Squeaky deck

[Pilnet101]

Hey all,

Relatively novice diy'er here attacking some ground level decking in my garden. Things are all going good so far with only the last board to cut and put down, the overlaps to trim and handrails to set on the little decorative balustrade we have.

With regards to the boards as I say all but the last are in now with 76mm deck screws which I've done 2 for each joist for, however, as I didn't have enough screws to hand, I've deliberately missed two for each board (for two joists near the end I've only done one on each joist, one up and one down to try and balance a little bit for now till more arrive)

In terms of timber I'm using 140mm X 28mm pressure treated boards from Wickes. Joists I'm using 6x2s from a fencing supplier, all joined with coach screws. I've done 400mm centre's for the joists (450mm in one place) with noggins at 1200mm I think.. In terms of the whole area, I cant remember! It's all been laid on what used to be grass which was dug slightly and leveled. Then laid with a membrane and then gravel+sharp sand.

I'll attach some pics to hopefully make things a bit clearer. My problem at the moment is that when you walk on the decking near the shed, within around 1 to 2 feet, the deck creaks. You can also see the entire structure that side with the joist move up and down ever so slightly. Whereas on the other side it seems solid. So my question is have I made massive cock up somewhere (apart from doing the decking itself, for the smart arses that moan about cracked necks/missing limbs as a result of decking) or is this something I can hopefully easily fix, or is it normal with the dodgy weather and moisture content of the wood or anything else?

Initially thoughts are packing more gravel under the joists towards the shed, fixing more noggins, maybe another joist (I have a spare).

I went for around 1mm gaps between boards after researching far too much about expansion gaps and going down Mr handy Andy's rabbit hole of a thread on the screwfix forums.

Any and all advice appreciated.

Thanks

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

I've done similar except I used bricks/blocks on top of the gravel, it was solid for the decade I lived there, I admit I was a little hesitant as to how it would last but I would not have been happy sitting it on the gravel alone.

 

[Pilnet101]

Cheers Freddie, I was debating when starting out whether to use concrete/slabs in the base, but just bit the bullet and went with the gravel.

I've gone out there this morning now after we had a bit of rain last night and the creaking seems to be gone...the last few boards we laid were a bit bowed so maybe I was so keen testing them out straight away and they just should of been left for a little bit first perhaps? Or the creak will come back when it's a hot day ;(

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Well I think you'll find that it will take a few months or so to really settle but it will. It will kind of just slump onto what's there.

 

[Pilnet101]

The other thing I'm very nervous about is trimming the overhang on the deck boards! Anyone got a good way to do this? My fascia board is attached to.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Mine was on the pee, like yours, I fitted a long batten parallel with the cut line set back from where I wanted to cut and used a circular saw and ran it along the batten to get a nice straight edge.