Need deck board layout help
 

Cleaned off the car trailer today in anticipation of picking up new 5/4 pressure treated deck boards . Basically I have two rectangular decks that are 18'3" and 18'4" x 16' . The boards run in the 18 foot direction . The current deck boards are a variety of 16' and smaller in random pattern . The joists are 16" on center .

I " think " I want to use 16' for all of it with every other board alternating left to right with just a short filler board . That way the majority of the seams are near the ends where there is less foot traffic. Is this the right way to go ? Or should the end pattern be more random ?

I figured I will need 80 sixteen footers and 40 eight footers , the connecting walkway between these two decks is ten boards wide by 20' so some will go there. Advice greatly appreciated as I will be purchasing soon.

Looks like how you have planned it is the most efficient way. My deck was the same goofy layout. Why 18’3”? Why not 18’? Waste of expensive decking for sure.

The butt seems are where it will begin to rot first, so if you can eliminate them by using longer boards I would consider it.

Random is best looking, IMO

Picture frame. No ends, no butt joints.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1568843552.jpg

Picture frame gets my vote too.

Had not considered picture frame , so I would take the 18'3" and 18'4" decks and divide in half and that is where the center divider would go ?

My deck doesn't have butt joints, but I sure like that look better than butts....well...most butts :)

You don't necessarily need a center divider.
Just a frame around the perimeter.

Help me understand are you saying in my case make a picture frame around the perimeter so a 16' long board fits within it ? My picture frame border would have to be 14" wide on both ends .

Don't need a center. We don't usually do that. You will need to add blocking(shown below), between the last two joists at each end.

Also, believe it or not, sometimes there is less waste running the boards diagonally.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1568848282.jpg

Are you using redwood? Cover your joists with this https://www.energyconscious.com/grace-vycor-deck-protector-4-x-75-roll-45639.html?fee=5&fep=3512&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIi9qTzb _b5AIVXR-tBh2BAgsjEAQYAyABEgJ5YPD_BwE
Your deck will last a long time.

Dad911 appreciate the pic that is helpful . Diagonal is beyond my skill set ! But if I do picture frame and get the frame dimensions correct I might be able to have almost no waste .

Rick, this is the deck and stairs I built last year. Picture framing is a great way to layout a finish off a deck. You just need to frame the sides correctly.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1568930018.jpg

Paul that looks great ! But I believe your skill set is superior to mine when it comes to layout . But mine is basically a straight border so even I can't screw up too badly :D . Tomorrow I am going to take some dimensions and make some marks/lines on the existing deck to see how a 14 " border will look , maybe even make it 16 1/2 " ( 3 board widths ) to minimize waste . I can easily see how in my case using all 16 ' boards with no butt seams would look much better . When you originally installed the deck boards up to the border did you cut them tight to allow for shrinkage or did you hold them back an 1/8 or a 1/4 ? And the edges of each board , tight to each other or leave a measured gap ? Appreciate the help :)

Nice!

What is the purpose of the blocking between the last two joists?

Consider the lengths of the runs:
More blocking every 4-6' (with hangers) on posts is not a bad thing when you are having 20 people over.
It's an extra pain.
Do it once.

Joist protection tape is a good idea.
Island mentioned using copper flashing and copper nails to shed the water.
(Copper-sulfate spray is also used for controlling mildew/mold in areas around gardening as well.)

Spend a little more on the right materials, and it will never be an issue to deal with again.

Consider the lengths of the runs:
More blocking every 4-6' (with hangers) sitting on posts is not a bad thing when you are having 20 people over.
It's an extra pain.
Do it once.

Joist protection tape is a good idea.
Island mentioned using copper flashing and copper nails to shed the water.
That sounds solid.
(Copper-sulfate spray is also used for controlling mildew/mold in areas around gardening as well.)

I have spent many hours with a brush trying to to push oil stain into the T-joint crevices with much waste.

Spend a little more on the right materials...and it will hopefully never be an issue to deal with again.
Drive yer truck on it. Heck. I'd be jelly.

The end boards when you 'picture frame' are running parallel to the joists, so they need support.

We also always use solid blocking mid span, as seen in framing pic I posted. It stiffens the deck.

Full disclosure pics above copied online, not ours.

Thank you.

Rick,

I used a 16d nail as a spacer between my deck boards. I'd probably use a smaller size nail next time.

Here's mine I built last summer

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1568947118.jpg

Here's an old photo of a deck I built for my neighbor a couple houses down from me. I like random.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1568948115.jpg

No, not the trash can guys

Beautiful!

Except for my house, I don't think I own any one thing as valuable as that deck. Teak? SS fasteners?

Red Balau, trade name Mangaris, harvested from Indonesia. Its just typical color coded trim head deck fastener. I always face screw my deck board making repairs easier in the future if a piece of decking needs to be replaced. Hidden fastener can be a PITA, but they look good though.

Thanks Paul I will also check with the lumber yard to see what they recommend .

Depends upon how dry/cured they are when you install them too...fresh from the saw or ???

No gap.
Pressure treated lumber shrinks a good bit.

^^^ A novice here....but that's what I'd do too.

don''t be boring, think outside of the "Box"

45 degree heringbone it

I hypothesized external the orb when doing my hardwood floor diagonally. A few nice butts on my deck are always welcome too :)

I spent an hour this morning measuring and getting a picture in my head. I am pretty sure I am going to do the picture frame setup . I will start with the blocking and get that in place . Then I will cut about 2 ' off the existing crappy deck boards so I can still walk/sit while installing the picture frame boards .

Then I will start pulling up boards and replace with 16 footers . I am a one man army so it will be a bit before it is done. Will take pics as I go along . Thanks for all the advice guys it has been very helpful .

I say keep it simple ;)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1569008136.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1569008136.gif

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1569008136.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1569008136.jpg

Here is one I recently built. The customer originally wanted a diagonal or herrigbobe pattern. I talked them out of it because it would have been a a tremendous waste of decking material thst was very expensive. I always try to design and layout my decks to minimize material waste.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1569069151.jpg

That's beautiful, Vinny!

Vinman that is a beauty ! Being retired I am careful spending the $$$ and I just can't justify the cost of composite . So it will be standard pressure treated 5/4 x 6 boards screwed down no nails. Will let it " weather " over the fall/winter and then stain in the spring . Wife and I are discussing color scheme but we're thinking light grey for the deck and dark grey for posts/ballusters and handrails .

I will post the before pics today , the ballusters/posts will be retained as they are in good shape . The hand rail cap will be pulled and replaced .

Thanks guys! Appreciate it. Couldn't get the other pics to load for some reason. Yeah composite can be $$. That stuff was around $5.00 a linear ft. There are very cheap composites out there, but they look like doo doo. I personally like wood better myself. My own deck is wood. Sure it takes a bit of maintenance, but looks so much better than plastic...

I suspect by the time you add staining and sealing, composite is not much more.

Sorry to thread jack, but I've been looking to replace my front porch decking with something composite.

My main concerns is looks/durability. The porches face south and live a hard life: Sun, rain, sun, drought, repeat. The existing painted (unknown, but probably treated pine) wood decking swells, shrinks, cracks, peels, etc. They require regular maintenance (sand/caulk/repaint) and still look like crap.

Is composite the way to go? And is Azek the right composite?

While cost matters, looks, durability/low maintenance are more important. Total area isn't huge, ~5-600 sqft.

Thanks