Timber Sleeper Deck

The new deck ready for a bar-be-que

I wanted a place to put the barbie. So I decided to build a deck. Shot edge decking is very nice and very expensive and perhaps a bit too fancy for a barbie - even if it is at La Studio. So I decided to build one out of sleepers. I asked Google to tell me all about it, but Google didn't seem to know much. So I asked You Tube, but it was unusually vague also. So I asked myself 'How bloody hard can it be?' Anyway, I decided to put down 3 sleepers 200 by 75 (the fat ones) by 2.4metres. I had a lovely time getting them level just using my dear old shovel. A little bit off here, a little bit off there - have a beer and think about it and so on. I got there.

Getting the levels right

 Look at the picture - I even used a spirit level! So to save myself cutting sleepers unnecessarily, I had previously decided that 2.4meters would be a good length. I then decided that 1.8 meters would be a good width so I hunted for some sleepers 150 by 50 by 1.8 but couldn't find any so I cut down some 2.4's. The leftovers will be used to make steps down from the deck. Anyway, it was simply a matter of attaching these to the 3 big sleepers. I used 100mm Batten Screws to do this. You need to get the ones marked suitable for treated pine (assuming that like me, you work with the easiest of all timbers)

Screwing in the deck

So each of the decking sleepers has 6 batten screws holding it down. As spacers, I just tapped in a decent size nail to each of the bearers removing them as I moved along. I was going to use 19mm timber as spacers, but the Responsible Adult claimed that anyone in Stiletto's might loose their heel in them. By the time I woke up to the fact that I have never, ever seen anyone in Stiletto's hanging around a barbie, the deck was half built and it was too late to go back to my plan.  To finish up, I gave it a coat of Jarrah decking stain. It isn't as smooth and neat as a shot edge deck, but should be extremely serviceable to sit a barbie on. Now comes the problem of how I move the barbie from the cubby house verandah to La Studio. I should practice my very best swearing.