Building Decking

[Grunt]

Hi all

Anyone round here built decking in their homes? I am thinking of doing the areas that I have paved in my backyard with decking as the paving is looking quite dated and the grasses have infultraited the main part of the paving.

Is it easy to do, I must say it looks quite easy and with the aid of a nail gun seems to be able to be done in under a day.

Look forward to the constructive replies and the others will just be ignored.

[Jarro]

sorry mate, i'm not the handyman type .... i'd just do some OT at work and pay a tradie to do the job.

[3oneday]

Grant, my thought having done a bit of work around the yard, is that without some sort of footing it will look like shite in a short amount of time.

[Grunt]

I mean do the whole footing thing. Lay posts then run bearers etc.

[3oneday]

Be a busy day I reckon ;) maybe two days ? you can't rush these things, what with beers, steaks, annoying children (and wives) ;)

:lol:

[Grunt]

Well in Grunt Days it may turn into 4, but with 5 days off a week I reckon I ccan do it.

[Courty]

Decking is not maintenance free you know, especially if exposed to the elements. Wouldn't a squirt of Round-up and a Gerni freshen it up a bit? It would certainly cost a lot less.

[AndyP]

Courty, I don't think any weedkiller works on paver weeds for an extended period of time. They are a special breed.

[Fishman Dan]

What about all your own excessive posts? Will you ignore them?

My only advice is get council approval or butter up any neighbours with a view into your backyard ;) A good bbq area will do that quite nicely!

[BrisVegas]

timber is much higher maintenance than pavers. If the old pavers look sad, rip em up and put some nicer ones down. Even the posh large format ones (around $50m2) will be cheaper than hardwood. Plus the ongoing costs of oiling the deck will add up. I just did my front and back decks and don't have much left outta 4 litres of oil... $50... count on that every 6-12 months...

[Courty]

Courty, I don't think any weedkiller works on paver weeds for an extended period of time. They are a special breed.

Special breed? Are you kidding me?! Glyphosate never met a weed it didn't like. It'll kill anything if you mix it strong enough.

[Jarro]

Boiling water should kill most weeds also ;)

[Moe Norman]

if you re-lay some new pavers, put some freaking weed mat down!

[Courty]

if you re-lay some new pavers, put some freaking weed mat down!

Save your money. Weed mat is only a short term solution. As soil/ silt etc. finds its way down the cracks, weeds will eventually grow on top of the weedmat. A regular spray with diluted Glyphosate is the best way to keep them away.

[BrisVegas]

agreed! Glyphosate is your friend... No need for weedmat under pavers, just put down a decent, compacted layer of roadbase or crusher dust. Than, keep a little spray bottle of glypho mixed up for spot-spraying any determined weeds that dare to poke their heads through...

[chappy1970]

Grunt,
Whether you do it yourself or get someone in, they are a great investment. Only takes a coat of deck oil once a year and they look like new again.

Just think of all the great times you'll have out there sinking beers.

I had someone in to do mine, but mine was a little bigger than your regular deck. We have 3 meter Cafe style folding doors leading out from the family room on to a 5mtr x 5.5mtr deck. Its elevated and has a pitched laserlight roof covering the whole deck and spouting.

When we have people over and the weather is nice, we open up the doors and the wole house seems to lead out onto the deck.

Great for those hot summer afternoons, BBQ and beers. Because it is covered I can cook on the barbie all year round.

Chappy

[PeteyD]

Decks are great. If you have done lotsa home handiman stuff and can use a level and a saw you should be ok. Plenty of info on the web. I built a great one, and then we sold the bloody house :( ah well. Make sure you know if you need council approval etc.

Use hardwood only. Overengineer the posts (it doesn;t cost that much more to put one or two more in and feels a lot more stable).

If you are not comfortable with the tools pay someone to do it, or repave.

[AndyP]

Special breed? Are you kidding me?! Glyphosate never met a weed it didn't like. It'll kill anything if you mix it strong enough.
Yes, I am kidding.
How long will they stay away for? I've used the Paver Weed Killer that says the weeds will be gone for 12 months, they come back in a few.

I gave up on killing and concentrated on trimming using the brushcutter.

[chappy1970]

Grunt,
Whilst I didn't tackle the deck at my house, I don't consider myself a spaz when it comes to construction.

I built a 3 meter long solid timber Jarah table to go on the deck that seats 14 people (its just what you need when you are from a big family).

I also built a cubby for my daughter in the same style as my house(Californian Bungalow). It has an elevated weather resistant tongue and groove floor(2.2mtrs x 2.6mstrs), full pine studs and noggins, Pine weatherboards, pitched color-bond roof with laserlight insert, 3 x sliding perspex windows, a front stable door, small jarah deck with a picket handrail.

If you are up to the deck go for it, very gratifying when complete.

Chappy

[PeteyD]

Yes, I am kidding.
How long will they stay away for? I've used the Paver Weed Killer that says the weeds will be gone for 12 months, they come back in a few.

I gave up on killing and concentrated on trimming using the brushcutter.

There are GM versions of Soy that are resistant to Glyphosphate. Think about that when you eat your tofu burger and drink your soy latte.