Replacing Hardwood Decking

Installation

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The original worn-out red meranti decking on this three-level de… Read More The original worn-out red meranti decking on this three-level deck needed replacement. The author figured that the nearest spot on the site to set up a staging and cutting area would be at least 20 feet from the deck frame, meaning he'd probably need a helper to aid in carrying the heavy material over long distances, so he developed a plan that would enable him to do most of the cutting and prepping in his shop.

The 600-square-foot deck had three levels, and there were severa… Read More The 600-square-foot deck had three levels, and there were several rock outcroppings to work around.

The five-sided upper level had runs of 23 feet, and the lumberya… Read More The five-sided upper level had runs of 23 feet, and the lumberyard could supply lengths up to 19 feet, so materials were calculated accordingly.

The surface of the 15-year-old deck was weathered and rough, and… Read More The surface of the 15-year-old deck was weathered and rough, and the nails were lifting out.

On removing the old material, the author found that the framing … Read More On removing the old material, the author found that the framing was in good shape and accurately laid out.

Using 1x4s as story poles allowed the author to take the exact j… Read More Using 1x4s as story poles allowed the author to take the exact joist layout back to the shop where he could accurately cut the decking.

An example of the author's notations on story poles that he deri… Read More An example of the author's notations on story poles that he derived from the layout of the existing deck frame: The story poles enabled him to cut the individual lengths of decking in his shop rather than on site, which saved material handling.

The author set up a cut station in his shop.

The cut station was parallel to a layout bench where he transfer… Read More The cut station was parallel to a layout bench where he transferred the layout marks from the story poles to the decking for crosscutting and predrilling.

He devised a color-coded chart to ensure the courses were c… Read More He devised a color-coded chart to ensure the courses were cut and labeled accurately for installation in the field.

On site, I set up a cut station and a bench for my grinder, jigsaw, and trim router (see slideshow). I used a 1/8-inch roundover bit to create an eased edge on square cut ends, and used the grinder and jigsaw for the intensive scribing I had to do around the rocks. I also made several jigs to speed installation, mainly using 1/8-inch flat aluminum bar stock, which was ideal for establishing equal spacing between deck boards.

Since I had been doing so much of the prep work offsite, where I couldn’t walk over and check the fit from time to time, I wasn’t totally convinced that my story-pole brainstorm would work. So to be safe, I did the largest and easiest landing first. Fortunately, the planning paid off and it worked out well. In fact, because I accomplished so much of the work in the shop, where the decking stayed dry, I was able to move the job forward much more quickly than I had estimated. I watched the weather and installed the prepared courses when it wasn’t extremely windy or pouring; on days when it was impossible to work outside, I prepped the next set of decking.

To be cautious, I didn’t drill the pilot holes at the cut ends of the deck boards in the shop. Instead, I used a jig that aligned over the joint and spaced the holes 1/2 inch back from the end.

Fastening was straightforward. I used 3-inch-long #7 stainless steel trim screws from Manasquan (manasquanfasteners.com). The company’s website has a calculator for determining the number of screws needed; it was right on. Of the 3,000 screws I purchased, less than a dozen snapped while I was driving them, mostly from hitting a hidden joist-hanger nail. When a screw snapped off, I drilled a 1/8-inch pilot hole on an angle next to the derelict, then drove in a 1 5/8-inch stainless steel trim screw.

The five-sided upper landing presented a challenge, since its width shrinks – from 14 feet down to a sharp point – over a distance of 12 feet. Here, as the courses became shorter, I shortened the story pole progressively, but kept registration to the same joist throughout to preserve the layout.

Where the decks had open ends and I had room to maneuver a circular saw, I let the ends run wild, then trimmed them all at once using a temporary cleat screwed to the decking as a guide.

Where the courses butted against a rock, I ran the ends wild, leaving enough material to trim to the shape of the rock. In some cases, given the irregular shape of the outcropping, I didn’t want to press my luck, so I waited until the boards were scribed before drilling any of the pilot holes. I used pieces of cardboard snagged from a local glass company as templates for shaping the deck ends, which I cut first with a jigsaw and finished with a grinder fitted with 40-grit paper.

Bottom Line

Precutting and predrilling shaved almost four days from the original labor estimate, even when counting the extra hours needed for planning and creating jigs.

Next time I’ll estimate based on my original square-foot price, but I should still see an improved labor margin. Some of the other advantages I had hoped for panned out well: There was substantially less material handling, the screws lined up handsomely, and with less moving around on the job site I didn’t need a helper. Besides not banging up my knees, I was able to do a lot of the prep work standing up, not hunched over. Finally, when I measured for course creep at the end of the job, I found there was less than 1/8-inch variation across the width of each level, which I attribute to accurate framing and the aluminum spacers.

Lee McGinley owns McGinley & Company Fine Building in Addison, Vt.