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By Bruce W. Maki, Editor
Installing The Deck Boards:We used 5/4 x 6 pressure-treated planks for the deck surface. Each piece was cut to 72" (half of a 12' long board). In fact, the entire framing of this deck was designed so we could use the lumber efficiently with a minimum of waste. If we had made the deck slightly bigger, we would have been forced to use 14' lumber, or install the deck boards with some smaller pieces, which is a nuisance.
A note on gaps: The contractor building this house did not want gaps between the deck boards. Many builders create a small gap between boards, using a large nail to space adjacent boards as they are installed. Eventually the lumber will shrink as it dries out, and gaps may form anyway. If a gap of about 1/8" is used, then a slight widening will not be noticed. HammerZone prefers gaps.
This technique would be frowned upon by many carpenters because it takes too much time (about 3 minutes) and may leave a dent in the edge of the deck board. There are special tools available that grab the joist and push on the deck board. But for this job, we had only 3 warped planks, so we just accepted our less-than-perfect approach.
The Hand Rail:
WARNING: Spindle Spacing May Be Important! Most building codes require that the gap between railing spindles be 4 inches or less. This is to prevent a small child from getting his or her head stuck between spindles. Our building department told us that because the decks were so close to the ground, they 1) did not require hand rails and 2) if we chose to install hand rails, that the spindle spacing rules were not applicable. Sounds strange. HammerZone recommends using the safest approach. Consult your local building department if you plan on building a deck. Even if a permit is not required, it is prudent to meet or exceed the local building codes.
Installing The Stairs: Prior to beginning this task, we installed a 2x6 face board for the tops of the stair stringers to rest against. This face board lay just below the deck joist, as seen in the right hand picture below.
Laying out stairs can be complicated. Stairs are one of the trickiest jobs for many carpenters. In this case we could raise or lower the soil to make our two-step stringers work. The red mark seen above is important. The top of the red box is 7.25" below the top of the deck joists. 7.25" is the height of each riser in the pre-cut stair stringers.
Notes: Getting the hole depth just right required some trial-and-error digging and filling. When filling the hole, the soil must be packed down (we used the concrete block as a tamper) or the stairs will settle over time. We pre-drilled all the holes in these pieces of wood, to prevent splitting. Splitting is very common when driving nails or screws so close to the ends.
Three stringers were needed because the 5/4 x 6 deck boards would not be strong enough to span 32 inches without excessive deflection (springiness). Had we chosen to use 2x6 boards for the stair treads then two stringers would have been adequate.
A Note On Finishing Touches: We used a power sander to remove the rough edges from all the boards, especially the ends. We used a belt sander, but almost any power sander would work. Children like to run their hands over surfaces and corners and sanding the rough edges might reduce the chances of someone getting a nasty sliver. Related Info:California
Redwood Association
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Copyright © 1999, 2005 HammerZone.com Written August 22, 1999
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