Tag Archives: Bälau

Wooden Decks Durban – Bluff

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Wooden decks Durban

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This wooden deck in Durban was the second phase of a job we started at the beginning of the year. We were originally asked to build a deck off the main bedroom. First we had to remove the aluminium window and install an aluminium sliding door. I always suggest that clients do this first so that we can build our wooden decks perfectly flush to the new opening.

We had various obstacles to overcome. There was a septic tank that we were building on top of so we had to leave sufficient space and a large enough trap door to access all three tanks. We built one large trap door so that the whole thing could be taken off to access these tanks. During our build a new soak away had to be built as the old one had packed up.

With all of this out-of-the-way, we could continue with phase two which was to complete the main deck with two steps off the front edge leading to the garden and a new second deck in front of the sliding doors to the lounge. This second deck had a corner step similar to the other deck.

Wooden decks Durban

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These steps were the full length of the deck and had closed risers and treads. In order to build one of these you must basically build a second substructure in the same way as you build the deck substructure in order to span your deck boards across them. So each tread has two beams and joists and is then clad with deck boards. I can clearly remember building our first one which took ages because we tried to build each joist individually. We’ve since learned that with smaller structures one can build a frame and then pull it into position and attach it to the main structure and then clad it. Much quicker, much easier and a lot more accurate.

This was our final job for 2013 and we lost one day to rain which set us back a day and we had to spill over into the weekend. We had originally planned to finish on the Friday, but we had to come back on Saturday morning to seal it.

The original deck we built earlier on in the year had greyed already from the sun so we had to sand it quite a bit to get it back to its original colour for the two to match.
Most of our decks this year have been built using an H3 CCA treated pine substructure. We are able to offer a 50 year guarantee from the supplier for the H3 treated timber and a 30 year guarantee for the H4 treated timber. The cost

Wooden decks Durban

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difference between balau and CCA pine is huge so we can keep our rates down to our clients and the H3 CCA pine will actually outlast the balau substructure. We still use balau as deck boards and balustrades simply because it is a lot more attractive and more stable so reduces cupping, bowing and checking. In the substructure, because of the size of the timber it is not as important to limit cupping and bowing.

For a free no obligation quote on your wooden decks, pergolas, walkways, balustrades and other outdoor timber construction please contact us on 082 496 5444 or use the contact us form below.

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Wooden Decks Durban – Verulam

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Wooden decks Durban

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We recently had a good run of building wooden decks in Durban. With the arrival of summer and Christmas, wooden decks in Durban become a very popular item for consumers to spend their hard-earned cash. Despite trying to get jobs confirmed earlier on in the year, most of our work was confirmed in November and hence we have been running 2 to 3 sites simultaneously. It’s no easy task with the size of our current crew, but we were lucky enough to have most of them take place north of Durban in Durban North, Umhlanga and this one in Verulam. We rented an old beach cottage near Ballito and stayed there with our full crew for 3 weeks so that we didn’t need to fight traffic in the mornings or afternoons and drop and pick up staff in various different areas. However the traffic in Umhlanga and that whole north of Durban area is beyond ridiculous so it still took us hours to get “home” each day. This coupled with the fact that we had a lot of work to get through, made for very early starts and very late finishes.

Wooden decks Durban

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Wooden decks Durban

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The pics alongside are work in progress pic and I will update then once we have sanded and sealed the deck.

This job in Verulam was at a complex and this part of the complex consisted of 6 units. We built 3 wooden deck sections, each of about 45m². There was a wooden balustrade on the front of it and on the two ends or sides. The drop down from the first section of wooden deck was about 450mm so we created a step along the entire width of the deck with closed risers. For these closed riser steps we use a mini substructure and then deck it using the standard 19 x 68 balau deck boards. It then becomes a sort of bench as well as a step down.

Wooden decks Durban

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The step down from the second wooden deck section to the third was about 1, 100mm so we had to build some wooden stairs with open risers of standard width of 1m and clad the section were there were no stairs. We also clad behind the stairs in order to block of the underneath of the deck completely. These wooden stairs were the straight forward design with stringers on either side, and treads placed inside of the stringers using cleats on each side. Hence the risers are open which is why we clad behind it to block off the underneath of the second section. We used 30mm x 102mm stock to build the stairs as there is no support beneath them over the 1m span. Using 30 x 102 stock with no gaps, as opposed to 30 x 140 stock, results in a tread of 306mm compared to 285 (140 + 140 + 5mm gap). So they are slightly wider (by 21mm) but still very comfortable. Also we get to use our 1m off cuts from the capping on the balustrade thereby reducing our cost which we can pass on to our clients through our reduced selling price.

It was a fairly straightforward build but did take a bit longer than other jobs as the front of the wooden deck was directly in line with where the bank below suddenly dropped off. So it was difficult to work at head height on a very steep slope. Ladders had to be tied off to the posts to climb them and so on.

Wooden decks Durban

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For a free, no obligation quote, on your wooden deck, pergola, walkways, stairs and other outdoor and indoor timber construction please call us on 082 496 5444 or use the contact us form below.

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Screwing Deck Boards Down on a Wooden Deck in Durban

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Here’s few videos of us screwing deck boards down on a wooden deck in Durban.  This wooden deck is 35 square metres in size.  It took us one day to get the complete substructure down and ready, and a 2nd day to screw down all deck boards.  Monday morning we will build the balustrade and gate.  It’s officially a record and I think it will be hard for us to beat that one.  Well done guys.

Wooden decks in Durban

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Wooden Decking Durban

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Wooden decking Durban

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I haven’t written or posted an article on wooden decking in Durban here for a while. The main reason is that we have been extremely busy building wooden sundecks in Durban. It is quite odd to be this busy in the middle of winter. Normally people want their sundecks built-in summer and winter is traditionally quiet in this industry for both builders and suppliers. I can only think it is because we have had quite a mild winter in Durban and as a result people have been installing sundecks rather than fire places. This coupled with the fact that we lowered our prices in about April 2013 after implementing a few cost saving techniques and securing our timber at very reasonable rates without affecting the quality. I hope this continues into the summer and carries us right up to the end of the year with flat-out building jobs.

We were awarded a 90m² wooden sundeck in Toti recently. It was to be installed on top of an existing concrete slab that doubled up as the roof of the parking area beneath. The concrete had just been waterproofed using Torch On so we could not secure our batons, or joists to the surface by drilling. We brought the level of the deck up so that the existing balustrade would be 1m above the surface of the deck. The existing concrete slab was about 1.4m below the top of the balustrade so we had about 400mm to raise it which allowed us enough space to build a super structure with 38 x 152 beams and 38 x 114 joists with a 19mm deckboard on top. This allowed us to keep the beams and joists off the surface and we installed 76 x 76 square posts to the beams to support it. Because we were using 38 x 152 beams we had to install posts more often as opposed to the 38 x 228 beams where the posts can be installed less frequently. The posts sat on top of some 3mm closed cell insertion rubber cut to 100mm x 100mm squares to stop the posts from cutting into the waterproofing over time. This system allowed us to suspend the superstructure as a sort of floating structure without having to secure anything to the concrete surface so that we didn’t need to damage the waterproofing. Again we used an H3 CCA Treated Pine substructure and balau deckboards.

Wooden decking Durban

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This time around we spaced our joists perfectly so that we only had to waste a small amount of deckboards as off cuts. We did this by slotting an extra deckboard in where we had to, to prevent having an off cut of 400mm or so. We calculated that we would have about R5, 000-00 worth of 400mm off cuts if we had cut these. So it made sense to rather spend the money on a few extra joists than the off cuts.

We sprayed this deck with sealer rather than using a brush. We brushed the edges as it can often make a mess against the wall spraying it on and then sprayed the entire surface. Because we are using oil based sealer there is no chance of runs or streaks so it is quite safe to spray it on and we saved at least a day or two. Our biggest time consumer on this job was getting our timber up to the first floor. The service lift was big enough to take our deckboards from corner to corner, but was out-of-order on the day, so we carried them up two flights of stairs. The longer pieces had to be hauled 6m up the side of the building using ropes attached to each side of the timber. In hindsight we should have hauled the deckboards up that way too.

Wooden decking Durban

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For a free no obligation quote or just to ask some advice on building your wooden deck, please contact me using the form below or you can call us on 082 496 5444.

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Wooden Balau Deck Built in The Bluff – February 2012

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Wooden sundecks Durban

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The Bluff is a wonderful place for a wooden deck builder in Durban. A lot of the properties there have relatively steep gardens and lend themselves well to installing wooden decks. It allows the property owner to make use of land which would have otherwise not been usable.
This property was very steep with a steep flight of concrete stairs to get from road level to the house. There was a second steep flight of stairs from the house to some outbuildings which contained a pub, pool and a small granny flat. The idea was to deck from the pub area over a small retaining wall towards the pool and around the corner of the pub to the braai area. All in all we were looking at about 35m² of decking. The client didn’t want a full height balustrade of 1m, but instead opted for a 500mm high simple balustrade as can be seen from the pics alongside. He didn’t want to obstruct the view when in a seated position.  There was also to be a flight of stairs to gain access from the pool area which was built over some existing concrete stairs.

The actual construction of the deck was relatively simple in that we were attaching joists or batons to the existing concrete floor directly outside the pub area and deck boards on top of that. We needed to place an under beam on the edge by the pool side as that was about 1.5m above ground level. This wooden deck was built completely out of balau so cost a little more than one with a CCA Pine substructure.

Wooden decks Durban

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As I’ve mentioned in other articles we now build our substructures primarily out of H3 CCA pine with balau deck boards on top. The guarantee that comes with the H3 CCA Pine provides a good basis for an argument that it will outlast the balau as a substructure.

This wooden deck was left unsealed and allowed to go grey in colour from the sun’s UV. Balau won’t necessarily rot any quicker if left unsealed. It is so hard and dense that water does not easily get absorbed by it. The cause of rot is water that allows fungi and algae to grow. The algae causes the fibres in the wood to break down which is rot. Because the water cannot penetrate the balau that easily rot is reduced to a minimum.  Also balau contains many natural oils and resins which prevent water getting in. It also contains toxins which prevent insects from eating it. So overall it is a very suitable timber to use in wooden decks. Pine on the other hand, if left untreated, will rot very quickly, hence the need to CCA treat it to prevent rot and to prevent insect infestation.

When left unsealed balau will turn a grey colour. The grey is actually black algae but it is contained to the surface of the wood so doesn’t necessarily affect the integrity of the timber. It can however become slippery when wet. It is advisable to therefore pressure clean the deck from time to time to remove this black algae. After many years, leaving it unsealed can also produce small fissures in the wood which can collect water. One important thing to remember is that if you do plan to seal your balau deck after it has greyed, then it is imperative to remove this black algae before sealing it otherwise the final product will be very dark. This can be done by bleaching it using Timbrite or other suitable bleach designed for the purpose of reviving old greyed wood. One can also use a pressure cleaner or sand it off. But sanding is not always that practical on decks once they are constructed as there are many areas where the sander can’t reach.

For a free no obligation quote or just some advice please call us on 082 496 5444 or use the form below to send me an e-mail.

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Stairs and Balustrade – Durban North – July 2011

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Wooden stairs

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This wooden stair job started off as just a few stairs to gain access to the granny flat from the other side of the garden and then progressed into a small balustrade on either side too. The client originally had a fence there of CCA pine slats which we had to remove and then build our stairs. She wanted to then put some sort of fence on either side to keep dogs out and originally we were going to re-use some of the CCA pine slats. After speaking to her we agreed that a balau balustrade at the same height as the stairs would finish it off more neatly and add more value to her property.

The stairs were fairly simple and we used two stringers on each side of 30 x 228 balau. We then attached cleats at the required height for each tread. For the cleats we used 30 x 40 balau and for the treads we used 30 x 140 and doubled them up to get a tread of 285 wide with a 5mm gap in between each board. This type of stairs can only really be about 1m wide before you need to increase the thickness of your timber to 40mm. If the timber is too thin and the steps are too wide then the tread will bend each time someone walks on it. If you want to make your stairs wider than 1m then you must use a 40mm thick piece of balau. If you are using pine then this thickness needs to be increased even more because pine is so much softer than balau.

I prefer to use a different system when building wide stairs. One can add an extra stringer in the middle to give it support. However the stringers on the end have the cleats attached to the inside of them. The stringer in the middle cannot have the cleat attached to the inside as the stringer itself will protrude above the level of the tread. So you will need to cut recesses out of the middle stringer so that the tread can sit on a flat surface.

Wooden stairs

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The other alternative to this is to build a structure underneath each tread on which deck boards are attached. This method is common in building stairs with closed risers. The above method and the one we used on this build is common for stairs with open risers.

We had a challenge on this job in that the wall that we were going to attach to wasn’t straight and looked as if it had been moving over the years. So instead of attaching to the wall we sunk some posts in the ground and concreted them in. This way the wall can continue to move without pushing or pulling our stairs over.

We filled our holes with epoxy and saw dust mixture to get a colour match and sealed it this time using Timberlife Ultra Care Gold. The Ultra Care Gold has a higher wax content and is suitable for vertical pieces of timber where the sun’s rays are not as direct as the horizontal pieces.

I went back to this client’s house to repair a broken fence and our stairs and balustrade are still as good as they were when we built them. They need to be re-sealed again but otherwise the balau has held up well.

For a free no obligation quote on your outdoor timber construction please call us on 082 496 5444 or use the form below to submit your enquiry.  If it’s just advice you are after, leave a comment in the comments section and I will try to assist you.

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Wooden Deck Built in Toti at a Guest House

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Wooden deck builder Durban

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This was one of my first wooden decks in Durban that I undertook. The Guest House we built it for had just opened up the side of the dining room on the first floor with sliding doors and now wanted to extend the area by adding a deck of about 14m². It is always important to first break through the wall and install the sliding doors and then build the wooden deck. This way the deck builder can get the surface of the deck flush with the entrance to the room. I have built one deck before where the client insisted that I build the deck first and then they were going to break through. Although we did our best to measure where the inside floor was, there may still have been a small step up or down once they had broken through. On this build though it was done the right way around and the deck was flush with the floor inside the dining room.

The deck was a normal cleat, beam and joist system where we secured a cleat to the wall with sleeve anchors, installed vertical posts and attached a beam to that and then ran joists between the cleat and beam with a small canter lever. We had to try to set our posts as far out as possible so as to create enough space under the deck that could be used.

Wooden deck builder Durban

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The balustrade was a normal picket style one. These are the safest and really the only one that is completely compliant with building regulations. Building regulations state that there should be no opening that is larger than 100mm. With all other balustrades there are some spaces that become greater than 100mm. Besides being non-compliant they are not that safe especially for small children. With the pickets running in a vertical direction it is more difficult for children, or adults, to climb up on the balustrade and fall over. The other designs offer more horizontal pieces that people can use to climb up on.

The stairs we built here joined the deck to the pool area which was about half a floor up from ground level. There were separate concrete stairs running from ground level to the pool area but the new wooden stairs we built could now be used to access the pool area, and the rest of the outside area, from the dining room. Because there was no way of supporting the stringer mid-way we had to ensure that we had the correct width of stringer so that it would not break over time. Most of the strength in a piece of wood is in the width and not the thickness as the downward force is exerted on the width.

Wooden deck builder Durban

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We finished up by filling our holes with epoxy and sawdust and sealing with a Timberlife Satin Wood Base 28 Mahogany tint. In our decks we counter sink the screws which leave a small screw hole that water can get into. It is important to fill these so that no water can get in. If water does get in it can travel down the end grain and will cause the wood to rot much quicker at the point of the screw hole. Water travels through wood along the end grain rather than being absorbed from the face or side grain. Wood filler is also not suitable as it will pop over time due to the weather. Clear epoxy works well mixed with a little saw dust to match the colour. Once it’s dry, use a grinder with a sanding pad to flat it and then sand the grind marks off before finishing.

For a free no obligation quote on your deck or for some advice, please contact us on 082 496 5444 or complete the form below.

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Wooden Balustrade Built in Everton – May 2013

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Wooden balustrade

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This wooden balustrade we built in Everton Kloof, Durban was for an established client of ours that we have done various amounts of work for in the past. She had had some stairs built in brick and concrete down the bank to access the lower level of her property. We had to wait a few weeks in order for the concrete to cure properly before we drilled into the side of it. It is always a pleasure installing a wooden balustrade onto a concrete substrate as opposed to a brick or block substrate. With concrete your holes can be drilled easily and the sleeve anchors used to secure the posts to the side of the stairs take nicely and bind properly. When drilling into bricks, or even worse blocks, the cavity that exists in the brick or block almost always creates a problem in that the sleeve anchor has nothing to set itself against and ends up turning on itself and not binding properly. It is most frustrating and sometimes results in drilling new holes to find a solid substrate or even going the chemical anchor route. If one is drilling into blocks with large cavities, it is sometimes better to go the chemical anchor route from the beginning.

Wooden balustrade

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Chemical anchors come with sleeves that are inserted into the holes first and then the two-part chemical is squeezed into that and then a thread bar is inserted. The chemicals dry very quickly, in a few minutes or less, and the thread bar is then fixed securely in the wall. A post can now be pre drilled and inserted over the thread bar and washers and nuts fastened onto that. It is a much stronger bond than sleeve anchors, albeit more expensive. Currently chemical anchors can cost about R300-00 per tube, the size of a tube of silicone, and the sleeves are about R15-00 each.

This wooden balustrade needed to have a bend in it that can be seen from the pictures alongside as the top tread was deeper than the rest of the treads. There was a small landing at the top where the balustrade needed to be level with ground. This was the normal vertical picket style balustrade and we sealed it using our favourite Timberlife Satin Wood Base 28 in a mahogany tint. Using this product will result in lower maintenance costs going forward as no sanding will be required when re-sealing. You simply clean and re-seal.

Wooden balustrade

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Balustrades are not the easiest thing to install. One needs to be very careful that both rails are parallel to each other and that they are parallel to the tips of the risers. Of course the tips of each riser will not necessarily be in a straight line. What we do is run a straight edge or fish line across all the risers to get an average line that we work from. The lower rail is then set parallel to this line and the top rail and hence the capping is set to this, again parallel. One also needs to be careful when taking corners. Often the distance between the capping and the steps can vary, especially if there is a landing involved. Where a balustrade arrives at a landing one needs to step the balustrade so that the capping will remain at the 1m mark above ground.

For a free no obligation quote on your wooden balustrades or other timber construction, please complete the form below and I will contact you or you can contact us on 082 496 5444.

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Balau Screening in Cotswold Downs – June 2013

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Balau or timber screening

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We were called upon to quote on some balau screening in the Hillcrest, Durban area at a new development called Cotswold Downs.

There were various aircons, heat pumps and gas bottles that needed to be clad or screened so as to conceal them.

We used balau 30 x 40 struts or cleats attached to the walls. In some instances we used hiltis as there was not much load on the cleat.   In other instances we used 10mm x 100mm sleeve anchors.  We built a frame using the 30 x 40 balau and then clad it using a standard deck board of 19 x 68 with a 19mm space between. The 19mm space is standard in screening or cladding as it provides enough coverage without being too tight in its appearance. A gap of 5mm, which is standard in building a deck, would be far too close and would give it an odd appearance.

Most of the structures we built here were simple enough with either two or three sides and a removable lid so that access could be gained to change gas bottles or service aircons. Some of them had to have fronts

Balau or timber screening

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that were removable as well as tops so that access could be gained from above or from the front. Some were removable lids and fronts and some were hinged. One needs to be careful which hinges you chose as they need to be strong enough and weather resistant. Solid brass hinges are expensive and with the weight of the balau can be problematic. Solid stainless hinges with bearings are best if the weight of the door is quite large. On the smaller door we used aluminium hinges as the door wasn’t too heavy and the aluminium will stand up the weather.

There were two doors we made which measured 2.5m high and 750mm wide each. That size door in balau is quite heavy and we used three galvanised strap hinges on either side. The only problem with strap hinges is that they need to be placed on the side of the door that opens, so they were visible on the outside. Some may say it adds character to the door, but sometimes you don’t want to see them. Being galvanised steel they are difficult to paint but can be painted with a Hammerite product specially designed for galvanised steel.  The only other alternative to these were to use the galvanised strap hinges that have a bent arm and slot into another piece attached to the frame. However these would have resulted in a large gap between the frame and the door or gate. Normal butt hinges wouldn’t have been strong enough to hold the door due to the sheer weight of them in balau.

Balau or timber screening

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When building this type of structure it is often easier to try to build the whole thing in situ. So a frame goes up first, then you set the braces at the back to the correct length and then start adding deckboards, leaving one side long which can be cut afterwards.  If it is quite large then the door needs to be built on the ground, leaving the ends long and hung, then cut in situ.

They are unlike a normal door in that they can’t be successfully planned to fit the frame because the end grain is on the side.

We finished them off by filling holes with epoxy, sanding flat and sealing with Timberlife Satin Wood Base 28 in a mahogany tint.

For a free no obligation quote or advice on your decking or screening requirements please complete the form below and I will contact you, or you can call us on 082 496 5444.

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Wooden Stairs Built in Cowies Hill, Durban

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Wooden stairs Durban

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These wooden stairs we built in were quite interesting because the client had a dining room which was raised about 600 from the patio outside. He wanted to be able to access the dining room through the new sliding doors. So we designed a small landing and some stairs to fit snugly in on one side so as to not take up too much space on the patio yet still allow a safe passage down the stairs. There were only a total of two treads plus the landing. It not only added value by creating an access point but also added charm with wood.

We built the entire landing on the ground from balau, screwed it all together and then lifted it into place and attached it to two walls of the house using sleeve anchors. This method also kept the whole landing in the same plane i.e. no cleat and joist system but rather a joist and fascia beam system. Each method has their own applications. If it is a fairly large deck where it would be impossible to attach each joist to the beam and then lift it into place, then one would need to use a cleat, beam and joist system. However where it is possible to attach each joist to the beam or fascia beam then it can be semi pre assembled and lifted into place. This can also successfully be done with a deck that is quite close to ground as the ends of the joists can be supported quite easily while the other ends are attached to the fascia beam which is then attached to the wall. However a deck that is raised off the ground would pose problems in trying to support each joist individually while attaching them and then lifting the entire structure up. The fascia beam system also allows one to keep the structure in the same plane and if space beneath the deck is limited then this is a better option.

Wooden stairs Durban

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We clad or screened the underside of this landing to create a storage area with a hinged door on one side so that it could be closed and locked.

This one we finished with Timberlife Ultra Care Gold as it was not exposed to direct sunlight. The Timberlife Satin Wood Base 28/28 has a much lower wax content so tends not to blemish that easily in direct sunlight. The Ultra Care Gold however has a much higher wax content and the UV in the sunlight tends to make it go a bit blotchy which can result in you having to sand it all off when it comes to maintenance. The key to low maintenance in wooden decks is to apply the correct finish correctly. To sand an entire deck back to wood and remove all traces of finish is almost impossible and at times I have thought it would be cheaper to simply replace the entire deck.

This was a small day which took us a day to complete. We also added a small gate for him on the existing deck, so in total it was a two-day job with sanding and sealing.

For a free no obligation quote on stairs or other wooden structure please complete the form below and we will contact you or you can call us on 082 496 5444.

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