spikey things

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monkey_trousers

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bf494.co.uk
finally got to grips with removing the tarmac off the deck, well I call it tarmac, its probably some pukka none slip stuff but is up to 20mm thick in places so using a kango to get it up!

few planks to replace. the planks are 70mm by 38mm thick, it'll either be douglas fir or possibly larch thats going back down. whats best for fixing the things?

big pointy galv spikes, copper nails etc?? any recomended suppliers too

ta!
 
Assuming timber carlins/beams, what about stainless screws from Screwfix.com? You can probably use a variable speed electric drill to screw them in if you don't have a cordless. I assume you are sealing the decks back down with "tarmac"(!) or whatever thus covering fixings?
 
was hoping to leave the decks as au naturelle as possible once done. caulk the seams, then either pitch or sika to seal them, then leave them either oiled or varnished

was unsure of how wise it would be to use stainless
 
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Assuming timber carlins/beams, what about stainless screws from Screwfix.com?

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Screwfix are stopping selling decent A2 screws and only have a few smaller sizes left on clearance. It maybe worth getting a few multipacks. The TurboUltra range is crap!
 
3 1/2" x 16s, hot dipped galv, A2 or A4 s/s woodscrews.
One can use galv boat nails (4"), but the beams won't thank you!

I doubt poohfix stock anything remotely suitable!
 
I'd pass on the galvanised fastenings. The galvanising doesn't last as long as you's like it to, and then you've got a steel nail. Then rust weeps everywhere, and they're the very devil to remove, because they have expanded when they rusted. Bad news all 'round. I'd back either copper boat nails or stainless screws. For the latter, go to industrial faster shops. The food industry uses exclusively stainless steel, so theyare plentiful. With 38mm, you' got a very thick deck, and you may like to investigate the possibility of secret nailing. If you haven't seen an illustration of this, it is where the nails are entered in the side of the deck strip on an angle of about 45 deg., down into the deck beam. No fastenings show on the completed deck, and the nail heads are below the caulking, all of which makes for a tighter-sealed deck, which is a Good Thing.
Peter.
 
thanks for cheering me up about the galv peter! they are currently a mixture of galv nails, either galv thats gone west or recent cheap steel nails and some original iron ones still in there too,

ahh what joy thats going to be

yes the deck planks are very thick, a throwback to her working days I guess, the deck beams are all oak, all vaguely in the 6" deep 4" wide size, so 6" and and inch and a half or so of deck gives plenty of room to whack stuff

I was kind off shying away from using stainless, visions of more than a few rogue screws tightening up in the oak before they are home and me and me destroying the heads trying to get them a bit further

Nails sound good, fist full of nails and a hammer, what could possibly go wrong /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
"What could possibly go wrong?" Ah, yes! I have told my partner that she need not be depressed when she bends a nail over, because slamming nails in straight is an under-estimated learned skill. Like sharpening edge tools, it is one of those things that separates the time-served tradie from the bodger.
Peter.
 
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Stainless (not stainFREE) does not like to be unexposed to air. Ask a metalurgist for explanation.

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aware of that, hence the reluctance for stainless
 
How much money do you have??

I would be going for bronze screws, they are what I use and would use. You can get them out again easily, if you put a smear of lanoline on them before driving.
Iron nails and oak are a nightmare, no need to secret nail, if you dont want to, counterbore the holes and plug them.

I would also consider bronze ring nails, if they are available in big sizes.
 
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