Decking conundrum!

[waveydavey]

My new house has lovely decking - except that the @£$% who installed it forgot to create a gentle slope or to leave any gaps between each plank! Result: every time it rains I end up with pools of water.
Is it possible to cut grooves between planks to allow the water somewhere to drain? Even a gap of a few mm would be better than nothing! If so, what type of saw should I use, and is this suitable for a newbie?
thanks
David

 

[Retired]

Hi,

Welcome to the forum waveydavey.

You could run a circular saw along the joints with the blade set just deeper than the timber thickness but I wouldn't recommend this for a novice due to possible saw "kickback" which is highly dangerous. A much simpler solution would be to drill holes along the joints say 10mm or 12mm dia these would then drain water away; you could do it the hard way and relay the decking but leave gaps?

Other members might have better ideas.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[waveydavey]

Hi,

Welcome to the forum waveydavey.

You could run a circular saw along the joints with the blade set just deeper than the timber thickness but I wouldn't recommend this for a novice due to possible saw "kickback" which is highly dangerous. A much simpler solution would be to drill holes along the joints say 10mm or 12mm dia these would then drain water away; you could do it the hard way and relay the decking but leave gaps?

Other members might have better ideas.

Kind regards, Colin.

Thanks Colin
Yes, Me+Circular Saw may not be the greatest idea. I'll experiment with holes (though, with around 15 square metres of decking, this could turn into one of my less exciting weekends!)

 

[Retired]

Hi,

Good luck and be careful not to drill directly into a joist? You might be surprised by how quickly you can drill the holes. I'd try 24" spacing for the holes; hit a joint and miss a joint as a start.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Doghouse Riley]

I'd also stick some sort of wood preserver down the holes, even if it's just some Cuprinol. The decking may be Tanalised, but whatever wood is used today, it's like "forced rhubarb" from "sustainable sources." So lacks density. Where the wood is exposed it can start to rot.
Oh! for rhe days of "pitch pine."

 

[Retired]

Hi,

Excellent suggestion Doghouse.

Please keep us posted waveydavey of any progress you make. Threads on this forum do tend to throw up lots of extra interesting information.

Pitch pine is still available but highly expensive even whilst it looks more like firewood. A few months ago I bought reclaimed pitch pine to turn tool handles from; at £70 cash it was indeed expensive and it also had embedded rusty nails.

This is pitch pine available through eBay at £15 per cubic foot; a single beam will cost at least £60.

Here is what to expect; embedded nails are extremely dangerous and can ruin saw blades.

De-nailed and put through thicknesser. These cost £70 and all are not useable.

One of the metal spinning tool handles in pitch pine with a very strong steel ferrule; these tools are subjected to high leverage forces.

 

[Silentrunning]

I would recommend that as you drill the holes you do it in a symmetrical pattern. If you drill them randomly it will look like a repair job. If you drill the holes in a pattern it will look like an engineered design. You may want to drill holes even where there isn’t a puddle for aesthetics.

 

[Silentrunning]

Hi,

Excellent suggestion Doghouse.

Please keep us posted waveydavey of any progress you make. Threads on this forum do tend to throw up lots of extra interesting information.

Pitch pine is still available but highly expensive even whilst it looks more like firewood. A few months ago I bought reclaimed pitch pine to turn tool handles from; at £70 cash it was indeed expensive and it also had embedded rusty nails.

View attachment 1769

This is pitch pine available through eBay at £15 per cubic foot; a single beam will cost at least £60.

View attachment 1765
Here is what to expect; embedded nails are extremely dangerous and can ruin saw blades.
View attachment 1767
De-nailed and put through thicknesser. These cost £70 and all are not useable.

View attachment 1768

One of the metal spinning tool handles in pitch pine with a very strong steel ferrule; these tools are subjected to high leverage forces.

Colin, have you found a FOOL PROOF method for detecting broken off nails in old wood? I have a lot of old barn wood that I will be ripping up for picture frames and shelving in the near future. I was wondering about a compass being used. I’m sure you already have a solution to this problem so I won’t reinvent the wheel.

 

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks for asking Doug. I try to avoid using reclaimed timber just because of embedded nails or even bullets in your area? First approach though is simply inspect the timber using your eyes; most foreign bodies can be spotted and removed including stones. I've not tried using a compass so cannot comment regarding the efficiency but I do use a powerful magnet.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neodymium-Magnetic-Hooks-PACK-Incredibly/dp/B01L9U4XTI

I bought one of these powerful hooked magnets years ago at an auto jumble and it's brilliant; whilst installing wainscot panelling to our bedroom stud walls and also installing a coffered ceiling I needed to locate the studs and joists; just running this magnet on the surface soon identified where the nails were; I've tried electronic nail finders but found the magnet to be better and more reliable; I don't think there's a fool proof way but by using my eyes first then going over with the magnet works for me; once the magnet locates a nail it centres over it. The magnet is also cheap and doesn't require batteries.

If you're running lots of old timber Doug then I would suggest using an old tipped blade but better still invest in a new multi purpose blade such as this;

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Evolutio...299139530&_trksid=p2047675.c100008.m2219#rwid

I bought one of these Rage saws and used it a few times before selling it on; I can definitely say the blades cut metal because I cut a 5" diameter bar of Meehanite; I sent the pictures to "Evolution" who were amazed; however I definitely do not recommend anyone to follow my lead because it can be highly dangerous.

By now Doug I don't think you'll be at all surprised what I get up to in my workshop; I can always find a solution to a problem.

Kind regards, Colin.

My Evolution saw.

Definitely not recommended unless the user has a great deal of machinery experience. Evolution the saw manufacturer were greatly impressed when I sent them the pictures but I doubt the pictures will ever be shown in their catalogues?

One lump of Meehanite when two lumps were needed so I cut it in half then used these to make gears from.

I'm very resourceful; here's my unique way of indexing and cutting gears; the gear blank is mounted on a home made vertical slide allowing the blank to be raised into the fly cutter mounted between lathe centres; just because I don't have an expensive dividing head for the lathe won't stop me cutting gears. I can usually find a solution.

 

[Silentrunning]

Thanks Colin. You have given me two ideas.First I am going to purchase an evolution blade for my table saw. Second I will get the 5 pack of magnets. I will suspend them with very light line about 1 mm above my boards. When I slide the board under the magnet I’m sure it will move if there is a piece of an old nail embedded in the wood. This may seem like a waste of time but there is no way to match the patina of wood that has been exposed to the elements for 100 years.