Which came first: chick... sorry, deck planking or deck fitting?

[RPaul]

Hi All, 

Apologies in advance if it's a stupid question, but what would you do first on a cambered deck, would you fit the false deck onto the frame first, and then plank it, or plank and then fit? 

On a couple of previous builds I fitted and then planked, but with the current one, bigger and with more stuff on it than anything before, I'd be tempted to do planking first - there's more complexity, and it would be easier to prepare the deck 'offline' before putting it in. I mean, the false deck has already been fitted in terms of size and position, and it could be glued in already; so no further adjustment will be required with or without planking. My only concern (ignorance is bliss! ) is that if I plank it first, gaps between planks could open wide(r) when I camber the deck, or that some other dimensions might go astray. The camber isn't massive, but it's noticeable - the sides are going down by about 2 mm each, at about 15 cm width.

Either of the ways are generally fine by me; I'm just trying to think which one is easier... without creating major problems further down the line. 

 

Thanks in advance, 

Pavel

 

[russ]

Pavel:

You should really fit the false deck and then plank it. It would be far more difficult to bend the planked deck in both directions if you plank the false deck before fitting it. 

 

Russ

[RPaul]

Cool, thanks Russ, that answers it. Something to do on a Saturday night

 

Pavel

[wefalck]

If the camber is worked into a false deck that rests on straight beams/bulkheads, one could plank it first and then insert it. Under certain circumstances this could have advantages, but in general it is better to fit bits and pieces in situ, results in a closer fit.