Thread: Timber deck (Work in progress)

Hello guys.
Here's some pics of what I'm working on at home at the moment.

I'll let the photos speak for themselves to start with, but ask away if you have any questions.




















































The start of the framing at the back is for a daybed, which will look something like this from the side:

Keen to follow this one. Looks interesting

i'll have a llok too

Cheers guys.

I'll keep posting pics as I go along.
Might be a while between updates as it's at home and I'll mostly be working on it on weekends and the odd afternoon.




Ok some details about the project.


Basically there will 2 daybeds/benches which will flow in to and around the rock in the back corner.
The flat rock at the front will be the step up and finished floor height.

The big rock in the front corner is just there for the sake of being a big rock, but will also double as a seat.

The deck boards will run at a 45degree angle from the right hand rear corner and will be trimmed around the step and big rock.
I'm thinking of using extra wide boards for the floor.
Haven't decided if it'll be hardwood or pine yet.

The benches will most likely be made from standard 90mm deck boards.

I'm tossing up ideas on what to do at the front of the seats.
Want to make it a feature and incorporate lighting in to it as well.

Thinking of a few things:

Old worn hardwood railway sleepers (which I've got), sandblasted and clear laquered.

Bamboo, laid horizontally with backlit coloured perspex behind to light up the gaps at night.
I have a couple of lenghts of yellow bamboo tucked away under the house.
Approx 120-150mm dia.

Solid front made from deck boards (or something similar) coloured frosted glass bricks inserted and light behind them.




The hardwood post in the front corner is an old house stump.
I scored half a dozen off them from a company that removes/relocates old QLD houses.
I've also used some as gate posts, which I'll post pics of later.

The bearers are 140x45mm pine, doubled up for extra strength.
Joists will be 140x45, but single, flush with the bearers. (joist hangers)

Hmmm... what else.
Yeh the tall posts at the back are just standard 1500mm Koppers logs.
Am thinking of running some wire from the hardwood stump at the front and along the back and get a vine of some sort to grow along it, creating a bit of screening.

Originally Posted by PlatypusGardens

Haven't decided if it'll be hardwood or pine yet.

If you want it to look good and last, don't use pine. Aussie hardwood will look a million times better and compliment the rocks. Just look at a 5yr old pine fence vs a 5yr old h'wood fence and tell me which one looks like utter crap....

mate amazing deck,
best of the year.
are you using 45mm thick decking boards? cause your josts look to far apart for 19mm decking

Just look at a 5yr old pine fence vs a 5yr old h'wood fence and tell me which one looks like utter crap....

Both.
The pine cause it's warped and the hardwood cause they didn't oil it and it's gone grey.




Nah I know what you mean though.
The floor will be hardwood but I haven't decided on the benches yet.

are you using 45mm thick decking boards? cause your josts look to far apart for 19mm decking

The joists aren't in yet.
What you see in the pics are the bearers.

I agree, hardwood all round. Another possibility for the front of the day bed, rusted iron sheets with a solid layer behind and a laser cut sheet in front with several mm gap between. Creates depth. You get sheets with patterns in them as left over from what was cut from them. My mate uses them a lot in her metal work for all sorts of stuff. Once you rust up the sheets (some vinegar mixture or something), You can clear coat it to keep it safe for contact with timber. Bit of a rustic industrial look.

how much are you paying for these boulders man they are huuuge!

Another possibility for the front of the day bed, rusted iron sheets with a solid layer behind and a laser cut sheet in front with several mm gap between.

That's a good idea.


I've seen sheets like that at the scrap recycling yard I go to.

how much are you paying for these boulders man they are huuuge!

A whopping $50 each.

I know a bloke who's got a quarry on his property.
Been getting rocks from him for a few years now.

The backhoe driver reckons the big one at the front weighs close to 3 tonnes.
It was tipping the machine on to the front wheels a couple of times.


It's a disgrace how much some places charge for rocks.
I went to one place in town, before I found this guy, and they wanted $100 for a rock about the size of 2 milk crates.

50 bucks! Bargain!

Yes it is.


The annoying thing with rocks is that they're usually available for cheap, or sometimes even for free, but as we all know, you need a machine at either end and a truck in the middle.

I was lucky this time around as the operator is the father of my next door neighbour and he did this run for free.
4 hours all up with truck, backhoe and operator would end up around the $800 mark otherwise.

So looking at it that way it could easily cost a couple of grand to supply and "install" these 3 rocks.

The other issue with big rocks is damage to the driveway, lawn, paths etc where the machinery needs to go in order to place the rocks. All rock placement is best done at the start if possible. I want more rocks but probably won't just because of this.

Yes I've got a couple of grooves in my paved driveway now from 10+ tonnes of backhoe and rock going over it a few times.
It's going to be re-laid sometime in the future anyway so I'm not too bothered though.


I'm actually surprised it held up as well as it did considering how much rain we've had up here lately.

Well I got a little bit done today.

Started setting out the framing for the second bench.
















And a mate who works in the glass business got me these bricks:




They should look pretty sweet along the front of the benches.
3 on each with soft lighting behind them.

Started on the backrest.
Coming along smoothly so far.


All within 3mm anyway.

Hello hello helloooooooo again.

Been a while since I've been on here and I have some new pics to show.


Scored these boards for a couple of cartons of some Mexican beer.
Not sure what it is but the bloke reckons it might be Merbau.
...the timber, not the beer....








Got all the joists in place....






And so the cutting and laying of the floor began.
Using 1400x20mm Kwila boards.
$8/Lm - thought that was pretty decent price....

More.















Made some frames for the glass bricks.
They will be mounted on the back of the ... um... front of the seats.

Very creative. Must require a fair bit of patience. Nice.

Truly amazing, platypus, and I was bemoaning the lack of art and distinctive design in present day houses... And your clear sharp pictures make it so easy to understand. Admirable!

Thank you thank you.
Yes it takes a lot of patience and time but it's worth it in the end.

I try to push myself a bit further with every project and try out different ideas.
More to come.

Some more pics of the deck.
Got the glass bricks in place.







From the back


Started on the end.
Have since put the boards on.
Pics to come.

Amazing, painstaking, creative.. all those come to mind. And... not to be rude but you deserve five acres or more to let your imagination run free to create.

Originally Posted by denaria

Amazing, painstaking, creative.. all those come to mind.

You forgot one..... beer.

Gosh, no, when your deck is finished it'll be most suited to an elegant tea party.

beer

Originally Posted by denaria

Gosh, no, when your deck is finished it'll be most suited to an elegant tea party.

I meant that beer was a vital ingredient when creating something like this.



As for the tea party once it's finished, well... no.
More like moonshine and jazz cigarettes.

Today is one of those days when I seem to be doing everything 3 times.....

At least it's not so bad when working on something at home.
When it gets too much you can just put the tools away and take the dogs to the beach.


Which is what I'm gonna do now.

Got a bit more done yesterday.

The seats will be framed with the 140mm boards and covered with the 90mm ones, so it will be the opposite to the floor.
I'm hoping I've got enough boards to run all of them in full lenghts without any joins, just like with the floor, but we'll see about that....

So here's what's happening.

Adding an extra two pieces to the ends.
The wider board will sit across two of them and the ends of the narrower ones screw in to the third....








And here's something else that keeps happening.

I predrill with the small one on the right and don't take in to account the extra space needed for the larger drill and screw.
Can get annoying when working in tight spaces.



I'm slowly getting the hang of it though.

It's looking great. Be sure to seal the seating with a solid coating as I suspect the tannins will be the worst enemy of light coloured clothing.

Will there be a slope to the cushions?

It's looking great.

Thank you.

Be sure to seal the seating with a solid coating as I suspect the tannins will be the worst enemy of light coloured clothing.

Yeh especially the Kwila.

Will there be a slope to the cushions?

...I'm....... not sure what you mean by that......



[EDIT]
Do you mean a raised section of the seat area?
In that case, no.





Doing the mitres on the end bits is not much fun as the boards have concaved a bit and the joins will probably have to be filed/sanded down and bodged up with putty.

Nice edging around the rocks. That must have been a PITA to do.

The actual edge itself was pretty easy.

Cutting the floor boards in was a mission.
Especially as some had to be cut both ends and slotted in.
Just did it little by little and only had to redo one.


Also made some cardboard templates here and there to make it easier.

Well I finally got a chance to strap on the tool belt for a few hours and get a bit done on the deck again.

Well I FINALLY had a chance to do a bit more on the deck over the weekend.
I changed the second seat to make it more like a daybed.
























Really need to get on to cleaning and oiling the floor ASAP I know I know......

I've had this old timber slab for ages and it's finally being put to use.

More.....

Last lot of photos for today...

Well done. Time for a beer yet?

Always time for a beer, but not time for that beer just yet.
Still lots to do.

I wish this rain would bugger off so I can clean the boards and oil them.

G'day Platypus - this is an inspired creation and I look forward to more progress (completion?) shots. The daybeds are amazing and have given me great ideas, but since I am a novice with my current deck build I don't have the confidence to build with the angles you have (I seem to bugger up anything not 45 deg!) More questions coming from me on that though, I love learning new things.

I wondered what screws you used (sorry if I missed it in the posts). I really don't like the decking screws to be a 'feature' (big heads) and I think that's one advantage nails have over screws. Of course I want my build to be as strong as possible but looks are also important, and I will go screws. My current preference (I am a long way from laying the actual decking though) is for 10g Fischer screws, but I have heard that it is possible to get 10g screws with an 8g head but don't see that on the forum sponsor's site.

Appreciate your views on this, and also how on earth you managed to get such tight joins on the framing around those rocks!! I know you used cardboard cutouts for some but otherwise is it just a sliding bevel and accurate measurements / cutting?

cheers, zoutie

Hello Zoutie!

Yeah it's been a while since I've had anything to report here.
You know how it goes - life gets in the way of itself sometimes.....

Screws - they are some screws I bought from a local fastener shop.
For the most part I used the squaredrive ones.
I think they're 8G but I'm not sure....

I used a "smartbit" to predrill/countersink all in one go, but later realised that you can get ones that actually set the depth as well, ensuring that every screw sits at the same depth.
Ah well, I'll get one of them next time....


As for the framing arond the rocks, I used one of those sliding/adjustable angle thingies and of course the sliding compund mitre saw.
Set it at the desired angle, hold it up to the saw blade, set the saw, try it, adjust a bit until it's correct.
One cut at a time and a bit of patience.

The backrest on the daybeds are at 15degrees.
No real reason or science behind it - it just looked good and seemed like a good angle to sit at


Any more questions just ask away and I'll see if I can help.


Ok some more pics.
Put the bar top on today.

Yes I sometimes wish life could be put on hold so that I can be in the yard - that IS life isn't it?

It's looking fantastic mate, and that bar definitely looks ready to be tested. The sliding thingo you mention - a sliding bevel I guess?

Cheers platypus, I look forward to more shots.