Why we don't use deck clips anymore

  Sometimes a better idea isn't; Ford's Pinto, Chev's Vega, AMC's Pacer, Honda's Del Sol...  In this spirit of failure, wouldn't it be good to fasten decking from the side or from beneath, so that all the fasteners are hidden?

  Alas, another tragic error. 10 years later it seems to cause rot. It works fine in the middle of the boards, however, at the ends the excessive fastening have caused the boards to rot, and the deck to be condemned prematurely.

Speaking as someone that has had a piece of decking snap under me, and had my leg slide into a space 5.5" in width, the feeling of your skin being peeled off is not just alarming--its downright disconcerting. This is a nasty thing to go through and not recommended for entertainment.  (I doubt the guys from JackAss would even try it).

As you know, decking soaks up moisture from the ends of the boards, and when you put 5 fasteners through the end of the board and one is a pointed part of a clip, which cracks the board width wise, it amounts to pulverization. Cracks draw moisture in, and as this select pressure treated decking in this case dries out, the cracks grew larger. Untreated grains are exposed and rot is accelerated.

People suggest securing from beneath using strip type products that screw to the joists and the underside of the decking, which works fine--until you refinish. Then when the painters sand the old finish off, they sand the tips of the screws off causing black stains in the pattern of the screws on the top surface most notable on red cedar decking. Hidden fasteners of any kind are often a bad idea. I expect that the tops of the joists will deteriorate due to screws being driven in along the same grain. Cracks are likely.

Keep in mind, when you hide the fasteners where stain doesn't get into the wound, and where the sun doesn't reach to dry the wood, moisture will fester, and rot will occur. 

Solutions?

Pre-finish the decking so that it doesn't expand and contract. Seal the end grains as you build and use a waterproof epoxy to heal the wounds. Touch up...voila, no fasteners, no premature rot. We do this all the time. Since the decking is stable, not absorbing moisture with every rain, and shrinking as it dries, you can use nails for this method.

Alternatively, if you are in love with screws, (as I am not), you can countersink the screws prior to installing, then use a tapered plug cutter and plug all the holes after installation using waterproof epoxy.  Again, no premature rot.

*  If you reside in Canada, import high VOC finish from the USA. Canadian stain manufacturers have been prohibited from producing high VOC finishes and we have not found a coating that offers durability produced in Canada. ONLY high VOC finishes will be durable long term. Speak to your local paint store to learn more.

Large Decks Showcase in Video !

Large Decks

We are quickly getting known for being builders of the most beautiful decks in the world. Check out our new video showcase of a very large deck with curves, glass rails, a furniture grade pergola over a hot tub and pre-finished red cedar decking.

The curved treads are solid laminations and the rails actually shed water from the inner parts.

This deck was built along the shores of the St. Lawrence so the views were spectacular. 

To see more of our Beautiful Decks (click)

To become one of our Deck Builders (click)

L

August in Toronto

I am actually out building this month--finishing up some glass rails in the Beach, and doing a grade beam supported floating deck a few minutes from my place near Wasaga Beach.

I thought it would be great to get in shape and take some decent photography while I work. 

Notice the planks and the wheelbarrow... I mixed small batches by hand and picked up cement mix at the local quarry in my Pre-Runner, but only half because that is the cheaper way to do it. Mostly because I need the exercise!

I was taught to mix cement by hand by an 80 year old Italian gentleman about 25 years ago... and I will always be grateful for what he taught.

There is very little you can do in a gym to top pushing a wheelbarrow full of mixed aggregate up a plank on a steep slope. No helper... doing it alone so that I can photograph that it CAN be done. (even by an out of shape has been!)

Over the winter I am hoping to get a few chapters done of the new revision of the installation guide... which most likely will be an on-line resource for our builders.

On the business side of things we are actually getting calls from BC and Florida again... which has been quiet for so long.

Ontario is ramping up nicely after the HST shock,  and lots of  gorgeous looking jobs are getting finished up this month. Most of our people are booked a month or two in the Toronto area, and with a 10% tax increase on everything we do mid recession-- we are not complaining.


Caledon, Houston and Dallas Texas are still available-- those are the hot spots this month!

L

Decks- To Space? Or Not to Space Decking?

Contentious issue this spacing--Should we space Decking?

I hear it all the time--"I've always pushed the decking up against the last row... it looks great". I have only one thing to say ... BS.

If any decking is installed tight it will hold water like a barrel and you will NEVER keep stain on it.

In order for air to flow through the underside of the deck, the skirting needs to be spaced. There are two things that scream "ROOKIE DECK BUILDER"... Routered hand rails and tight decking. Hey, we all started somewhere, but just because you can, doesn't mean you should. More is sometimes too much.

Do you know what happens when you park a car on the grass? In about 2 years the floor will be hanging on the brake lines. This is because grass retains and releases moisture every day. This is why we put down a vapor barrier and gravel below our decks. (Even though the city of Toronto is demanding that we don't).

Using filter cloth is the second best solution, however my preference is to slope the ground and use a vapor barrier to slope the water away from beneath the deck . The other issue has to do with water infiltrating into the basement of the home... you have less chance of a leak with properly installed drainage.

Here is a deck that a builder with 20 years experience built--During the very wet last couple of years, mold covered this deck... not just a little green, more of a squid like multi-colored mold. The house faces east and is in the shade most of the day, so this seems to be the worst mold issue I have ever seen. Tight red cedar decking. Believe it or not, even after showing this builder what happened, he didn't believe it and he refused to fix it.

Ed Morkin of MorDecks, AKA Morkin Outdoor Structures offered a 5 year written workmanship warranty, then reneged. Keep in mind that if you have decks built by Ed Morkin, he simply refuses to space decking and you will end up with the same issues as this unfortunate client.

All the more reason to go and see some of your builder's previous decks when you shop for a deck builder.

L

How soon to apply stain to a new wood deck?

How soon after building should you wait to stain a wood deck?

The answer may upset you. If you are asking this question you have likely already built your deck.

Did you leave spaces between the decking boards? How much? Without space the boards won’t dry sufficiently after rain. To get a good coat of stain on you may have to wait for a drought of 2 months or more for the moisture to escape the wood.

Pre-Stained Deck being built by Darren Smith and Crew (Upscale Decking), near Cornwall Ontario.

The best time to stain is before the deck is built. Dry, Deglaze and apply a coat of stain before you build. Sealing the end grains every time you cut will give you the longest lasting stain job.

Most of our “Builder Group Contractors” can do it, however it is a serious premium. Sometimes people opt to do the stain work themselves and then have us build the deck and end cut. You end up having to pay a little more for the extra work and ruined clothing—but that will solve the peeling stain issue.

For more information on Exterior Stain Application click here.

L

What makes a Better Deck Builder?

Exterior Laminations that last-- Here are spy shots--you will have to tune in later to see what the projects look like finished...

The first is a job by Tony Fredericks in Etobicoke:

It is a pair of curved trelliswork screens. There's roughly 12 curved pieces per screen and we've glued them up in 2 days (including layout).

The second job is by Kevin Murrell in Niagara;

It is a new pergola design that can clear span 20+ feet.

Drop by in a month or two to see what these projects look like.

BTW, it will be weekly posting for the next few weeks. I am up to my elbows in design work and rebuilding the website to work better as well.

Happy building!

L

Building Decks - Becoming a deck builder

Building Decks—

Learning about building decks takes time. There’s plenty involved in making decks into an art form. Designing decks, making the design fit a budget while still maintaining a profit. Decks must also fit the client’s needs and desires (wish list), while suiting their personal taste and fitting with their homes. The design of decks is likely the most difficult skill to master.

Technical Drawings for the building department is the next hurdle involved in building decks. Most building departments will accept a hand drawn sketch to build decks, however some expect every detail about your decks to be illustrated clearly. Here in Canada they want a BCIN designer’s number. When you are building decks it is better to have every detail down on paper before you build the deck—it keeps you productive and makes for few misunderstandings with the client.

Building decks is pure carpentry. If you are a good carpenter you likely can cobble a deck together, but there is more to building decks than just being a good carpenter. There are methods for keeping the decking tight, special fasteners for pressure treated, methods for making joints shed water as well. Standing water beneath decks as well as drainage issues to keep the water out of the basement should be of paramount concern. Deck builders know many ways of fastening things that most carpenters wouldn’t even need to consider.

Where our work shines is 5 years from now. When a composite deck is yellowing and many decks are looking old—a quick touch up coat of stain and the deck looks new again.

When you are ready to finesse building decks you are educating your client throughout the process to give them something to talk about to their friends—teaching things that other contractors don’t know.

Over the years the quality of your deck building work goes up—like any trade. If you are building on your own it may progress more slowly than if you are building within a group like GardenStructure.com where you are challenged to compete and build better decks you can expect to progress more quickly. We also teach you many techniques alluded to above to increase quality.

Learning “about” building decks is different than learning “To” build decks or “Run” a deck company. Becoming a skilled craftsman is different than becoming a good manager or business owner. A good deck builder can do very well—but a good manager will grow a larger company.
To determine if you are ready to join our “ Deck Builders Group ” give me a call at 888 293 8938 and we’ll chat about it.

L

Snow Load on Decks

Snow Load on Decks

Logic in Building Decks is a relative thing.

photo by Jenzug (click for flickr site)
Think about it this way. You construct a home with 2x8 joists typically—you can nearly get away with 2x6 at times. Generally a deck needs to support slightly more “live load” than the interior of a house so the minimum joist size should be 2x8 – 16” o.c. You know that if you live in Southern California you are not likely to see that much snow—maybe the odd wildfire so see flame retardant coatings. You won’t need the structural reinforcement like they will need in Denver this month.

Some building departments will specify more strength in decks for snow load—but not all. Many just defer to the building department’s minimum standards-or apparently in rural Tennessee, there's just no rules.

Joist and Beam Spans must be reduced, footing sizes increased and joists should also be increased by at least 2” in size in areas where decks will need to support 4’ of snow. The connection to the house should be no less than ½” carriage bolts through the rim joists of the home on second level decks.

We built a deck on Georgian Bay where we were told the owner shovels the snow off the roof and on to the deck when it gets deep. This means up to 4 tons of snow on a deck platform from time to time. I helped him put a 10’ deep pile on the deck one day. 50 footings beneath a 600 square foot deck—but here we are 8 years later with a nice level deck.

L