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Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:04 pm
by ann-marie powell
We are considering installing a green oak deck for a client who wants an organic, lived in, natural look to the terrace in their garden. I realise that the timbers will shrink and that the boards may become uneven, and also that the timber will need to be laid swiftly on receipt in order to get it fixed before any warping occurs.
Oh, and that our fixings should be stainless steel.
But wondered if anyone had any experience of laying sawn green oak planks 25 x 145 before?
Thank you.
Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:42 pm
by matt h
Unless the timber is sealed it will split and you will get what are called shakes, very unsightly . It will inevitably twist as it is not seasoned, so a good coating of clear preservative followed by three coats danish oil are my recommendations. The timber will require re oiling once a year . I would however advise that pressure treated timber such as douglas fir would be better
Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 12:28 am
by lutonlagerlout
"there may be trouble ahead da da da daaaa"
cant recommend green oak for this type of thing,we only ever used it round a trout lake,and the guy we bought it from had some kind of old tale "keep me wet or keep my dry ,100 years i will survive"
or words to that effect
basically if you buy it green its gonna twist ,shrink and deform ,maybe you could use oak dowels ,but i am sure they guy will get fed up tripping over after a while
LLL
Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 9:14 am
by matt h
any timber green will twist and warp,why not pay the extra pennies and use marine decking... will last longer than me i think!:D
Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 10:29 am
by Rich H
I was asked to quote for a job which included a green oak pergola with 6m spans. Declined to quote that bit and lost the job. The fella that did the work did a good job, but a year on and the pergola is pulling itself apart (the neighbour is a friend of mine). Delighted not to have done it.
If you want to make a deck look more rustic, keep the construction solid and with treated timber but use coarse cut timber rails (like a paddock fence) and put lots of well planted weathered pots around the deck.