Scaffolding boards for decking?

29 Apr.,2024

 

Scaffolding boards for decking?

Post by Retired » Fri Sep 23, 2016 7:11 pm

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All the grooved wooden decking boards I've seen have been laid grooves upwards even at the local sawmill who make them and also make a big range of outdoor woodwork all on display?

https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/how-to-install-decking/

Above is a website showing how to lay these grooved boards however I don't like them thinking the grooves will quickly collect dirt and they would be more difficult to keep clean, I much prefer plain boards.

Yesterday I drove 18 miles to Stanningley after arranging to buy and collect 18 x 4' long scaffolding boards; the seller had a choice of new or second hand scaffolding boards so I said I'd decide on site; I asked if they could be cut because the boards were all 13' long; the reply was that their jigsaw was out of action but I was welcome to take along my own saw which I did; I also took along a wooden stick cut at 53" long to use as a story stick for the cutting rather than messing around with a tape measure. The SatNav ran me down a dead end cul de sac; I cruised around kerb crawling and a builder was working nearby; he hadn't a clue where the Wagon & Horses pub was because he was from Pontefract so I thanked him and a bit more kerb crawling came across an elderly gent heading towards me so I pulled over; this gent must have had a throat operation because he held his throat to talk to me and he sounded rather strange but a decent guy and I was only 50 yards from the pub; I had been advised to look our for a Tesco local which I had completely missed due to the many roads converging with lots of traffic lights; a rather strange place to negotiate but I pulled down the side of the Tesco to the yard and wandered in meeting the seller.

The new scaffolding boards were dead straight with a few splits as expected but well worth the £8.50 each; I asked why the second hand boards were being sold at £13.50 each which seemed very strange to me but the seller explained that he used to charge the same for both second hand and new; what he didn't like was customers buying his stock of second hand boards then making rustic furniture selling the furniture on eBay for around £500 so he thought it only fair he make a bit of money too? I accepted six new boards which the seller placed across the forks of his fork truck so that I could cut them at waist height which helped a lot; I shed a few tears as I parted with £51 and was homeward bound.

Back home I roughed the boards out on my Dewalt mitre saw then called it a day. Today I arranged all the boards once again on the steel framework and accurately marked them before trimming on the bandsaw adding cut outs for posts and wall etc this bringing me up to dinner time. After dinner I removed the upper and lower sharp edges of each board ends on the home made 4" belt sander then had a go at painting the boards; I thought it would be easy painting the boards using a 3" wide brush applying Benjamin Moore exterior satin but one board convinced me that I would be much older if I continued using the brush. I pulled out my Wooster Pelican and Wooster roller now I was in business; I heavily coated each board end using the brush to force the paint into the end grain ensuring no pin holes remained then I ran the roller down both edges and what will be the underside of the boards leaving the top of each board bare of paint. The boards being new are not fully dried enough to accept a full coat of paint which will only cause problems; I'll give a second coat of paint tomorrow and when this dries I'll give a third coat to all ends and edges whilst access is so easy. Once I've done this painting I'll then lay the boards securing them with A4 grade 38mm wood screws which I've ordered and paid for today through eBay; the top face of the boards will be left bare allowing any moisture to leach out for a couple of weeks; I'm butt jointing the boards to prevent them splitting hence I'm going to a lot of trouble to seal the joints with plenty of paint. Using £70 per US gallon tin of top quality Benjamin Moore paint might seem well over the top but I have the paint and better used for this than leaving the paint in the tin; I don't care what this job costs I want to do a top job and to spoil it at this late stage with cheap paint would not sit well with me at all. I'm not worried whether the but joints close up very tightly like the joints in a barrel or open up slightly the boards are well protected and not protected by cheap shed/fence preservative which isn't worth the trouble of buying and using. I've had the boards in place and can confirm there is absolutely no bounce as I walk along the deck unlike when I installed the previous fully wooden decking; the heavy steelwork makes a heck of a lot of difference.

I've no idea how long these scaffolding boards will last but I'm sure they can't be worse than the previous tanalized timber I used which rotted out; one thing I can put money on is that the steelwork won't suffer from wood rot. I'm looking forward to completing this project in the near future; once the decking boards are sorted then I can add the handrail. I like to try different things to please me without being a sheep following others; I don't know anyone else who has erected such heavy steel work and certainly no one who has used scaffolding boards; it was only after posting this thread that I decided out of curiosity to have a look on the web where I found others had also decided to use scaffolding boards so I'm not alone but at least our decking will be different to any decking nearby where grooved decking boards have been extensively used.

Kind regards, Col.
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Hi,All the grooved wooden decking boards I've seen have been laid grooves upwards even at the local sawmill who make them and also make a big range of outdoor woodwork all on display?Above is a website showing how to lay these grooved boards however I don't like them thinking the grooves will quickly collect dirt and they would be more difficult to keep clean, I much prefer plain boards.Yesterday I drove 18 miles to Stanningley after arranging to buy and collect 18 x 4' long scaffolding boards; the seller had a choice of new or second hand scaffolding boards so I said I'd decide on site; I asked if they could be cut because the boards were all 13' long; the reply was that their jigsaw was out of action but I was welcome to take along my own saw which I did; I also took along a wooden stick cut at 53" long to use as a story stick for the cutting rather than messing around with a tape measure. The SatNav ran me down a dead end cul de sac; I cruised around kerb crawling and a builder was working nearby; he hadn't a clue where the Wagon & Horses pub was because he was from Pontefract so I thanked him and a bit more kerb crawling came across an elderly gent heading towards me so I pulled over; this gent must have had a throat operation because he held his throat to talk to me and he sounded rather strange but a decent guy and I was only 50 yards from the pub; I had been advised to look our for a Tesco local which I had completely missed due to the many roads converging with lots of traffic lights; a rather strange place to negotiate but I pulled down the side of the Tesco to the yard and wandered in meeting the seller.The new scaffolding boards were dead straight with a few splits as expected but well worth the £8.50 each; I asked why the second hand boards were being sold at £13.50 each which seemed very strange to me but the seller explained that he used to charge the same for both second hand and new; what he didn't like was customers buying his stock of second hand boards then making rustic furniture selling the furniture on eBay for around £500 so he thought it only fair he make a bit of money too? I accepted six new boards which the seller placed across the forks of his fork truck so that I could cut them at waist height which helped a lot; I shed a few tears as I parted with £51 and was homeward bound.Back home I roughed the boards out on my Dewalt mitre saw then called it a day. Today I arranged all the boards once again on the steel framework and accurately marked them before trimming on the bandsaw adding cut outs for posts and wall etc this bringing me up to dinner time. After dinner I removed the upper and lower sharp edges of each board ends on the home made 4" belt sander then had a go at painting the boards; I thought it would be easy painting the boards using a 3" wide brush applying Benjamin Moore exterior satin but one board convinced me that I would be much older if I continued using the brush. I pulled out my Wooster Pelican and Wooster roller now I was in business; I heavily coated each board end using the brush to force the paint into the end grain ensuring no pin holes remained then I ran the roller down both edges and what will be the underside of the boards leaving the top of each board bare of paint. The boards being new are not fully dried enough to accept a full coat of paint which will only cause problems; I'll give a second coat of paint tomorrow and when this dries I'll give a third coat to all ends and edges whilst access is so easy. Once I've done this painting I'll then lay the boards securing them with A4 grade 38mm wood screws which I've ordered and paid for today through eBay; the top face of the boards will be left bare allowing any moisture to leach out for a couple of weeks; I'm butt jointing the boards to prevent them splitting hence I'm going to a lot of trouble to seal the joints with plenty of paint. Using £70 per US gallon tin of top quality Benjamin Moore paint might seem well over the top but I have the paint and better used for this than leaving the paint in the tin; I don't care what this job costs I want to do a top job and to spoil it at this late stage with cheap paint would not sit well with me at all. I'm not worried whether the but joints close up very tightly like the joints in a barrel or open up slightly the boards are well protected and not protected by cheap shed/fence preservative which isn't worth the trouble of buying and using. I've had the boards in place and can confirm there is absolutely no bounce as I walk along the deck unlike when I installed the previous fully wooden decking; the heavy steelwork makes a heck of a lot of difference.I've no idea how long these scaffolding boards will last but I'm sure they can't be worse than the previous tanalized timber I used which rotted out; one thing I can put money on is that the steelwork won't suffer from wood rot. I'm looking forward to completing this project in the near future; once the decking boards are sorted then I can add the handrail. I like to try different things to please me without being a sheep following others; I don't know anyone else who has erected such heavy steel work and certainly no one who has used scaffolding boards; it was only after posting this thread that I decided out of curiosity to have a look on the web where I found others had also decided to use scaffolding boards so I'm not alone but at least our decking will be different to any decking nearby where grooved decking boards have been extensively used.Kind regards, Col.

Scaffold boards as decking