Читать книгу Building Your Own Dock - Sam Merriam - Страница 16

On a porch or deck, it is common to overhang the deck boards beyond the outside edge of the frame by a couple inches (a few centimeters). The nails or screws nearest the end of a deck board are less likely to split the board if back a few inches (several centimeters). Though seemingly helpful, this technique should not be used on docks, especially where boats could be moored alongside. Not only does it add edges, extended toward the boat that could gouge the boat’s finish, it provides an unwanted lip for the boat to catch from the underside of the decking. You can probably imagine some of the consequences when that happens. Deck boards should be cut flush to the outside face of the frame to provide a blunt surface. If you’re concerned about splitting the end of a deck board having the fasteners close to the end of the boards, then pre- drill in those spots. Blunting the nails will also help prevent splitting.

Tip:

To hold the frame’s squareness, begin with fastening down one deck board, flush with each end of the frame. Place additional deck boards on the frame and find the appropriate spacing between each one (no greater than ½" [13mm]). Begin nailing or screwing down deck boards near the center of the frame before working toward each end.

Easing the edge with a router or sander removes the sharp edge and prevents splintering.

When using wooden deck boards like PT or cedar, face the crown up when possible. Half of the time it seems the better side of a board is opposite to the crown. In that case, put the better side up.

On a 10-foot (3.05-meter) long dock section, the typical deck board that will vary slightly in width, when spaced evenly apart, will usually leave about a ½-inch (13-millimeter) gap between each board. The first and last deck board on the section should be flush with the end of the section. On your table saw, you can make wooden strip spacers to help position the boards at an even distance apart. Varying widths of the boards will likely require some improvising on the space for the last three of four. To prevent tripping, gaps between boards should not be greater than ½ inch (13 millimeters). If using new PT decking, which is usually very swollen with moisture when fresh from the lumberyard, prepare your material in advance, allowing time to dry and shrink closer to its finish size.

Once the decking is nailed or screwed down to the frame, the dock section will not skew under normal handling. For wooden decking such as cedar or PT, I recommend easing the top edge on all the ends of the deck boards, using a ⅜-inch (1-centimeter) radius bit on a router. A palm sander also does a nice job to ease the edges and smooth over the rough ends of deck boards.