# Forum Home Renovation Decking  Dan's low deck.

## Buggermedumplings

Thought I’d share my deck building experience on here seeing as though I received so much help from this forum, it’s good to give back and possibly inspire others.  'Raff’s low deck' thread is a brilliant example of a low deck using posts so thought I’d contribute my solution using a slab. Went with this method because of the height restrictions but also needed to pour footings for the Alfresco area's brick pillars. The slab also prevents any undergrowth or drainage issues. Also saved us digging a few dozen holes!   
<O :Tongue:   Area was levelled and footings were dug for pillars. Slab was poured and a 50mm fall was allowed for water runoff. Around 7m3 was used for the 45m2 area, brick pillar footings used quite a bit. 100x100mm 6mm posts (Yes overkill but we had them) were put into position when concrete was poured.   
Fast forward a couple of months (Built a shed, got married and had a baby!) and the alfresco area was almost complete.

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## Buggermedumplings

Now to the Deck. Measured 7600x6000mm. I did not want any joins so went with a centre board to split the width in half. Decided to frame the deck using 140mm Merbau with remainder in 90mm Merbau. Measured the deck and went with a 3.5mm spacing as this allowed for only ~5mm to be planed from last decking board. Layout below:

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## Buggermedumplings

Used 90x45 TP joists. Installed joists at either end of the deck which provided the level for the remainder. Measured out the joist spacing and made a jig which held the joist parallel to the last, it was then drilled and used to mark the slab for installing of the loxens (All 120 of them!).  Joists were then attached to the slab with lengths of all-thread. As I had allowed fall when pouring the slab, packing of the joists was required. Had some 15mm thick cast iron shims that had a ¾ hole so used these along with 1mm and 3mm horse shoe packers to get the levels correct.

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## Lexi01

G'day.  Looks like a great start to a nice deck.  Well done.  I plan on documenting my own deck for the forum when we move into our new house too. (Inspired by Raff) 
A quick question... what are these "loxens" that you used?  I've never heard of them.  Seem like handy little things.  Along with the deck I also need to cover a concrete front porch with some nice T&G Jarrah.  I reckon the loxens could be a goer to fix the battens to the slab.

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## Buggermedumplings

A loxin is similar to a dynabolt- A dynabolt has a built in bolt to enlarge the case whereas a loxin allows you to use any bolt. Has the advantage of letting you use longer length bolts if needed. In my case I simply used lengths of all-thread and cut to the appropriate length.   
That's a loxin- You drill a hole into your surface, hammer in and tighten using a temporary bolt and washers (Below). Then remove and its ready for the permanent bolt of your choice.   
Heres a closeup of the all-thread already tightened into the loxin and joist spacers. The joist is then drilled and tightened using a nut.   
Once tightened, any excess length in the all-thread is cut flush with the top of the joist using a grinder.

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## Lexi01

Brilliant!  Thanks for the explanation mate.

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## Buggermedumplings

Once all joists were in, added extra noggins around pillars to allow for frame pieces. Then started laying the boards. Went with 10g 50mm square drive screws ($140/1000). As part of this project, convinced the better half that I 'Needed' to upgrade some of my tools so bought:  Makita LXT 18v hammer/drill       :Smilie:  Makita LS1214B sliding saw        :Smilie:  :Smilie:  Makita LXT 18v impact driver     :Smilie:  :Smilie:  :Smilie:  
<O :Tongue:  The Impact driver is possibly the best tool I have ever purchased. It had no issues doing 250+ screws on a charge! I cannot recommend enough.
<O :Tongue:  Installed almost all the frame pieces first. With the decking boards, did the 5-boards-at-a-time-method which worked well and made sure that both Halves of the deck did not run out of alignment. All boards were pre-drilled and countersunk. We ran 3 drills, 1 for countersink, 1 for drill and 1 for driving. We made a jig for drilling which did not allow to drill and countersink in one hit. A little slower but between the two of us, it worked well.

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## Buggermedumplings

Just before the last boards were added, installed the 2 centre posts (90x90mm Merbau) for the handrail with gal brackets dynabolded to the slab. Electrical works also completed for deck lights and several other circuits. Waste pipe for sink also installed. Once the deck was complete, completed the handrail which consisted of 90x41mm Merbau for sides and 110x45mm Merbau for handrail. Sides were screwed into the pillars and handrail was screwed down, both using 14g 100mm square drive screws.     
Obviously handrail was not required for the height but plan on having a gardenbed in front and wanted to give the illusion that the deck was higher than it was. Also makes for a great spot to lean on and hold a beer!

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## Buggermedumplings

Stainless balustrading was then measured and ordered from Miami Stainless. Great company to deal with, cheap and efficient. 14x 3m wires were ordered for around $300. Nice streamlined look with no turnbuckles.  Deck was soaked several times to get some of the tannin out. Then washed with napisan and again with oxalic acid. Could not believe how much tannin and dirt came out. The deck looked great, slightly bleached but great.

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## raff

Looks great mate- handrails are a nice touch  :Biggrin:  
Great info and detail, hard to beat an outdoor deck- bring on summer  :Drink Nl:

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## LegacyGT

> Heres a closeup of the all-thread already tightened into the loxin and joist spacers. The joist is then drilled and tightened using a nut.

  How do u tighten the all-thread into the loxin without damaging the thread?

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## Buggermedumplings

> How do u tighten the all-thread into the loxin without damaging the thread?

  Once you hand tightened the all-thread into the loxin, put 2 nuts onto the all-thread, tightened against each other- This acts like a bolts head.  Tighten against the loxin then remove.

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## LegacyGT

> Once you hand tightened the all-thread into the loxin, put 2 nuts onto the all-thread, tightened against each other- This acts like a bolts head.  Tighten against the loxin then remove.

  smarts!!!! 
tedious tho huh?

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## Bloss

In that application there is at least 40mm or so of the thread that will never see a nut - so a precision tool could be used: vice-grips!!   :2thumbsup:   :Biggrin:   But when the thread needs to be undamaged along its length using double nuts is the usual way. 
There are a number of other products that would be easier and faster for that type of work - such as Ankascrews http://www.ramset.com.au/fileupload/...rewdetails.pdf or Truebolts http://www.ramset.com.au/fileupload/...oltdetails.pdf both of which require just the hole to be drilled and have some flexibility on the thickness of the material being held and so on. They also have the advantage that the hole size is the same for the timber and masonry (or can be anyway) so the whole setting out, hole location and drilling process is simpler than using loxins. 
Dan has ended up with a great deck,  :2thumbsup:  but IMO is over-engineered to hell - as Dan has agreed I think (eg: why have the concrete slab at all?). That is fine when you are a DIYer with the time and the money, but a good solid result could be had at lower cost, the end appearance identical and the robustness and useful life pretty much the same. The building game technology is changing all the time and part of the value of this forum is that if you use it early enough you can find out what options there are for your renovation or addition (eg: deck) and maybe decide whether DIY is your thing for a particular project or getting someone else to do it is better.

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## Buggermedumplings

Thanks OldBoss- Yes it's over-engineered (Like everything we build) but it's built for ourselves and built to last  :2thumbsup:  
Had not seen the Ankascrews- Only issue I could see is that once tightened, you would not want to back them off (Like we had to do when getting the joists level).  Great idea though. 
When designing the whole alfresco area, slab vs post/bearers costs for the deck were very similar. In the end went with the slab method as footings for the brick pillars needed to be poured and I didn't have to dig 30-odd holes for the posts! 
DIY is great- I'm not a tradie (In IT  :Frown:  ) but love doing this sort of thing, knowing that it's being built properly and just the way I want. Also have the side benefit of saving quite a few bucks too!

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## Uncle Bob

Ramset Cemset works well too with threaded rod.   
Very nice deck!

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## Simon3

G'day Dan.
Beautiful deck :2thumbsup:  
What are you finishing it with?
I've just laid a merbau deck and it is a bit bleached out like you said.
Very interested in what you will use and some pics. 
Thanks
simon

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## shellac

> G'day Dan.
> Beautiful deck 
> What are you finishing it with?
> I've just laid a merbau deck and it is a bit bleached out like you said.
> Very interested in what you will use and some pics. 
> Thanks
> simon

  Odds are it will be Spa n Deck. :Biggrin:  
Nice deck Dan
cheers

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## Buggermedumplings

Nup... Feast & Watson Natural, 3 coats, looks great. 
Just got to get around to taking a few pic's and posting the results.

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## cama

Hi 
Where did you get the cast iron spacers from?

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## steven_greh

[quote=Buggermedumplings;744061]A loxin is similar to a dynabolt- A dynabolt has a built in bolt to enlarge the case whereas a loxin allows you to use any bolt. Has the advantage of letting you use longer length bolts if needed. In my case I simply used lengths of all-thread and cut to the appropriate length.   
That's a loxin- You drill a hole into your surface, hammer in and tighten using a temporary bolt and washers (Below). Then remove and its ready for the permanent bolt of your choice.   
Heres a closeup of the all-thread already tightened into the loxin and joist spacers. The joist is then drilled and tightened using a nut.   
Once tightened, any excess length in the all-thread is cut flush with the top of the joist using a grinder.
 hi mate what 
size loxens are they

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## JJS

Gday, Thats an awesome deck mate. You have inspired me! I am currently building my house and when its finished I want to build an alfresco and deck. 
How did you build the roof on your alfresco? Did you use plaster on the inside, and what did you use on the outside?  
If you dont mind was it expensive all up? 
Cheers mate

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## S3Triumph

That looks bloody brilliant, good job. Loxins seem like an excellent way to go - a bit more flexible than ankascrews. I'm definitely going to look into using them.  
How high above the slab is the top of your deck? Did you build it above the level of the damp proof course? I have heard it's not a good idea but I'm trying to find out why and if there's any way around it. 
Good job.

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## Fordnut

what size loxins did you use?

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