How to Lay Decking

It seems that more and more people are looking into the idea of laying down some garden decking. It can be pretty expensive to call in a group of professionals to do it for you though. Thankfully, it is pretty easy to lay decking yourself. All you need to have is a bit of knowledge about some basic DIY and you are good to go. On this page I want to run you through briefly a step-by-step guide to laying down some decking.

Tools & Materials Required to Lay Decking

When it comes to tools you are not going to need too much. Most people should have this type of stuff already at home. If not, you can pick it up pretty cheaply from your local DIY store, or even an online retailer.

• Tape Measure
• Drill
• Hammer
• Jigsaw
• Level
• Selection of Screwdrivers
• Mitre Saw

For materials you are going to need the following. You can pick this all up from your local DIY store.

• Nails
• Wood Preserver
• Wooden Stakes (Measure 2.5cm x 5cm)
• Decking
• Weed Control Fabric

How to Lay Decking

Got all of that in place? Brilliant! Laying the decking is simple from here on out:

1. The first thing that you are going to need to do is flatten the area that you are going to be placing your decking on.

2. You can then lay down your weed control fabric. Doing this is important as you do not want weeds poking through your newly laid decking do you?

3. Next step is to build your box frame. This should be pretty quick to do. All you need to do is bang in some nails. If you can get hold of a nail gun then you can use that as well. Put the nails in at an angle. It is going to be much easier for you!

4. Now, lay some concrete slabs in the centre and in the corners. You can lay your joists cross these. You may need to stack the slaps up slightly as you want to ensure that your joists are level.

5. Once you are completely sure that the joists are level you can start to nail in the rest of the studs (i.e. joists). Have them a couples of inches apart. You can either add them in a criss-cross type of pattern or something completely vertical. The choice is yours.

6. Once your joists are in place it is time to nail in your decking! Make sure that it is completely straight before you nail it into place.

7. Once all your joists and decking is in place then it is time to treat it with some wood preservative. Follow the instructions to the letter. You may want to carry out some further wood treatment every so often to ensure that it doesn't get damaged. After all, you don't want to undo your hard work do you?