# Forum Home Renovation Decking  Easter long week-end project - backyard deck

## jba

Hi all, 
I planned on building a deck earlier this year and came across this forum about 3 months ago. It has been of tremendous help in understanding what would be required for this to happen. In a bid to share my experience and gather some comments on how to better finish off the project, here are my specs and photos. 
First of all, some acknowledgement for their contribution to this forum: UteMad, oldbloss aka Old Chippy, Raff, Dan aka Buggermedumplings, BrissyBrew and all the others that I forgot. 
Alright, here we go  *Specs:* 
Area to deck: 7.3m x 3.5m 
Restrictions:  170mm to 190mm clearance, 
Concreted area, 1.5m x 5.3m, which also happened to be unlevel!Bearers: 90x90 H4 F7 Treated Pine
Joists: 90x45 H3 F5 Treated Pine
Decking: 90x19 Merbau 
Spacing between bearer stirrups: 1300mm
Spacing between bearers - FLW: 975mm
Joist spacing: 450mm 
I decided that the deck should be free standing therefore, no ledger here, just bearers and joists, and the deck would stand 5mm away from the house. The spacing between the 90x19 merbau would also be 5mm  Will use some tile spacers for that  thanks for the tip Raff.  :2thumbsup:    
Because of the height restriction and the unevenness of the concreted area, I had to swap the 1st 2 bearers for something else. I decided to sit the joists in some Pryda bolt-down post stirrup - pictures further down. 
That left me with 22 holes to dig, which took me the better part of the day. I fenced off the area so that the dogs wouldnt be of a burden while digging, then measured and spray painted the positions for the holes. 
22 holes later, the bearers were drilled and bolted to their stirrups - used Pryda Full Post Stirrups - and laid in their respective holes.     
The following day I assembled the 1st and last joists so that I could level them off and set in the concrete for the bearer stirrups. That was a very delicate job. 
The best way I found to adjust bearer/joist height to the millimetre was a car jack. Unusual some may say but it worked a treat for me! I kept the spirit level close by and measured every step of the way to make sure I was level at each end.    
Next day was for the joists so I cleared up the area and started levelling the first and last joists and bearers and drilled the holes in the concreted area so that I could dyna-bolt the Pryda bolt-down post stirrups. Heres the finished job.      I took the opportunity of putting some bearer protector before laying down the joists. Was a bit dear but worth it. I spent the remaining of the day cutting the joists to their required lengths and assembling them in their positions. Following Raffs trick, we painted the top of the joists black so they couldnt be seen between the decks gap, heres the result.     
This is what the joists look like when bolted to the Pryda Bolt-down post stirrup. The stirrup is 90mm x 90mm and the joist is 90mm x 45mm, so I filled in the remaining 45mm with a piece of 45mm TP, drilled holes in alignment with the joist and bolted both of them to the stirrup. I am pretty happy with the result. 
Question: Do you think I need to pack the space between the bottom of the joists and plate of the bolt-down stirrup with some timber in case the joists or bolts give way?     
We strapped to joists down to the bearers and cleared the area and that was it.    
We are now ready to lay down the merbau. Im planning to it this week-end. Ill pre-drill using a smart-bit, followed by 10g T17 Countersunk Stainless Steel Decking Screws.  
Ill wait a bit before staining the deck - planning to use F&W Decking Oil - any comment/advise is welcome. 
Cheers, 
Jerome

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## Bloss

Looks great mate  if a little over-engineered - but it'll be good to walk and dance on!  :Smilie:  If those bolts through the stirrups shear then you have some real heavy guests. So no need to pack underneath. Once the decking goes on it'll be a ripper!  :2thumbsup:

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## Blu_Rock

A nice, solid-looking constuction you have there. Regarding the spacing between the decking, 5mm maybe a little wide, 3mm might be better as there will be less opportunity for stuff to fall through the gaps. I used 3mm clouts nailed through scraps of 3 ply/masonite as the spacers when building my deck.

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## jba

Thanks for the replies guys, I'm pretty happy with the way the deck is going at the moment. 
I've been quite busy over the last fortnight. I managed to get the boards down and hope to finish the deck this week-end. Here's some progress pics.   
Took another photo while having a break... 
There is Millie, the youngest of the family... She's a Maltese Terrier and naturally inspects every bit of work we do..  :Sneaktongue:    
We are nearly there. 3 more courses and I'm done!  :Biggrin:  
The elder of the two, Charlotte, having a rest after a hard day's work watching us put the boards down. Tough life being a dog!  :Cool:    
I'll post more pics as I go.... 
Cheers, 
Jerome

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## jba

Hello all, 
Here are some pictures of the deck completed... almost...  :Sneaktongue:  
Picture was taken couple of days ago with Millie enjoying the morning sun...   
Next step would be to complete the step on the bottom left of the picture and then clean and oil the deck & step. I'm planning to make the step the length of the missing facia board, which is about 1 meter x 30cm. It will be made with the same specs & wood as the deck itself. I'll post some more pics as I progress. 
Cheers, 
Jerome

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## Dan574

looks great. well done

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## UteMad

End result looks like you got a good height to your door.. Bet the pryda stuff cost more than originally expected hey 
Great idea the more jobs that get step by step with pics the easier it is for the next person who tries it for themself 
Cheers utemad

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## binda

It would have been easy to finish the deck before your roof posts but because you didn't your deck looks all the better for it. 
great work. very nicely done.

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## jba

Thanks guys, 
Deck level being flush with the door was first requirement! We wanted to have the outdoor area be like an extension to the indoor area...  :2thumbsup:  
I don't regret having the patio put in before the deck, it actually worked in my favour since it provided shelter from the sun/rain while working on the deck... hehehe. :Wink:  
Cheers, 
Jerome

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## Dusty

Really nice work, there fella' 
Go with the Feast Watson oil as you proposed.(In my not so humble opinion, it's a good as anything else going around) 
Get yer self a real dog :Biggrin:

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## pawnhead

Looks great. It just needs some landscaping. A few ferns and palms in front of the colourbond would add a good atmosphere. 
I suppose your misses would take care of the planning, whilst you just concern yourself with doing all the labour.  :Wink:

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## jba

Thanks for the replies guys, 
Indeed the misses gives the ideas and I materialise them... :Biggrin: . The remaining area between the deck and the fence - about 50cm wide x 7 m long - will be her garden area with herbs and flowers. Don't know how I'm going to materialise that yet, currently focussing on the deck... 
As for the dogs, turns out that they are good companions and considering the backyard is not huge, it's appropriate for them... and us...  :Biggrin:  
Cheers, 
Jerome

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## jba

Hi everyone, 
Managed to finish the step last week-end and put it in place. Here are final shots of the deck. At this stage it's 100% done.     
Next step is cleaning it up before oiling it, possibly this week-end. Will post more pictures when oiled.

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## jba

Hi all, 
Here are some pics of the deck oiled. Followed the procedure as outlined by UteMad in the sticky. We've put back the table and chair can finally relax and enjoy the deck.           
A close-up shot of the oil on the deck:     
Cheers, 
Jerome

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## n0ahz0rk

> Great idea the more jobs that get step by step with pics the easier it is for the next person who tries it for themself 
> Cheers utemad

  Exactly - brilliant idea - is there any reason why I can't see the pics now ? do they get removed after some time ?

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## Fordnut

A question regarding the joists and bearers. If the ground next to the concrete is flat and level can I just use joists in stirrups or do you still have to use bearers?

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## Gibbo

Yep, you can, as jba has done on the step side of his deck.  You'll just need to pack out one side of the joist with an offcut of joist material to make it 90mm wide so it doesn't slide around.  It just means you need a more stirrups than using bearers because you've got to keep your joist spacing to around 450mm or so. 
Cheers,
Gibbo.

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## Fordnut

Thats good. Will it be just as strong? I dont want any flex or bounce. Also how deep do the pads need to be under the stirrups?

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## Gibbo

Hi Fordnut, 
Sorry for the delay in responding.  I just have to make the disclaimer that I'm not a builder and am just about to lay the decking boards on my first deck, so keep this in mind regarding my answers.  The answer to your previous question though re stirrups for joists I saw answered by a chippy somewhere else on this forum. 
To your current question, I would think that using a number of stirrups for the joists would be just as good as having bearers - it's not normally done this way because you need a lot more stirrups/holes/concrete which means more work and more $$, but if the specific situation calls for it as in your case and you're prepared to do the work, I can't see a problem.  If you match the stirrup spacing to span tables for bearers & joists you shouldn't have a problem with bounce. 
I was a bit worried about flexing in the stem of the stirrups for some on my deck (a couple have about 230mm from top of footing to bottom of bearer).  They had a very slight flex in them if you heaved on them, but when the joists were attached it became rock solid.  The shorter ones didn't have any flex.  You have to make sure you pack the concrete in the holes properly and don't have any air gaps to allow the stirrups to move once concrete is set. 
The size of your footings depends alot on the type of soil/ground you have and the height of your deck.  Mine was a low level deck on clay and matching similar footings on this forum I went with 300x300x450 deep.  The pryda spec sheet says you need min of 150mm of concrete below the foot of the stirrup when set in concrete (and max 300mm from top of footing to bottom of stirrup part).   
Sorry that's a bit waffly, but hope it helps a bit.
Cheers,
Gibbo.

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## phillo1290

Hi JBA, 
I as wondeing where you get the bearer protector from.
The reason why I need it, is that that stirups are 100 mm high and I want to use the proector to make the 90mm bearer as high as the stirrups. Then my joists can go on. 
I heard you can get 95mm stirrups but not 90mm high. 
Anyways, if you could let me know I would appreciate it. 
Phil

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## Gibbo

Hi Phil, 
I used a bearer protector that looks the same as jba has used.  It was called "Protect-a-Deck" and came from Bunnings.  It was $24 for a 12m roll. 
If I understand correctly, are you talking about piling up the protector on the bearers to make up the 10mm difference so you can run your joists over the top of where the stirrups are?  If so, there are probably better options.  The protector is only 0.5mm thick so you'd need 20 layers!  That would cost you a fortune.  And it's a flexible rubber product so if you piled it up for 10mm the joists would be very sloppy and bouncy sitting on the bearers, and you'd probably have trouble attaching the joists to the bearers. 
A better option would be to pack up under the bearers (between the base plate of the stirrup and the bearer) with some 10mm horseshoe packers to raise the whole bearer - they are not compressible and heaps cheaper. 
Or is spacing your joists to miss the stirrups an option, so you can just leave the 10mm of stirrup protruding above the bearer? (I did this on my deck, but I did put 3mm packers under the bearer to allow water to drain away, and because the Pyrda stirrups have a rivet in the base so the bearer won't sit flush anyway). 
Sorry if I've misunderstood. 
Cheers,
Gibbo.

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## alto64

Hi Jerome, 
Can you recall the model number of the stirrup that you used? I cannot seem to find this type anywhere. 
Cheers,
Simon   

> This is what the joists look like when bolted to the Pryda Bolt-down post stirrup. The stirrup is 90mm x 90mm and the joist is 90mm x 45mm, so I filled in the remaining 45mm with a piece of 45mm TP, drilled holes in alignment with the joist and bolted both of them to the stirrup. I am pretty happy with the result.

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## Bloss

Can't see them in the Pryda catalogue at a quick glance but I recall they are part of their adjustable range: Pryda - Timber Connectors

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## Gooner

Great post and pics. I also cannot find these types of stirrups. I am wondering if this fixing method for the joist is good enough. Wont the joist be likely to sink after a little while due to the clearance between the bolt and the joist as well as the softness of the pine?

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## r3nov8or

The pics are all visible to me.

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## Gooner

Today I bolted down some of these stirrups to a slab in order to build a deck similar to what was done in this post.  
Another question I have is how to level the joist when using just a stirrup. I don;t mean along the joist as that is easy, i mean perpendicular to it. I.e. lay a spirit level from one joist to another and you may see that one joist is tilted to the side because of the tilt in the slab. This would mean that the decking board will only make contact with one corner of the joist instead of laying flat on it. 
Did you have to sand the joist flat or did you just leave it?

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## cherub65

I would level your stirups as you install them

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## r3nov8or

> I would level your stirups as you install them

  Yep, and with string lines over the length and breadth (rather than a spirit level hopping from one to the next).  
Gooner, if you can post some photos in your the thread you started earlier we may be more able to help

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