• Make sure that your wood is suited for the intended use. Check the tag on lumber for
"above ground" or "ground contact." |
• Before you begin nailing, lay out your lumber with the best-looking face exposed. Decide
which pieces you want for visible areas, and which pieces for understructure. |
• Separate deck boards as follows to allow for expansion and contraction. If heavy and wet,
separate boards no more than 1/16" as some shrinkage will occur. If light and dry, separate
boards no more than 1/8".
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• Avoid long spans in construction. The greater the distance between supporting points,
the more force developed within the wood as it dries. Also avoid designs with long
cantilevers unsecured at one end. |
| • Orient embedded support columns so only treated ends are in ground contact. |
| • Cover upper ends of posts with post caps or cut them at angles to shed water. |
• For maximum protection, coat cut ends with wood preservative (required with western species
to validate warranty). |
• Use enough nails. Skimping doesn't pay. Use two nails across a 2 x 4 and three across a
2 x 6. Drive nails at a slight angle toward each other. |
• Nails and other hardware should be hot-dipped zinc-coated or equally well protected material.
Otherwise, weather may cause them to rust, leaving streaks. |
• To reduce splitting, drill a pilot hole about three quarters the diameter of the nail. For dense
or brittle wood, grind sharpness from nails or blunt the points by striking them carefully with a
hammer. Blunt nails cut through; sharp ones pry apart. |
• Use 3 1/4'' nails on nominal two-inch decking. Use two at each joint with 2 x 4s laid flat; use three
for 2 x 6s laid flat. 3" nails are recommended for 5/4" decking. |
• Lumber wider than six inches should not be used as a flat surface. Wide, flat boards are subject
to ponding of rain water, which can lead to cupping problems. It is better to use two 2 x 6's
than one 2 x 12. |
• If a board is bowed, install it with the crown up. Gravity and the weight of people and furniture
will flatten it. |
| • If a board has a slight bend to it, it sometimes can be straightened as it is nailed in place. |
| • Click here for a Mississippi State report on 'Treating' Treated Wood. |
| • Click here for hardware recommendations. |
