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Planning your Deck
12 important points to consider when installing a standard (square or rectangular) deck:
1 The area for decking should be carefully prepared and marked out.
2 The deck must be level but with a very slight fall away towards the outside of the deck to allow water to drain away - along the boards.
3 Corners must be 90 degrees square (Fig. 1). |
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4 Sides must run parallel with each other.
5 Joists should be set and fixed at maximum 400mm centres.
6 The top of the deck must finish at least two brick courses below the damp course level of your property.
7 Ground level deck joists should be supported underneath at corners and at 1800 centres using 600 x 600 x 50mm paving slabs (Fig. 2) or 100 x 100 structural posts. |
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8 Raised level decks should have Richard Burbidge structural support posts sunk into the ground at 1800mm intervals to a depth of 450mm (Fig. 3). |
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9 If fixing to a wall, there must be a small (10mm) gap between the house/wall and the edge of the decking (Fig. 4) two bricks below the damp course level. |
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10 Decking boards should have a minimum 6-8mm gap between them if tradionally fixed.
11 Balustrading (rails, spindles and posts) must be assembled and then fixed to joists before installing deck boards (Fig. 5). |
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12 Raised level structural support posts must be concreted and left to set for 24 hours before commencing with the joist and deck board installation. |
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