Continuing on from the last post we'll look at how decking butt joints work with Deck-Max "original" system. Supplied in the kit are a few boxes of Butt Joiner biscuits. These are flat plastic disks around the same size as the normal biscuit but without the spacing flange in the bottom.
To install a butt joint, like when using traditional nails or screws, the join must be over the top of a joist so you need to measure the length of the board to the centre of the joist and cut it accordingly. When it comes to making the slots with the biscuit cutter there will be three cuts required on the end of the timber. Where the join will occur you need to cut a 1/2 cut on the end edge corners as well as a full cut into the end of the board to accommodate the butt joiner biscuit.
Fit the board as normal, and then insert the butt joiner biscuit into the end slot with a row of adhesive applied to the top of the joist under the end of the board. After the next board is fitted, ensure its opposing end slot lines up with the butt joiner biscuit, then give the other free end of the board a gentle tap with the rubber mallet to ensure the two boards are fitting snugly together. After everything is clamped and ready, insert the next biscuit into the cut across the two ends as you would with any other biscuit and screw it down.
The joints created are quite tight and as long as the saw is sharp and set dead on 90 degrees when you cut the ends, it will look smooth and terrific. Not a nail in sight!
Moving across the deck laying the timber I could see there was a problem fast approaching as I got nearer to the corner. As the boards were going to go around the corner I thought it was now prudent to think ahead and see what was going to happen when I reached where the deck gets wider.
As you can see below I laid the boards out and spaced them appropriately (using the Deck-Max biscuits which when sitting side on are 3mm wide) to see what was going to happen when I hit the corner and the boards got longer.
As you can see in the picture below it was going to leave a substantial 5mm gap! Bugger. There's a couple of options available to deal with this such as ripping boards down to make them skinnier, or to make a filler for the gap, but the solution in the end was quite simple.
Moving across the deck laying the timber I could see there was a problem fast approaching as I got nearer to the corner. As the boards were going to go around the corner I thought it was now prudent to think ahead and see what was going to happen when I reached where the deck gets wider.
As you can see below I laid the boards out and spaced them appropriately (using the Deck-Max biscuits which when sitting side on are 3mm wide) to see what was going to happen when I hit the corner and the boards got longer.
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| Spacing out the boards |
As you can see in the picture below it was going to leave a substantial 5mm gap! Bugger. There's a couple of options available to deal with this such as ripping boards down to make them skinnier, or to make a filler for the gap, but the solution in the end was quite simple.
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| The dreaded 5mm gap |
I happened to be at the Melbourne HIA Home Show and Peter from Deck-Max was there on the Deck-Max stand. I showed him the photos on my phone of the problem and he solved it straight away! When you use the Deck-Max biscuit on its side as a spacer (as recommended) it gives you a 3mm gap, but if you put it flat down using the flange on the bottom as a spacer it's 2mm. That 1mm makes all the difference, and doing this for the remaining boards turned the 5mm leftover space on the corner to ZERO.
It now lined up almost flush. Spot on! There was no visible difference in the spacing that I could see and the result shown below was great.
As I said in the last post, never ever buy your timber from the cheapest supplier. If it's that cheap then there is usually a reason why, and so I now had a bunch of bent boards to deal with. Thankfully there was no cupping! Most of the bent boards had a crook (also known as a wain) where the timber had warped along the edge. I made a few different piles for the boards depending on what I assessed the level or warping to be, from slight to severe. The longer of the warped boards are the easiest to deal with, and the shorter ones a real pain!
I looked at a couple of options (yes, I Googled it!) for straightening out all those bent timbers and most (if not all) tools available were shipped out of the USA. I quite liked the Cepco Bow Wrench, but it was going to cost a fortune to ship as there was no local supplier.
There was one however called the Pony Board Boss which was available on Amazon, and the shipping was reasonable as it's quite small as it's only one part of the final assembled tool. Essentially it's a chunk of bent plate steel with two flanges, one with a 1/2 inch hole in it. When combined with a length of 1/2 inch pipe and a pipe clamp, it becomes part a very effective board straightening tool.
To use the tool you slot the edge of the Board Boss into the completed decking, lining up the clamp edge with where the bend is in the board to be laid. Then put some spacers in between the board you have laid and the board you are fitting, and all you do is turn the handle on the clamp and the bend magically disappears! The board will now be perfectly straight and you can fix it down as normal.
The decking continues to slowly move across the frame now regardless of bent boards thanks to the Board Boss! If you have access to someone who is good at metal fabrication I think it would be pretty straightforward to make one of these as it just has two bends and a hole.
It now lined up almost flush. Spot on! There was no visible difference in the spacing that I could see and the result shown below was great.
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| Space the boards appropriately and there's no more gaps! The lesson? Always think ahead! |
As I said in the last post, never ever buy your timber from the cheapest supplier. If it's that cheap then there is usually a reason why, and so I now had a bunch of bent boards to deal with. Thankfully there was no cupping! Most of the bent boards had a crook (also known as a wain) where the timber had warped along the edge. I made a few different piles for the boards depending on what I assessed the level or warping to be, from slight to severe. The longer of the warped boards are the easiest to deal with, and the shorter ones a real pain!
I looked at a couple of options (yes, I Googled it!) for straightening out all those bent timbers and most (if not all) tools available were shipped out of the USA. I quite liked the Cepco Bow Wrench, but it was going to cost a fortune to ship as there was no local supplier.
There was one however called the Pony Board Boss which was available on Amazon, and the shipping was reasonable as it's quite small as it's only one part of the final assembled tool. Essentially it's a chunk of bent plate steel with two flanges, one with a 1/2 inch hole in it. When combined with a length of 1/2 inch pipe and a pipe clamp, it becomes part a very effective board straightening tool.
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| The Board Boss! |
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| Winding up the boss! |
The decking continues to slowly move across the frame now regardless of bent boards thanks to the Board Boss! If you have access to someone who is good at metal fabrication I think it would be pretty straightforward to make one of these as it just has two bends and a hole.
As you can see below I am now half way across.
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| The half way mark (roughly) |
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