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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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Deck Refurbishments

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Deck refurbishment

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I have done quite a few deck refurbishment jobs and as mentioned in a previous article it is work I would rather stay away from. However, especially in the early days, it was necessary to do these jobs to keep paying the bills. Also it has provided me with a solid understanding of what not to do when finishing or sealing a deck. Also it has allowed me to see other construction methods of other deck builders first hand. Because these decks are relatively old one can see how a certain technique has behaved over time. But sometimes it is better to leave them alone, as I have done recently, because it can be like opening a can of worms.

The first thing to consider when sealing a new deck is to assume that you will be the one who has to refurbish it when it comes to refurbishing. This way you will probably apply the best finish to it so that future maintenance jobs are easy. The article on deck finishes covers in more detail what types of finishes are available and their pros and cons. When refurbishing one needs to first establish if there is structural timber that needs to be replaced. Sometimes it can be difficult to see if this is needed until deckboards are lifted. We did a job in La Lucia where we simply replaced deckboards and once we took the deckboards off we noticed that some of the joists had been eaten by insects and rotted. Although it is unusual for balau to be attacked by insects it can happen in the sap wood or if the tree was felled while it was still young. As a client and a contractor it is best to know exactly what state all the timber is in before the quote is accepted because no-one wants to find that once they lift the first deckboard the joists are so bad that new deckboards cannot be re-attached to them. So get underneath the deck, take a screw driver and poke around and see is there is rot or degradation.

Deck refurbishment

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Rotten deckboards themselves are quite easy to pick up as they will normally be visible from the top and they will normally start on one end where the water has been absorbed by the end grain. As mentioned in other articles, water is absorbed by wood through the end grain largely and very little is absorbed through face or side grain. As such the wood will rot from the ends first. If a rotten deckboard is found rather replace the entire length of that deckboard as chances are it will have started rotting all the way along. Be careful to know what deckboards have been used. A 19 x 68 deckboards is so close to a 21 x 72 that with the naked eye one might miss it. But looking at it carefully you will see it is both thicker and wider (and more expensive). Measure it to make sure.

Balustrades can sometimes rot too but normally only where water tends to collect. Screw holes left open and not filled with epoxy are also areas where the boards can rot more quickly. Some decks are not worth trying to repair. I’ve seen decks with posts that have rotted off and beams and joists that have rotted. It is not worth trying to patch that as eventually the whole deck will need to be replaced. The cost of this will exceed building a new deck. Pine decks tend to rot more easily especially if they have been built using H2 CCA Treated pine. A separate article will run through the different type of CCA pine and which ones are suitable for which application.

Use the search bar on the top right to search for other related articles or see below.  For a free no obligation quote on refurbishing your deck please call us on 082 496 5444 or use the form below.

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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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Reducing rot in wooden sun decks

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preventing rot in wooden decks

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This article will focus solely on reducing rot in wooden sun decks rather than a specific article on a job we have completed.
One of the first questions that are asked when planning to build a wooden deck is that of maintenance. Being wood, the deck will always be susceptible to rot and insect infestation, but with the proper care this can be reduced to the absolute minimum and can compare favourably, if not better, to using other materials such as composites, concrete and tiles. Let’s face it when it comes to aesthetics and warmth wood is best, but often people opt for other materials simply because there is a belief that they are easier to maintain and will cost less in the long run.

Rot is caused by a break down in the fibres of the wood. A breakdown in the fibres of the wood is caused by algae being allowed to grow on the timber which in turn is caused by water. Water therefore does not directly cause rot. A piece of wood can live in water all its life and not rot, but if it is not cared for properly then it will cause algae to grow and ultimately rot. CCA Treated timber of course eliminates this because it contains copper which prevents algae from growing. However it is only possible to CCA treat certain timbers such as pine and to a degree Saligna because of the differing densities of the woods. Pine is soft and balau is hard. CCA treatment is done through pressure treating (vacuum) and it is therefore impossible to CCA treat balau as it is too hard for the solution to penetrate the timber.

preventing rot in wooden decks

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So how does one reduce the chances of balau rotting? Well first of all balau is naturally resistant to rot because it is twice as dense and twice as hard as pine for instance so the water doesn’t penetrate it as easily. Also it contains natural oils and resins which repel water. So it will rot, but it will take longer than other timbers.

A piece of wood, any wood, takes in water largely through the end grain. Very little water is absorbed through the face or side grain. Think of it as a bunch of straws. When the straws get wet on the ends they can take up water, but they can’t take up water through the sides.

So the important areas of your deckboard is of course the ends, or end grain. Where a deck board is cut, there is not much that can be done to stop water ingression except to seal it with a suitable water-repellent sealer after or during installation. When a deckboard comes from the timber yard it is often closed off on the ends with wax. However that board needs to be cut in order to fit into the deck so one end will always be wax free. Also it is not advisable to leave that wax on. In the hot sun the wax starts to melt and leaves unsightly marks on the joins. So it is best to cut the wax off before installation. That leaves two ends exposed which now need to be sealed off as best as possible using sealer. Apply it liberally to the ends and make sure they are re-sealed during maintenance intervals.

The other area that is vulnerable is where the screw hole is drilled through the deckboard to attach to the joist. This leaves a hole where water can penetrate the end grain on two sides. What compounds this problem is that the screw is normally counter sunk which allows water to collect in the hole and be absorbed up and down the end grain. Some deck builders use a stop bit to insert the screw whereby the screw head stops at the surface of the deck. I don’t however use this method for two reasons. Firstly the screw is now not tight up against the bottom of the counter sunk hole so the board may work itself loose over the years. Secondly, there is still a small gap around the screw head for water to get into and move along the end grain. And trust me water will find that hole. You will often see deckboards that have started rotting at the screw holes. Now you know why.

Instead I counter sink the screw hole about 5mm, insert the screw and tighten it until it is tight right up against the bottom of the hole leaving the screw head counter sunk a few millimetres. I then take a clear epoxy, mixed with the sawdust of the same timber to match the colour, and force it into the hole leaving it slightly proud. Try and use a very fine saw dust. It makes mixing the epoxy much easier and it goes in the hole better. Once it is dry, I use a grinder with sanding pad to flat it and then I use a rotex sander to remove the scratch marks left by the grinder. Now it is ready to be sealed and good luck to any water that thinks it can get in there. The epoxy is the only filler that will last. Wood filler will pop out in a few months’ time. Use a clear epoxy as the saw dust will match the colour of the deck. White or grey epoxy will leave a white or grey mark on the surface.

It takes more effort and takes longer to do it this way, but my crew has it done to a T now. And the net effect is a better built deck that will last longer and will cost less to maintain. So there you have it, the warmth of wood without the hassle and without having to settle for alternative materials.

For a free, no obligation quote or for some advice please feel free to contact us on 082 496 5444 or complete the form below and I will contact you. Please also feel free to leave comments below.

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Wooden Sundeck Constructed in Toti Durban

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This wooden sundeck we constructed in Durban was a low-level deck which was barely off ground level. We were taking it flush off the level of the floor in the lounge and extending it outwards into the garden. The grass was not growing properly in this area due to large trees that were creating a large shadow so the client wanted to deck it to eliminate this problem.

The biggest challenge when building a wooden deck near or on ground level is to get a support beam underneath the joists where needed. There are two methods one can use. The first is what I call the cleat and beam system whereby a beam is placed underneath the joists to give them their support. We normally use a 38 x 114 joist and a 50 x 228 beam. One needs to span the 38 x 114 to a maximum of 2m but 1.8 is preferable. So every 1.8m to 2m one needs to slot an under beam below so as to support those joists. Posts should be used every 3m on the 50 x 228 beam. With this spec one can save on timber while still providing adequate support so that the deck is structurally sound.

The problem with this system arises because if you have a 228 beam, plus a 114 joist and then a 19mm deckboard on top of that your total height needed above ground level is 361mm. If the deck is too close to ground it will mean excavating soil to be able to drop that beam down enough to still arrive at the original height of your deck. Although this is quite possible and not that too time consuming, it sometimes results in the main beam sitting in soil or it may come into contact with wet soil over time. One must therefore use at least H4 CCA Treated SA Pine as the beam and in fact that whole substructure should be H4, even though the joists aren’t in contact with soil, to ensure that no rot will occur.

The other method is to create a frame, all in the same plane using 38 x 114 and use no under beam. This will result in the deck only being 133mm in height so that no excavation will be needed in order to bring the deck up to the required height. However now that you don’t have a beam to attach posts to, you will need to attach the posts to the joists and fascia beams. Again this is not a problem, but it will require a few more posts than in the first method as you can only span your 38 x 114 to a max of 2m. Hence more posts, more concrete and more labour in digging holes.

We used the joist and beam system here as we had enough space below to set the beam without having to dig too far into wet soil. So our work was made lighter by not having to dig too many holes.

Once the substructure is up, the deckboards can go down. On this wooden deck we used 19 x 68 balau deckboards. We used two deckboards as a fascia to cover our joists and beams, filled our holes with epoxy, sanded and sealed.

For a free no obligation quote or advice on your deck or other outdoor timber construction please call us on 082 496 5444 or use the form below to contact me.

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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 Deck Built in Durban North – November 2011

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Wooden deck Durban

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This was a normal wooden deck in the normal cleat, beam and joist system with a cleat attached to the wall on the house side, joists running off that perpendicular to the house and a main beam supporting the joists. This deck was built in the days when I was still sing balau as a substructure which made it relatively expensive. I have since started using at least H3 CCA Pine as a substructure. As mentioned in a previous article there is really no need to use balau as a substructure. Provided one uses the correct Hazard Grade (H grade) of CCA Treated Pine then the manufacturer of the chemicals used in the treatment process will guarantee that timber for up to 50 years. So there is a very strong argument that H3 CCA Pine will actually outlast balau because balau is not treated and will eventually rot although it will take a very long time.

H3 should be used where the timber is exposed to the elements (rain and sun) and H4 where it is buried in the ground or in constant contact with wet soil. H2, which is commonly purchased from your timber yards, should NEVER be used in decking and should only be used as roof trusses or other applications where it will not get wet that often.

Wooden deck Durban

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The wooden deck was a normal rectangle with a slight deviation towards one side to create a triangle so as to meet flush with the corner of the house. We used 90 x 90 balau posts to support the main beam and resting on top of the concrete surface below. These posts had a 12mm hole drilled from below up into the posts and then a re-bar was inserted with epoxy and the same done into the concrete floor. This prevents the posts from moving sideways. There is no need to dig these posts in as they can rest successfully on the surface of the concrete. A shoe was cut from timber in order to secure the main beam to the wall of the house. It is really just a piece of timber that is notched to accommodate the beam and the shoe is then secured to the wall using sleeve anchors. The beam then rests in this shoe and cannot move sideways or down. The weight of the deck of course prevents it from lifting up plus it is screwed into the shoe.

The balustrade was interesting as it was not the normal picket style you see in most other articles. It was the criss cross design with a box in the middle or Tahitian style as it is often called. We also carried this style of balustrade down the stairs. One can sometimes switch to picket style as one goes down the stairs and return to Tahitian style on the flat surfaces. We needed to adjust the angles slightly as we turned the corner down the stairs in order to get the balustrade in the correct plane.  We also built a gate at the top of the stairs which could be latched closed or even locked.

Wooden deck Durban

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It was sealed using a Timberlife Satin Wood Base 28/28 product which is a timber preservative that soaks into the timber rather than drying on the surface. Maintenance is therefore easy in that it can never peel or flake as it has soaked in and not dried on the surface. Simply clean it and apply two or three more coats. No more sanding, EVER.

For a free no obligation quote or advice on design of your wooden deck, please complete the form below or call us on 082 496 5444.

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Wooden Stair Case Build Durban

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Wooden stair builder

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This wooden stair case build by The Wood Joint in Durban was a tricky one. The client was a committee member on the body corporate for a small block of flats in Durban. There were about 4 units in the block and the existing steel fire escape had rusted to a point where it was unsafe. So first we had to remove the steel structure. With a little help from my friends, we came in and chemical anchored stainless eyes into the wall on both sides above the steel platform you see in the pics. From there we rigged up some climbing equipment to be safe and started cutting sections out of the steel structure and lowering them slowly to the ground. We had to cut small sections as the steel was 10mm thick and we didn’t want to damage the walls, windows or doors on the way down. We managed to get most of it down in one day with a small piece remaining for day two. We battled slightly in getting the main support off as the sewage pipes had been installed after the steel so we had to cut the steel out around the pipes so as not to damage the pipes. In removing it we inadvertently damaged a corner of the wall as the rawl bolts there were quite large, rusted and pretty much part of the building by now. We patched that using structural grout which was hard and strong enough to support our main beam to.

Wooden stair builder

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With the steel gone, we set out to build a wooden stair case and landing that could act as a fire escape. The small landing part was easier enough and we canter levered it so as to keep our posts out of the way below for parking. In these smaller blocks of flats in Durban space is very limited so posts need to be kept well out the way of parking space. Because we were canter levering it we needed to use 30 x 140 joists of balau rather than our normal 30 x 102 joists.

The stringers for the stairs were also tricky as we had to follow the original line of the stringers because there was a window beneath that we couldn’t cover and we could only protrude to the end of the wall without obstructing the driveway. This resulted in our stringers being placed at 45 degrees which resulted in our risers being of equal length to our runs or treads. It is not ideal as it makes the stairs very steep but we had no option due to space and height. We were a total of about 4m in the air to the landing.

The treads went on alright, the balustrade too and we had to join the stringer on the outside with two independent posts to ground to support it as the timber we could get wasn’t long enough to run the full length of the stringer.

Wooden stair builder

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We went back there a year or two later as one of the treads had popped a screw. Sometimes the timber moves more than one wants it to and breaks the screw off. We do however put additional back up screws in each piece we secure so they are safe in the event that one screw does break.

For a free no obligations quote on wooden stairs or any other outdoor timber construction please complete the form below or you can call us on 082 496 5444.

Wooden stair builder

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Wooden stair builder

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Jacuzzi Cladding – Umhlanga, Durban

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Jacuzzi Cladding Umhlanga, Durban

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Jacuzzi cladding is a nice job to get hold of because it allows one to use up a lot of off cuts that would otherwise be useless in building say, a 20 square metre deck, as most of them are less than 1m in length. A lot of wood is wasted when erecting a wooden deck because one will order a 3.3m piece of timber and only 3m or 2.9 will be required. Or the lengths required are not available from the supplier so a longer piece needs to be bought. Cladding Jacuzzis allows one to use these off cuts in the substructure and thereby recover some of the cost of the waste. The timber is still new and is not compromised and would need to be cut to that length anyway (so sorry no discounts because of this).

This Jacuzzi cladding was fairly simple in that there was an existing structure there that had deteriorated and was therefore removed and replaced with exactly the same shape structure. So there was no thinking involved really, we simply made sure that the existing structure was correct in its dimensions and then we replicated what was there.

When constructing these types of decks or cladding structures it is best to try to keep the deckboards running in the same direction. To make the deck boards all run parallel or perpendicular to the pool or Jacuzzi would be very tricky and may result in errors. Having said that we are busy with a wooden deck now in Westville where we have kept the deckboards parallel to the pool on all sides for various reasons. I will update you once that is finished, with pics.

Jacuzzi Cladding Umhlanga, Durban

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The structure of this cladding went on well and we then clad it with normal standard deckboards. We created a 1m² step or landing so that once people had finished in the Jacuzzi they could dry off on this landing without having to try to balance on the edge. It provided a nice platform that remains relatively dry. The shelf or step on the side of the Jacuzzi provided a nice ledge to climb in and out of the Jacuzzi with and to place drinks or snacks on while relaxing.

All screw holes were plugged with a mixture of clear epoxy and saw dust (to match the colour as closely as possible) and then sanded flat. It was sealed using Timberlife Satin Wood Base 28, an outdoor wood sealer suitable for woods of low porosity. Maintenance is therefore kept to a minimum as this product penetrates the timber and does not dry on the top as do most shop bought sealers. The timber can be left unsealed but it will turn grey and any sealing thereafter needs to be done carefully by bleaching the timber first to get it back to its natural colour.

I haven’t done many Jacuzzi cladding jobs, but as mentioned above it is a useful way to get rid of off cuts that would otherwise be useless in a larger wooden deck. Our other use for off cuts is shower duckboards and pot plant holders, for the much smaller pieces. They keep the pot plants off the deck which prevents that piece of the deck being exposed to excessive or continual wet. The duckboards are useful for getting in and out of the shower. We sell those at the cost of timber in an effort to recover a bit on the waste.

For a free quote or advice on your wooden deck or Jacuzzi cladding please complete the form below and we will contact you.  Or you can call us on 082 496 5444.

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Wooden Sundeck Built in Gillitts – April 2013

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Timber deck builder Durban

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This was our second deck we built in Durban using CCA pine as a substructure. I can confirm that there is a substantial cost saving using pine as a substructure and provided it is CCA treated to the correct Hazard Level (H level), then it is guaranteed by the supplier and manufacturer against rot and insect infestation for up to 50 years. So at least H3 must be used which is good for outdoors, exposed to the elements and if there are parts of it that are making contact with ground then H4 is better. In fact the cost difference between H3 and H4 is so slight that I am tending to just use H4 throughout as a matter of course to err on the side of caution.

This deck extended from the house outwards about 5m. Half of that 5m length was on existing tiles and concrete so we placed batons of 38 x 76 and the rest of it dropped down about a metre onto soil. We chose 76mm as our width of baton because it brought us up to exactly where we wanted to be in terms of height of the deck in order to clear the bottom of the door. We therefore had very little space between joist and the tiles so there was very little packing to do. When we place batons on the ground as joists, we fix them using a hilti. The hilti is really just to stop the joist moving sideways and not really up or down as once the deck is built the weight of it keeps it from lifting up. However the hilti provides enough fixing power in both directions so sleeve anchors are not necessary. Often the ground on which you are fixing these batons / joists to, is not completely flat and in order to get the surface of the deck level, one needs to shim one end of the baton or joist. This results in one end being higher than the concrete ground level and as such a gap exists between the baton and the ground. Because these batons are relatively thin (between 38mm and 76mm) they are not strong enough in their width to support the deck. They therefore need to be packed with structural grout or a building sand / cement mixture to take up the gap between the baton and the ground.

Timber deck builder Durban

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The rest of the deck was elevated about 1m off the ground so from that point we installed 38 x 114 joists with a main beam running the width of the deck (parallel to the stairs in the picture). We set that back 300mm so that our span between beam and wall was only 1.9m which is the maximum I am happy to go with a 38 x 114 joist.  The rest of the deck was therefore cantilevered by about 300mm.

Deckboards went on without a problem, and we then built the stairs that you can see in the picture. We took a different approach to the stairs that we normally do, or have done in the past. In the past we have secured a beam all the way along the front of each riser. In this case we built treads and risers in line with each joist and then only on the front riser we fixed a fascia beam which was then secured to posts that had been set in concrete in the ground. It was much quicker than, and just as stable as our previous method. The structure that we built can be seen on one of the pics alongside.  The client wanted to leave the sides open as he is planting some indigenous plants alongside to cover the gap thus allowing his access beneath the deck if need be, but once the plants grow they will cover the sides.

Timber deck builder Durban

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This deck was left unsealed as the client wanted the greying effect. I will re-visit it in a few months’ time and if the client is agreeable we can bleach it and high pressure clean it in order to bring it back to its natural colour.

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