Decking cracking please help

[paulwilson]

I installed a 45 degree deck 2 months ago using 32 mm thick arbourdeck decking which I purchased from the local merchants. The deck has now begun to crack in many different areas, firstly can anyone please tell me why this is happening and if it could of possibly been caused by my fitment. Secondly if this is not my fault surely the merchant must resolve this issue and pay for the materials but will my labour time be paid for or can the merchant use there own tradesman.
I am meeting the timber manager of the merchant at 9 30 this morning and I want to get my facts straight before presenting myself and the job to him, when I spoke to him yesterday he was very sharp with me on the phone and I am sure he is going to be very reluctant to give anything away, simple fact is this has not happened in the last 4 years and having always used arbourdeck it seems too much of a coincidence for it to be anything else.
Thanks very much for any help you can give me, kind regards Paul...

 

[stephenf8542]

Has it been treated?

 

[paulwilson]

its not been treated at all since i laid the deck but the timber actually comes pre treated if i remember rightly and comes with a 15 year guarantee, thanks Paul

 

[stephenf8542]

I'd check up on that before your meeting,you dont want him to say''well its not been treated'' get as much info as you can from the manufacturor

 

[paulwilson]

ok thanks I will do that now, going to call the manafacturer to get as much information as I possibly can, thanks for your help. Not sure why but im nervous about meeting this guy. Kind regards Paul

 

[paulwilson]

Reversible Deck Boards 38mm x125mm x 3.3m (Finished Size 33x120) It has 6 slots and 7 raised parts.
Arbordeck is a complete decking system including boards, joists, balustrade styles & fittings.
The treatment gives long-term protection against fungal decay and insect attack, for both in and out of ground applications,
Tanalith E treated timber requires no painting or staining to maintain its preservative properties, however decorative coatings can be applied if required.
Arbourdeck offers a 15 year performance guarantee against decay or insect attack, when treated with arbordeck treatments.


Just found the above on a website and this is the exact decking that we always use

 

[stephenf8542]

Do they have a technical helpline no ?

 

[mattylad]

More than likely, any warranty that the supplier gives will be limited to only the replacement of faulty supplies & not fr your time in removing & refitting.

 

[foxhole]

Any pics?

 

[ratman123]

Where are the cracks, and how big are they, are they near fixing's or just checks on the surface, or splits on the ends of boards.

What fixings have you used, at what centres etc

pic's etc.

 

[paulwilson]

Hi everyone and thanks for all the replies. I used a 4" x 2" frame using 600mm centres, im not sure if this is correct at a 45 degree angle but using 38mm timber I find is easily enough span for flexibility and where not we use another cross member.
We used cross headed 1.5" screws on the second groove of every board to try and ensure no splits were caused on the ends of the boards.
The splits occur all over, in the middle of boards on the ends of boards, small and large.
I contacted arbourdeck and they said that because we have had such a large amount of dry weather the water content which should be around 20% will have shrank to 8% causing flex and subsequent cracking. The guy said if the customer left a sprinkler on for an hour the water would go into the wood to restore the wood to 20% water content, when I relaid this info to the customer she was not happy.
Anyway after meeting the timber manager of the merchant I found him quite arrogant and unhelpful, although he did offer to replace 20 x 3.6metre boards as a measure of goodwill as a thanks for our custom.
Wheter or not this is a load of bull I do not know, I subsequently have to do a days labour for nothing when its not my fault or partly not.
The guy at the merchants said that my cuts should have been painted with preservative to which I had no idea, this may have helped the timber to crack possibly I m not sure.
Would you guys agree with this information.
Sorry for the long winded post, much appreciate any help, thanks and kind regards Paul...

 

[ratman123]

Cut ends should have been retreated, but that won't be anything to do with your splits, but the overall durability.

The fixings seem okay, and don't seem to be the issue if splits are not occurring at fixing locations.

surface checks would be reasonable with softwood decking in dry weather, as they said it's just due to drying, and these will close up again in wetter weather. To reduce/avoid it you would need to use small movement timbers like cedar, doug fir, iroko (arbordeck just seems to be pine).

It does sound like you just have surface drying checks rather than splits, and maybe to big a deal is being made of it, but pic's or it didnt happen.

 

[paulwilson]

I will try and get some pictures up for you, I think the amera is in the car so when the wife gets back I will get them uploaded.
I think your maybe right about too big a deal being made about it but I guess when a customer spends 9k on a patio, wall and deck she just wants it right.

 

[paulwilson]

Im not entirely sure how or if you can upload the pictures to the main page but I now have some pictures in my album, thanks Paul...

 

[big-all]

heeelllooo paul watson

who supplied the timber you or the customer !!

if it was you did you have a markup to cover these eventuality or did you pass on your discount

if the customer supplied its there problem as you have fitted the supplied material and aditional work is chargeable