![]() ![]() We just set some new pilings on a 32 year old dock last week, and all the wood was still hard as a rock with no flashing, but that was the old treating process stuff. This goes a lot faster than screwing each board in place, but I would guess one would need a very practiced eye to get a nice looking job like this, but I can lay tile without spacers. ![]() If the boards are fairly straight, and joists look pretty straight, sometimes I put all the boards down, fasten the ends spaced with whatever the spacer is, and then use wedges to eyeball the space, and run the screws down one joist at a time. I use either 8cc, or 16 cc nails for spacers, but you wouldn't want to do that if you flash the tops of the joists like Mark. I use the green ones on treated wood that is not going to get coated, and expect that's what they're for. Last edited by Phillip Mitchell 07-01-2019 at 11:50 PM. How high off the ground is the deck? Does it have direct sun on it? Does it have solid airflow from underneath? Is your PT decking green, soaking wet or KDAT (kiln dried after treatment) ? Are you putting a roundover on the edges before install? Do you have trees that overhang / are nearby that will eventually drop leaves, seeds, etc onto your deck? These are all questions that I'd ask myself before deciding on how to approach the decking spacing. I have installed green PT boards and butted them tight together with no gap (and they have contracted to around 1/4" gap or more over the course of a few seasons) and I have also spaced green PT decking 3/8" and had them stay swollen and wet and not contract very much at all or even expand. If they are able to dry routinely then they'll certainly shrink down a bit compared to when green/wet. There are some variables that come into play that hold me back from give a one-size-fits-all answer, but how much sun, wind, and overall airflow the deck boards will see on a regular basis seems to be a major factor in how well the boards are able to dry. They will hold water and rot prematurely, which is likely to lead to the rot transferring down to the framing members underneath. The biggest mistake anyone can make installing decking is to install in such a way that the deck boards end up without a gap between them once they are dry. I only pre-drill on the ends and you definitely don't need stainless screws unless you're using Cedar decking or just want the look of stainless steel screw heads (they are 2-3 times the price of coated exterior screws.) They are more brittle and likely to strip and break.įlashing the tops of your framing members is a good practice and will certainly not hurt the joists. I like Saber Drive screws, but haven't seen them in any of the box stores, only local building supplies, but they have an additional screw cutter on the shank up near the head of the screw that prevents a lot of spinning screws, makes removing screws much easier, and I feel like they suck the wood down better. ![]() I work as a carpenter, timber framer, and woodworker everyday and can usually go a few months on (1) T 25 bit before I feel like it wears down enough to replace.though I do buy them in bulk to get a better price and give them to my co-workers so I don't have to hear any complaining or if I use their driver I know there's a quality bit in there The T25 (2" long, 1/4" shank) bits are green and snap right into the 1/4" drive on an impact driver. The bits you want for an impact driver (you want to use an impact driver, trust me.) are made by GRK Fasteners and are sold at both HD and Lowes. You want 3 or 3 1/2" T-25 head screws with a coating on them. ![]()
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