Now that I've dealt with laying, spacing and bent boards, it's really just a case of getting on with it and reaching the opposite side to where I started.
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| Reaching out to the far side |
When I got close to the other side there were no spacing options for the final board that were going to fill the gap of about 2 1/2 cm. There was nothing for it really but to cut and rip a board down to fit, which wasn't too hard to do as at least it was a decent width to work with.
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| The far side didn't quite fit so some ripping was required |
I fixed the last board and the ripped strip much like the first board, using the counterbore tool, screws and plugs, as it was no longer possible to get into the edge with the decking clamps. Using biscuits as spacers and knocking them down with a hammer, they forced the boards to get the spacing right, and then I drilled, screwed and plugged the holes to give a nice clean finish. You can also see below where the planter box sits in the decking. There is one on each side opposite the windows.
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| A nice, neat and well spaced finish |
In the picture below I have now reached the other side at long last, and there's just a couple of small boards to go to fill in the gap in front of the utility area and garage door entrance.
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| Top decking done! |
Looking down upon the deck you can see the end. No I wasn't that lucky that the last board ended perfectly with the ends of the joists! There was maybe 2 to 3 cm left so I just cut them off even with the edge of the last board. You can see the holes for the two planter boxes on the left, the hole for the sculpture in the centre, and where the other large planters will go on the bottom and the right. Time to get the saw out and cut off those edge boards straight!
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| I little excess left to trim off |
Below is the decking looking nice and neat around the edges, and with the first of the front facing boards in place. I've used the screws and plugs method again to attach the top facing board, and I'll then use the standard laying method with the biscuits and clamps, however they'll be pulling the next board up vertically, instead of across horizontally.
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| Top decking completed |
Last but not least, the single step down to the gravel path gets its turn at being decked out. I'd left enough gap below the second vertical facing board that I could slip the last inside board on the step underneath, making everything nice and neat and not having to rip a final board.
I then cut and mitred the facing boards fitting them again with screws and plugs, and the job is done.
I then cut and mitred the facing boards fitting them again with screws and plugs, and the job is done.
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| One step to go. |
The last job to be done for the construction was a bit of concreting for the soon to arrive water feature. Little did I know a concrete plinth was required for the feature's basin to sit on! I made up a form out of leftover joist timber that did the trick and poured in a couple of bags of pre-mix concrete. All set for delivery!
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| I came, I saw, I concreted |
So now that I have reached the far side of my very first no-nail deck, here are my thoughts on the products and the process.
As I said in an earlier post, I picked doing a no-nail deck just for the finish as I find not having screw heads or nails is a cleaner look, and in my mind will be easier to maintain as I don't have to worry about nails popping, or knocking down screw heads if I want / need to sand and refinish at some point.
There are two offerings from Deck-Max, the "original" which I used, as well as the "pro" biscuit which requires you to buy their pre-milled decking timber. I chose the "original" biscuit which is substantially cheaper, but as you've now seen means you have to individually mark and cut a slot into each board to line up with each joist, then pack, glue, and screw down each board/biscuit to the joist. This takes a long time. When a say a long time, I mean a REAL long time!
The deck is just over 5.5 metres at the widest, and the record for the most boards I ever laid in a single day was nine, and that was a full day. Overall I averaged probably five boards a day. With only weekends to work on (as I have a day job to pay for all this stuff!) it has taken me some three months to lay 7 metres long, working every weekend for at least one day, and sometimes both days.
That being said, even if it seemed like forever at times, I am really very happy with the result and the look. My wife said it was a labour of love. I say that in the end it was sheer bloody-minded determination on my part to get to the other side.
A big plus is that the guys from Deck-Max are really great and supportive and helped me along the way. They are a fantastic company to deal with, and I cannot fault them in that sense. I guess in the end the real question is, what is your time worth? If you're not in any hurry this may be the perfect product for you!
I have another deck to come per step 12 on the original plan with the back deck (as I am a glutton for punishment) which is twice as big at 14 metres long by 4 wide. I can safely say at this point that there's not a chance that I would use the "original" system as it would take forever! For this I may try the "pro" biscuit system which according to the brochures is faster than screwing alone! Or I may try something else entirely! Stay tuned on that front.
As I said in an earlier post, I picked doing a no-nail deck just for the finish as I find not having screw heads or nails is a cleaner look, and in my mind will be easier to maintain as I don't have to worry about nails popping, or knocking down screw heads if I want / need to sand and refinish at some point.
There are two offerings from Deck-Max, the "original" which I used, as well as the "pro" biscuit which requires you to buy their pre-milled decking timber. I chose the "original" biscuit which is substantially cheaper, but as you've now seen means you have to individually mark and cut a slot into each board to line up with each joist, then pack, glue, and screw down each board/biscuit to the joist. This takes a long time. When a say a long time, I mean a REAL long time!
The deck is just over 5.5 metres at the widest, and the record for the most boards I ever laid in a single day was nine, and that was a full day. Overall I averaged probably five boards a day. With only weekends to work on (as I have a day job to pay for all this stuff!) it has taken me some three months to lay 7 metres long, working every weekend for at least one day, and sometimes both days.
That being said, even if it seemed like forever at times, I am really very happy with the result and the look. My wife said it was a labour of love. I say that in the end it was sheer bloody-minded determination on my part to get to the other side.
A big plus is that the guys from Deck-Max are really great and supportive and helped me along the way. They are a fantastic company to deal with, and I cannot fault them in that sense. I guess in the end the real question is, what is your time worth? If you're not in any hurry this may be the perfect product for you!
I have another deck to come per step 12 on the original plan with the back deck (as I am a glutton for punishment) which is twice as big at 14 metres long by 4 wide. I can safely say at this point that there's not a chance that I would use the "original" system as it would take forever! For this I may try the "pro" biscuit system which according to the brochures is faster than screwing alone! Or I may try something else entirely! Stay tuned on that front.
Next up? Finishing the decking and putting in the water feature.
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