# Forum Home Renovation Decking  Raffs Low Deck.............

## raff

Gday boys & gals, 
Just started building a deck and thought since I have learnt from other DIY building tips from this website, I thought I would share my experiences for those considering a new project.  *A quick background*-  
Im not a tradie, have run of the mill tools and would consider my DIY abililty about the average. 
The deck area is 7m x 5.7m and I am working with approx 240-250mm clearance. 90+90+20mm should leave me with at least 40mm clearance below the bearer.  
Im using 90x90 F7 H4 treated pine for bearers bolted straight onto stirrups and 90x45 F5/F7 treated pine for joists at 440mm centres. I plan to use 140mm merbau with stainless decking screws. My budget is approx $3600. 
Appreciate any tips or advice as I progress, likely take around about 4-6 weeks, im doing it entirely on my own and only really have the weekends to work on it!  *The beginning-* 
I began recently by planning the location for the holes. I have approx 250mm to work with to bring me up to floor height. I also have 50-100mm of compacted crushed rock below that for drainage and to keep any weeds away whilst I was doing the rest of the garden over the last few months. 
Like most of my projects I tend to over engineer most things but I would rather give it too much than not enough. I went for a simple 1000mm x 1000mm grid so the bearers are approx 1000mm apart and the stirrups are also at 1000m apart. (The 1st bearer placed at 700mm to the next to make up the 5700mm). This left me with 6 rows of 8 holes- 48 holes to dig- yippee! 
I hand dug the holes 350x350 and 500-600mm deep. After about 20 holes and two broken spades and a bent crowbar (solid clay is a biatch) I hired a hydraulic post hole digger ($110 for half day). Digs quickly but not as neat as my hand dug holes and also not as accurate in placement! I find the auger bit jumps around before it grabs- maybe chocking the wheels would help. It also pulls in the top of the hole as you lift the bit out making the hole entrance unnecessarily wide- see holes left side holes in above pic. (Ive also used a 2 man auger before for another project and in solid clay it is hard dangerous work to get down 500-600mm!) 
After digging the holes and cleaning out a heap of dirt I went about sourcing the 90x90 and 300mm Pryda post anchors. I used a small hardware store in Ferntree Gully which had the F7 KD 90x90 at around $12/m and nice dry straight lengths. Obviously 7m is a bit long for one length so used 4m & 3m lengths.  
I found a bargain centre in Kilysth that sound the Pryda engineered post anchors for $4 each. Bunnings had them for $8 each. 
I lined up each bearer over the holes and 106 bolts later (M10 120mm bolts -$110) the post anchors where attached. After advice from an experienced deck builder (thanks Utemad!) I joined the bearers over a hole each having there own bearer. I widened the holes to give more space for both anchors- more digging! 
I then chocked the bearers to make sure all was level and now ready for the concrete. 
I needed 2.5 cubic metres! So mini mix was definetly the go. $440 for 2.5 delivered. Materials to mix it myself would have been approx $400 so it was a worthy investment. 38 bags of cement aint cheap! 
I borrowed a mate for this and around 30mins with 2 wheelbarrows and the job was done. I made sure it was tightly packed and slightly above the surrounding ground and will leave it for a week to dry.  
Plan to start the joists next week, stayed tuned................................

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## UteMad

Good to see your all started .. Its amazing how much the costs add up on the little things huh... It always dazzles me when clients think they know what the materials cost for a job is .. They never factor all the little things your discovering along the way.. This should prove a good read for anyone else coming along build a low level deck..
I am off for a month to uluru so look forward to reading how you get on when i return 
cheers utemad

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## UteMad

Looking at your pics i notice you have stopped your bearer either side of the brick columns.. you will have to run a joist down boths sides of the columns to support decking regardless of the spacings so remember to allow for this when ordering the joist quantities.. 
cheers utemad

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## raff

> Looking at your pics i notice you have stopped your bearer either side of the brick columns.. you will have to run a joist down boths sides of the columns to support decking regardless of the spacings so remember to allow for this when ordering the joist quantities.. 
> cheers utemad

  Thanks for your comments. I will be running an extra joist between the last three bearers against each side of the pillar to support the decking. I will be butting the decking around the pillar and will border the entire deck with a piece of 140mm merbau. 
Your right about costs, I will include every cent it costs me to give others an accurate indication. I tend to shop around too using local trade and timber yards. Buying everything thing from a major hardware chain and you could add on and additional 10-15%. 
Enjoy the 'rock'  :Biggrin:  
Cheers

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## Bloss

Gunna be a nice deck, but you weren't wrong when you said: 
"Like most of my projects I tend to over engineer most things but I would rather give it too much than not enough. I went for a simple 1000mm x 1000mm grid so the bearers are approx 1000mm apart and the stirrups are also at 1000m apart." 
and dug holes 500-600mm deep for a deck effectively sitting on the ground. 
On that site you could have simply used concrete pads of around 150-200mm deep or even concrete blocks and your bearers could have been at 1200-1500mm. 
I'd love to be around when they go to remove it in 40 or 50 years or so  :Biggrin:  
But it's all good - you'll love the deck when finished and can be well satisfied that it won't move - even if pushed!   :2thumbsup:

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## raff

> On that site you could have simply used concrete pads of around 150-200mm deep or even concrete blocks and your bearers could have been at 1200-1500mm. 
> I'd love to be around when they go to remove it in 40 or 50 years or so  
> But it's all good - you'll love the deck when finished and can be well satisfied that it won't move - even if pushed!

  Thanks oldbloss- your spot on, can help myself. I tend to take the max spans and knock off a bit for good luck! 
I really only used 300mm stirrups with 40mm above the ground leaving 260mm in the ground. As you have said there will very little side loading on the deck so the the main loading will be the downforce. I will also have a big bbq and large outdoor setting on the deck so my main priority was to prevent downward movement- a healthy 250-300 base pad below the foot of the stirrup should keep her nice and firm! I agree overkill but for an extra few extra hours work and an extra few $$ in concrete and I can sleep better at night!  
Im happy to wear any 'deck is over engineered' comments rather than the 'deck will last a week!' 
From here on in it should get more sensible. Joists 90x45 with the 1000mm span placed at 440mm centres due spacing simplicity. 
Cheers :Biggrin:

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## raff

Gday, 
Finished the joists over the weekend.............. 
I firstly lined the bearers with plastic. I looked at the protecta deck stuff and whilst a good product, it aint cheap. I have 54m worth of bearers and would have cost well over $100. I used 110mm dampcourse plastic flashing, at $5.95 for 30m it did the job. It obviously doesnt have the flared edges but a few minutes with a staple gun sorted that! I didnt bother covering the joists with plastic. My theory is.........as there will be well over a thousand screws in the deck, all those holes may defeat the purpose of a plastic protection!  
Next was the joists. I used F5 90x45 H3 treated pine. I spaced them at 445mm centres (to make an evenly spaced span) 
I required 21 lengths @ 6m to save me joining joists. The total cost- $597 delivered. I used three full joists at end end of the deck for the support of the 'framing' of the deck.  
I also used a full box of 150 pryda joist straps($18) and two boxes of gal clout nails for $34 (720 nails). Also required around 20 multigrip angle brackets ($9) where the post anchors prevented the use of the joist straps and also 6 joists hangers ($8) to support the joists around the pillars. 
The entire process took me around 6-7hrs. Getting each end fixed and squared up to seemed to take the most time and fixing around the pillars also slowed me down. The rest was simply a case of using precut spacers and nailing away!   
The next step- I will likely paint or stain the top of the joists a dark colour so they cant be seem in the spacing between the merbau. Im busy with work over the next few weeks so it will be around two weeks before I get the merbau delivered.  
Still shopping around for 140x22mm merbau. Likely be around the $6 p/m plus delivery from the quotes I received.  
Will post more as I progress! 
Cheers Raff :Biggrin:

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## Buggermedumplings

Nothing wrong with overengineering!  Out of curiosity, did you consider just laying a slab and bolting joists directly to the slab as you had limited height to play with?  I only ask as I was in the same situation and did the slab method...

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## ComboSquare

Your deck is looking good so far no doubt, well done!  
Just one point however, though it's obviously a little late Australian Standards specifies a minimum clearance of 150mm between the underside of the bearer and the ground (I don't have it in front of me but I believe that's the figure).  
Usually this can involve digging channels when necessary.

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## raff

> Your deck is looking good so far no doubt, well done!  
> Just one point however, though it's obviously a little late Australian Standards specifies a minimum clearance of 150mm between the underside of the bearer and the ground (I don't have it in front of me but I believe that's the figure).  
> Usually this can involve digging channels when necessary.

  Thanks for the input. Its an interesting topic you raise. I assume this standard is for termite considerations rather than for structural reasons? 
I considered excavating the entire area to give greater clearance for the bearers but the issue of drainage becomes a problem as it would then be, by far, the lowest point in my garden. I kept level with the existing ground and add 50-100mm of crushed rock to prevent water 'pooling' on the surface.  
Digging trenches below the beares into clay is good in theory but would equate to 6 channels 150mm deep that would store water in them for weeks after a decent downpour. Im not keen on that idea. Being lower than the rest of the garden once again would require some very intricate ag drain creations to prevent them being water collection points.  
I guess it may not be technically built to AS specs but I battle to see the value in the requirement.  
Currently the bearers stand at least 40-50mm off the ground and no water pools anywhere on the ground. After a heavy rain the area not under cover (about 20%) is dry within hours. 
I spoke to my local pest inspector who inspects my house annually and he recommened to leave the gravel in place rather than excavate through the clay. Not a builders opinion I know but he was satisfied with the site to continue my warranty for termite protection (my deck also does not attach to the house) 
Interested to know how others get around this one! 
Re the slab method- too much concrete needed for a slab and would rather have the bearers off the ground rather than on the concrete base. Again drainage was my reason for gravel and stirrups. 
Cheers Raff

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## fubar

:2thumbsup: looking good so far hows the budget still on target?

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## Bloss

Issue is both moisture and termites for untreated timber - mainly water. 
If you use H4/H5 treated timber you could lay directly into the ground. 
In your site I would not be too worried and in the ACT where you are I understand that structure would not need approval (although all structures are supposed to comply with the BCA even so) as it less than 400mm above ground level.  http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/sl/2008-2/default.asp

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## sonicIX

hi raff 
im about to embark on a similar project myself as a first 'deck' timer.
Thanks for the insight.  I have been looking around for materials, at the moment chipy's timber in ringwood currently has a sale on until end of July.  Not sure if it is applicable to the size you are after 
Rick

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## raff

Thanks the replies, 
RE the budget- Im looking a little over. My original $3600 calculation included the use of stainless shank nails. I had changed my mind and will use 10G stainless screws but didnt reflect that in the stated budget! 
Will need approx 2000 screws if I use 3 per board with the 140mm merbau so a revised budget of $3900 will be more accurate. Looking at around $150 per 1000 screws. 
Still shopping around for merbau. Best price and more importantly quality of merbau I have found is 140x22 certified KD reeded decking for $6 p/m and 140mmx19mm certified KD which has two 'channels' rather than a complete reeded underside for $5.80p/m. Have been told the two 'channels' help to prevent cupping of the wider board whilst allowing airflow between decking and joist- anyone used this product? Also is extra 3mm of thickness worth an extra couple of $$? 
RE the bearers they are H4 treated timber- I specifically used H4 even though they would not be put in the ground.  
SonicIX- are chipys timber selling 140mm merbau? Thanks for the heads up 
Cheers Raff

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## fubar

www.chippystimber.com.au
they have 140x19 at $5.95 but it is first gradeKD merbau and probably the best ive seen very straight and few blemishes and is not finger jointed

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## raff

> www.chippystimber.com.au
> they have 140x19 at $5.95 but it is first gradeKD merbau and probably the best ive seen very straight and few blemishes and is not finger jointed

  Thanks mate! 
Will drop over and have a look. 
Cheers

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## raff

Further progress this week.........  *Materials* 
I purchased the merbau this week. I decided on 140x19 KD merbau. I needed 300m and at $5p/m the total cost was $1500 (plus delivery) for random lengths (mostly 5.4/5.7's) 
After much deliberation I decided to use stainless screws to secure the decking. I looked into the hidden fastener idea but not confident they would hold the boards down tight enough. I like the look of nails, but again with the wider boards I think screws are the strongest choice to prevent cupping. 
I picked up some Brewick 10G Stainless 50mm Type 17 Square Drive screws. They cost $210 for 1500 screws. (come in boxes of 500 for $70) I also picked up 3 square drivers for $2.50 each. I also grabbed a Smartbit which has the combined drill bit and countersink for $30. These are worth there weight in gold. From the boards I put down this afternoon they make life very easy- especially with the depth gauged countersink. 
I planned a 5mm spacing between boards and picked up a bag of 100 5mm tile spacers for around $3. These have been really handy. The X design makes it easy to 'hang' the spacers and push the boards tight and drill + screw.  *The Process* 
As previously stated I planned on 'framing' the deck to give it a nice clean finish. I start by framing the top and one side. I pushed the decking up tight against the boards. On the other side I let the boards overhang. I will run the circ saw across them after all boards are laid. This will give a nice straight finish and the final framing piece can be installed nice and tight. Framing the entire deck 1st would require mm perfect cutting which I dont have the patience for- too much work involved and margin for error! I have read about recommendations for securing every 5th board or so and then backfilling to ensure all is square. I think this would be good with 70 or 90mm boards but I have so far simply been measuring every 3rd board to checking measurements. This has worked for me so far. 
I have been using the Smartbit and it has been great. I have a Ryobi cordless 14.4V drill and it has worked brilliantly. 250 screws and the battery is still going. I have a 2nd battery running on the charger. I adjusted the torque setting which gives a nice flush finish to the screws. No broken screws or rounded heads. I would definately recommend the full 10G head, trimhead screws would not have much holding power. 12G would be great but the full 10G is a good comprmise IMO- they are not as noticable as I thought. I have been using a spirit level which I marked with screw distances to give a straight and eqi distance line. I considered a string line but too hard to lift boards in and out for cutting. 
I followed the advice from others and when cutting the boards to be butt joined I cut them at a slight angle to give a nice tight finish. I simply put a small packing piece on the side of the drop saw. The joins look good- trusty Ozito slide saw has been perfect so far- put a 48 tooth blade in her and the cuts are nice. 
Will post more as I progress, a good 3 or 4 days work for this part of the job. Still running solo on this project  :Biggrin:

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## ger

Hi Raff
looks great so far
where did you pick up merbau from and how much delivery 
thank you

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## Lexi01

The deck looks fantastic...very nice job. 
Can I ask what could possibly be a dumb question? 
How do you go about avoiding having to rip a piece of merbau down the middle when your left with a gap of 120mm and your decking is 140mm?

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## raff

> The deck looks fantastic...very nice job. 
> Can I ask what could possibly be a dumb question? 
> How do you go about avoiding having to rip a piece of merbau down the middle when your left with a gap of 120mm and your decking is 140mm?

  I would suggest plan ahead in the gap spacing. A difference of a 1mm per space over even a narrow 20 board (2.9m) wide deck will make up the 20mm difference. 
Otherwise aim for a 90mm or 70mm spacing! Buying a table saw may be a third option but the 1st option would be my answer. 
Cheers Raff

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## raff

> Hi Raff
> looks great so far
> where did you pick up merbau from and how much delivery 
> thank you

  Gday,  
Picked up the merbau from a place in Dandenong. PM me for details. Delivery was $100 which was a bit rich but it was all hand packed onto a flat bed truck and unpacked in my garage which did take a while. Other places quoted me between $60-80 to deliver but their merbau was significantly more expensive for the same quality.

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## dazzler

Hi Raff 
Thanks for taking the effort to detail the work.  Great Job  :2thumbsup:

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## raff

Getting there........... 
I am surprised how fast the deck is going down, the 140 boards are going down quickly and painlessly! 
I spent most of Friday and a few hours Saturday morning and im almost there. Another 3-4 hrs and I should easily have the deck finished (bar cleaning & oiling) 
I can highly recommended any DIY'ers getting some tile spacers, a Smartbit and a home made bow-wrench (see below!)   
I found cutting and placing 2 rows of boards at a time worked for me. I placed the tile spacers in at each joist, screwed it tight at one end and use the bow wrench where required to push up against the spacers and drill and screw. I checked distances at every 4 boards and adjusted as required- I never found anymore than a few mm out so was easily adjusted. I always ran a string line every 6 boards or so to make sure I wasnt conforming to a curved board pattern. Where the deck met the pillars it came out dead square- happy days! :Biggrin:  
I found it very easy and satisfying work, albeit a touch repetitive (beats digging 500mm holes in solid clay!) 
Used a jigsaw and clamped straightedge to cut the boards around the pillars and downpipes, that slowed me down a little but im in the home straight now!  
I have been fortunate that the merbau has been a consistant 19mm thickness and the joists have been level. I have had no packing or planing of any of the joists which has made the process a lot quicker.  
Will post more when I get to the end, wont get a chance to work on it til next weekend. 
Next Q is which oil to use. I have used Feast&Watson Merbau Oil on timber planter boxes at the front of my house and was happy with the results, I read spa&deck is a popular choice- will make a decision next weekend after I give it a good scrubbing! 
Cheers 
Raff

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## leeton

Raff, that is one of the best decks I have seen...quality wise...well done...looks fantastic. :2thumbsup:

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## namtrak

Great looking deck. 
I used the Spa n Deck, and eventhough it looked great originally after about 6 months, the part that was exposed to weather has peeled and weathered quite poorly.  I did originally put on 4 coats.  At Christmas I will probably clean it up and re-coat with Spa n Deck again anyway. 
The mitre joins look great, but I do wonder if they create the possibility of opening up more than if it was a straight butt join?  Given that the timbers are moving at two different angles?  Some of the Deck guys may have a better idea....

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## cole trickle

Looks awesome raff, great quality to detail 
Cheers Dalesy

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## raff

Thanks for the replies guys!  
Finished screwing boards on Saurday and gave it a good scrub and high pressure clean yesterday with Feast & Watson Woodclean. 
Its looking dry today so will give it 3 coats of Feast & Watson Decking Oil Merbau tint. I have used this before for various deck fences and planter boxes around my house and have been happy with the results. 10lts is $170. I also picked up a cabot wool applicator for $14 to help the back! 
I know some will recommend to 'weather' the deck first. From my experience with other projects, I think this is a good idea if the timber isnt dry and leaching tannins (the timber in my local Bunnings is a good example- often stained and sticky from tannin residue) The timber I used was very dry and after 4 days in the rain during the week, the exposed non under cover portion of the deck has had a good soaking and there has been no bleeding whatsoever.  
Will post a final pic and costing once I have the deck stained! :Biggrin:

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## Bloss

Great result!  :2thumbsup:  
Can't say too many would be able to afford to pay someone for your super-solid design and build approach, but you should be proud of that job - and of the top work in providing the pics and description of your progress which will help many others as they do their own deck.   :brava:   :Repplus:

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## raff

Finally finshed the deck last weekend. Im very happy with the results.  
The Feast & Watson Merbau colour came up well, matches my planter boxes and water feature surround which ties it all in together. I gave it 3 coats with an hr break in between. The weather has been fairly cool in Melbourne so left it overnight then 'buffed' any excess oil with a few rags. I would recommend leaving the deck at least 2-3 days in cool weather or 1-2 in warmer months before placing furniture and hosting parties- does take a while for the oil to absorb in I found. 
A few pics of the colour.....       
Costings for the deck (in order of use!) 
Post Hole Digger (4hrs) $110
Bearers H4 90x90 F7 $526
Stirrups 300mm $120
Bolts M10x120mm $110
Concrete 2.5cu/m $440
Bearer Plastic Flashing (60m) $12
Joists H3 90x45 F5 $597
Joist Straps (box 150) $18
Clout nails (2 boxes of 360) $34
Merbau (300l/m) $1600
Screws 10G SS 50mm $210
Square drive bits x 3 $8
Smartbit $30
Feast & Watson stain 10lt $170
Cabots wool applicator $14 
Grand total $3999 
I certainly could have saved a few $$ with less engineering in the earlier stages but I happy with the results for the price. Buying quality timber has made life easier. 
All in all around 4 weekends worth of work. The hardest bit by far was digging the holes, the rest I found enjoyable knocking it over at a steady pace. 
For those who work on a per sq metre price this one worked out at approx $100/sqm for everything. 
Job done........  
Now where did I put that beer  :Drink Nl:

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## Uncle Bob

Looks bloody fantastic! A excellent job there!

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## nesbit

That is quality...  :2thumbsup:

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## blak

Where did the pics go?
I cant see any of them.  :Annoyed:

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## froge

Would really love to see the pics! Where have they all gone?

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## Gibbo

I'd love to see the pics too.  Looks like there's a problem with the pics on Raff's host site maybe.  Could you possibly repost some Raff? 
Cheers,
Gibbo.

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## Gooner

Pity the pics are gone......

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## ozfreelancer

From all the feedback it appears to be a job extremely done well. I am also a novice and have to build a deck a bit smaller than yours 3.6m x 6.6m. It's a pity I can't see the pictures that you have posted. Would you mind posting them again ?  
Also underneath the deck, you mentioned you have around 50-100mm of crushed rocks filling. Did you just leave it as it is or did you pave on top of it.  
Once again, would love to see the picture and do you also have a diagram that gives the design regarding the positions of stirrup posts etc. 
Thanks a ton
Ranga

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## snowman

Wished the pics worked still!  :Frown:

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## Bloss

Plenty of other posts with good pics of good decks . . .

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