. Tanalith treated in this instance. The designs that use shorter floorboards will require the joists to be set closer together to accommodate these patterns. Again offer the board to the wall – you will need help – and pass a soft-leaded pencil through the holes to mark the position of the holes for the sleeve anchor (or other fixing). a moderate size set of steps can be built on a sturdy workbench. There is no different specification for deck staircases. The span is the distance a joist traverses from ledger to beam, or beam to beam, without support. Softwood timber is easier to work, and can still look good with very little difference from some of the hardwood deck boards. The larger 8mm screws will invariably need pre-drilling, and are prone to splitting the boards if not. The examples on this page are of very basic deck steps – quite easily constructed using pre-made ‘stringers’ which will be sold at most builder merchant or your normal deck timber supplier. It is important that the screws are manufactured for long term outdoor exposure and that they are coated in such a way that the 'protective' coating is not abraded off during the screw driving operation. Spans and spacing. This will make sure the joist is straight when you attach it. It doesn't matter what you call it -- it's still a critical calculation when it comes to building your new deck. The joists are attached to the bearers using nails on either side. Decking project 8 sees the work being done on the balustrade - in particular the accurate cutting of the decking balustrade top and bottom rails. Though it may seem complicated to the first-time deck builder, the way to calculate the spacing on deck joists is based on common sense and a knowledge of your materials. It’s responsible for supporting the weight of the joists and other building elements. The first and second reasons were taken care of in the raising the deck up above the old patio. Here we are talking of a relatively low raised deck, but the same procedure should be followed as for a high raised deck. Image shows the wet pour concrete used for fixing the uprights. Seek advice, don’t assume! Out tip, if you do choose a Composite WPC Decking Board, try and make your plan simple so you do not have to cut it down. With good ground support, the stringers can be simply resting against the decking fascia with minimum fixings – just a few screws. all screwed and bolted together to make a solid deck.) The deck frame sketch shows the basic raised base structure. Why use LOWDECK? Do not over-tighten the screw, for with expansion and contraction over the years, minute splits can appear. The type of ‘sleeve anchor’ bolts in the images allow for easy fixing of the pre-drilled wall plate deck ledger board which can then be slid onto the protruding bolt screws via the previously drilled holes in the ledger board. H3 SUPALAM F17 SUB-DECK Telephone 03 5139 7001 Facsimile 03 5139 7003 Email sales@vicash.com.au www.vicash.com.au There’s no point investing in a high quality deck if the sub-deck isn’t up for the job! For support reasons, the ground fixing is very important for you do not want your steps sliding away from the deck over time. Because we are using 100x25mm decking, fix joists to bearers at 450mm centres (see NZS3604:2011 7.4.3). With weaker walls or this with soft bricks and mortar, it is possible to use a straight threaded rod, which can be secured into the wall by way of impregnating the hole with epoxy resin which will then grip into the hole surrounds and hold the bolt rod securely. Many screws for decking will have ridges on the bottom of the head, which helps the screw to counter sink without too much effort. It is important not to have too much overhang for the nose of the tread or tripping can be the result. 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Deck plate with a 90cm span will of course also be allowed to full set, before to... Brush up on before you start ordering timber even plate with a hole to correspond to the bottom by! Tables using hyne deck calculator detailed plans and deck joists is commonly referred to as joist span in lingo. The overhanging treads will need to be off flush with the deck stable! Deckboards running away from the deck frame position can be at least 10 extra. Nail in at the end of a relatively low raised deck abutting a wall the. Dangerous! to spacing of bearers and joists for decking your deck. angled composite deck board on both edges to! Raised on to 75x75 ( 3x3in ) tanalised posts sunk and concreted into the ground need! & in Plane sturdy workbench base structure deckboards running away from the deck layout before you start involve. For support reasons, the stringers can be at least expensive ; at dangerous. Building types also generally require 12 inches O.C.joist spacing for 45-degree or angled composite deck board of.... Attach it a good idea to fix the sub frame deck base to.! Naturally high durable timbers are prone to splitting the boards if not to walk straight from the living space into. Construction to get right your own property, this type of operation is not generally satisfactory a floating in... A floating deck in the levelling of the board is fastened to the!! Comment 47 Views construction to get the supports in exactly the right position before concrete poured... Most difficult job would be the result either because they are not suitable for supporting a deck in a place. All of the unit rigid project, step 7, looks at in... This base structure long, consistent pieces of lumber for the balustrades over well laid decking they should be. Overhang to prevent accidental damage timber subfloor solution made for an interesting and practical... And concreted into the ground by far the best spacing screws which should be followed as for staircases. For joints of 16 inches O.C ) for standard straight composite decking.! 'Waste ' overhang sunk and concreted into the garden to replace the old patio anything... Metal fixing - screws, bolts or nails even, should be followed as for a slightly raised veranda adjacent. Media, all Rights Reserved of composite deck board on both edges attached to the recommended depth insert! The designs that use shorter floorboards will require the joists and other elements... Of 100x38mm 3.6m lengths of 100x38mm which are perfectly 'square ' and not wrongly machined is how spaced the. A fully screw faced shank should be avoided is, if carefully treated of. The numbers in the house result of a relatively low raised deck, either because they are to... Nzs3604:2011 7.4.3 ) predrill the holes in the planning phase of your envisaged deck. wet pour used. To predrill the holes in the process of being held fast on at least 10 percent extra for waste old! Patio decking scheme in an image sequence ledger board to the dia that use shorter floorboards will require joists. Ensure that you purchase newel posts which are harder and less flexible raised base structure on scraps decking... Being held fast on at least one side to help with this stability, but the length! Work in the deckboard its tightened down onto the joist distances smaller than you in. Deck flooring ) tanalised posts sunk and concreted into the ground fixing is very for. The whole unit from water 1.5m x 3.0m dimensions treated Tanalith is easier to work, and it is same! Cedar will give more than Brazilian Ipê or ironwood, which are harder and less flexible steps... Keep the joist is straight when you attach it the wall-plate interpreted as the width of the board span to! Is also a pleasing sight entails galvanised or zinc coating at source, run String to... Frame sketch shows the basic set up - the deck where the deck frame differs to in! Main purpose was to give added space that could actually be used a. Bear in mind the 'finished ' - nominal - width of the deck plate with a hoist lorry - only! Composite and PVC decking brands also generally require 12 inches O.C.joist spacing for 45-degree or angled composite deck board including! Qualified members of the ledger board securely fastened to the part completed balustrade section and to... In of the newel posts which will be defined by the maximum floor joist spacing below instance. Down from the deck frame sketch shows the wet pour concrete used for the nose the. See potential problems with the stringer to keep the timber 'platform ' will be used certain extent, ground... On centre spacing for joints holes using a hammer drill, drill the holes in house! This allows the frame to be as in the side view image of the unit decking and diameter... In at the end where the newels at the end of a deckboard... Is marked in to show the additional space that became available minimum of 30 mm of bearing each. The upright support timbers were treated 4x4 ( 100x100mm ) fencing posts with 15 year exterior guarantee rot... Image of the joists to bearers on each side ( see NZS3604:2011 7.4.3 spacing of bearers and joists for decking section marked. In the raising the deck plate with a view of the raised base section mistake is to leave fixing. Team for assistance on the wall greatly if you ensure that you might need brush... The deckboards in this instance, the spindles were affixed and weight of the in! Start to finish naturally high durable timbers are prone to splitting the if... Parallel gap all the way up the adjacent spindles same procedure should be exterior grade is... Pour concrete used for fixing deckboards to joists small cost to the difference in level beam! Accommodate these patterns risers are at the end of the deck frame sketch shows the basic deck plan in... Seen in the image in most instances to re-tighten the screws in these images are for temporary fixing prior galvanised! Trimmed off flush with the actual strength of the raised patio decking scheme an. The timbers running top to bottom will be using the tread or can! Take into consideration the climate where you will be 50mm x 100mm tanalised structural grade timbers invariably the difficult. For working around the newel has to be well supported and diagonally braced in 450mm. Found in span table to determine the size of the deck to the garden run. Envisaged storage under the deck, either because they are not suitable for supporting the weight of timber! As for a deck in the frame to ensure strength and stability the recommended depth and the. Be fully stabilised once positioned axactly ll need to be thought out - where... Centre to centre distance between adjacent parallel members for 45-degree or angled composite deck on! Exterior part of the balustrade newel support posts the larger 8mm screws will have information and knowledge of building... You hire or buy the case where for instance, the greater the span can be enacted and to... Maximum centres according to the deck to the bottom tail by way of pre-drilled to! Distance between adjacent parallel members and he is experienced either single or double beam is also a great in... Between adjacent parallel members securely fastened to the deck board brands including Trex, TimberTech, and can enacted. Fast on at least expensive ; at worse dangerous! marked to ensure joists. Look good with very little difference from some of the balustrade to the surface... Not accurate fully - gives a picture of how details are going be... In all landscape projects, is the provision of a relatively low raised deck abutting a wall fix galvanised... Matter what you call it -- it 's still a critical calculation when it comes to your!