Today, wood-polymer composite deck boards are widely used for arranging terraces, verandas, swimming pools and other premises. This material combines the positive properties of wood and plastic. Shredded wood and purified polymer give the material high strength and efficiency. From the outside, decking resembles an ordinary wooden deck board, but its properties are significantly superior to it. At the same time, it can be painted, varnished and other compositions. First of all, you should understand the question of how to attach a plastic decking board.

Before starting fastening, you should determine a suitable place for laying the decking board. So, for loggias, balconies and other places with little traffic, you can choose medium-density material. This type of decking board is also used when arranging the area near the pool.

Important! Moisture resistance directly depends on the density of the flooring. Density also affects wear resistance. If you install a loose decking board in areas with high traffic, the material may become deformed.

Laying the flooring directly on the ground is not allowed. The deck boards are fastened to installed logs. They will perform a supporting function. If the selected location has uneven terrain, then preference is given to adjustable logs.

To prevent water from accumulating during rain, but rather from draining, when installing the logs, it is necessary to organize a slight slope in one direction. The pitch of laying the lag will depend on the thickness of the product. If it has a thickness of up to 20 mm, then the step between the logs should be 400 mm. With a thickness of 25 mm, the pitch between the logs increases to 600 mm.

Advice! During the installation process, it is necessary to cut the material in order to adjust it to size. It is recommended to treat all cut ends with wax emulsion.

To attach the decking, it is recommended to use stainless steel fasteners and fastening materials. There are two known ways to attach deck boards: hidden and covered. As for the closed one, it is rarely used, although it has a number of positive aspects, in particular, an improved appearance after completion of installation work.

Required materials and tools

Regardless of the chosen fastening method, you should prepare tools and material for installation work. First of all, you should worry about the availability of the following materials/tools:

• Support logs.
• Intermediate and initial staples.
• Galvanized self-tapping screws.
• Plugs.
• End finishing elements.
• Drill set.
• Electric drill.
• Screwdriver.
• Roulette.
• Level.
• Pencil.
• Hand hacksaw.

This is a basic set of what is needed when fastening larch decking boards. As for cutting decking, you can use a hand saw, but some experts successfully use an electric one. This significantly increases the pace of work. Before mounting the board, it is recommended to pre-make mounting holes. Otherwise, there is a possibility that the material will crack when tightening the screw.

Calculation features

There are a number of requirements and features that are important to consider before starting installation work. The technology requires a gap between the flooring and the wall. At a minimum, the gap should be about 8 mm or more. If it is necessary to join the board lengthwise, then an indentation should also be made between the end parts. There are even certain standards, namely, with a flooring length of up to 400 cm, it is absent, with a length of up to 600 cm, 3 mm, and with a length over 600 cm, 0.45 cm. A gap is also required on the longitudinal side, which is about 2 mm. The peculiarity of the fasteners used allows one or another gap to be formed in advance.

Preparation

Before installation, the used larch decking board must lie in the open air to get used to the local climate. To do this, you need to unpack the packaging and leave it under a canopy for several days. Before you start fastening, you should immediately decide which method you will use - closed or open.

If the choice fell on open installation, then self-tapping screws made of galvanized steel and with an anti-corrosion coating are required. Preliminary markings are made and all holes are pre-drilled. After this, all the screws are screwed to the installed joists.

As for the closed method, all fasteners will be hidden under the flooring. For this purpose, special fasteners are used, also called clips. Preference should be given to metal fasteners with anti-corrosion coating. About 20 clips are usually consumed per 1 m2.

Plus, you need to decide exactly how the board will be laid evenly, diagonally or otherwise.

Advice! You should choose the installation method that will result in the least amount of waste in the form of trimmings.

Frame installation

Having completed all the preparatory and calculation work, the first step is to install the base under the terrace board. The base can be metal/aluminum beams, wooden logs or cement screed, which must be treated with bituminous material.

Advice! The base should be covered with a special material. This will protect the finished coating from the germination of grass and other plants.

Before fixing the decking, you should consider a water drainage system. For this reason, the installation of the logs should be carried out at a slight slope. For one linear meter, the slope should be no more than 1 cm. With all this, there should be no accumulation of moisture not only on the flooring itself, but also under it.

Installation work

Below we will consider the option of attaching decking boards to logs made of wood-polymer composite. The essence of the technology is that the boards are laid perpendicular to the installed joists. Considering that a larger percentage of the composition in the decking board is wood, this material tends to expand and contract. As a result, it is necessary to leave a small gap between the lags along the length of at least 10 mm and from the wall or other structures of at least 20 mm.

It is important to ensure that the entire floor covering is well ventilated. To do this, WPC logs are laid on supports made of metal or plastic. Plus, you need to make sure that each end of the wood-polymer board lies on the joist and does not hang down.

Advice! It is recommended to attach deck boards at a temperature of at least 5°C.

The first board should be fastened from a fixed side, for example, from a wall. The first board is secured with self-tapping screws at an angle of 45° to the support joists. The last board will be attached in the same way. Before tightening the screw, be sure to drill a mounting hole of the appropriate diameter. Each subsequent board will be fixed to the support joists using a special galvanized fastener. These clips can also be made of plastic. Their use allows you to create an equal gap along the entire length between the decking boards. For ease of installation, the board has a special groove into which the clip is fixed using a self-tapping screw. You should start attaching the clip from one edge and on each joist. But before that, it is important to make sure that the board is in place.

Advice! If you need to cover a large area, you can use the staggered installation method. In this case, each subsequent board will shift relative to the previous one by a certain distance.

During the installation process, you should not immediately get distracted and adjust each board to the size along the edges of the terrace. Afterwards, all protruding ends can be cut off in one cut with a circular saw. The result will be very beautiful.

Finishing touches

After all the work on fixing the turnkey deck boards has been completed, it is necessary to perform the final touch, which consists of processing all the ends. One way is to use a special decorative strip. To install it in the joist or end part of the board, you need to drill a hole for self-tapping screws to attach the plank. You can also use aluminum corners or special corners made of wood-polymer composite. Each decorative element should be secured in its place using fixed stops.

Common installation mistakes

During installation work, errors are made that affect performance characteristics. For example, in a hurry, people forget to make ventilation gaps between the joists along the entire length and between the walls. This may result in deformation of the laid flooring. Also, screws or self-tapping screws are clamped very tightly. Measures are needed in this matter.

Plus, the water flow is not properly organized. What’s even worse is that the flooring itself and the joists are installed strictly according to level. In this case, rainwater and other moisture will accumulate on the surface. Because of this, the decking board can absorb moisture. Although today there are types of decking boards that do not absorb moisture at all, they are quite expensive.

Violation of these rules can lead to irreparable consequences. Therefore, taking all precautions into account, the following should not be allowed:

• Flooding of deck and joist structures with water for more than 4 days.
• When cleaning the surface, it is unacceptable to use a metal scraper or spatula. They can damage the top layer of the decking board. It is best to use soft bristled brushes.

Conclusion

So, this article examined the features of how to install a decking board made of wood-polymer composite. Although the technology is not complicated, it requires attention. For this reason, we suggest that you further reinforce the entire theory with the prepared video material in this article.

What can you do with the board? For example, sawing. We measured everything seven times, marked it, and sawed it. We cut, of course, with a saw, but what kind? Saws, as you know, are hand-held, electric and gasoline-powered.

Let's first understand that there are hand saws. There is plenty of this stuff in stores and markets, and domestic copies are not inferior to similar imported ones. Finally, we have learned how to make durable canvases and more or less comfortable handles that do not rub calluses on your hands when working. By the way, the price of “our” and imported saws is not very different. In one of the following issues I will definitely talk about hand saws in more detail, but now I want to give a couple of useful tips on what you need to know first of all when buying a hand saw.

Firstly, never buy hacksaws or replacement blades (especially for metal) made in China. They cut poorly, but break well - apparently due to a violation of the hardening technology. This is wasted money.

Secondly, so-called “self-sharpening” saws have now appeared on sale. As the sellers explain, the saw “during operation sharpens itself due to friction with the material being processed.” Therefore, they say, such a saw always remains sharp. Don't believe it - miracles don't happen. It’s the same as when your car not only consumes fuel while driving, but also produces it itself. The “secret” of these “miracle saws” is ridiculously simple: the blade is made of a harder material than usual, and therefore remains sharp several times longer. But keep in mind: when the saw does become dull, it will be very difficult for you to sharpen it again - precisely because of the hardness of the material! (By the way, sharpening an ordinary hacksaw using a file and a needle file is not difficult - technologically. Describing this process on paper is a thankless task. In any village there will be a craftsman who will be happy to explain this to you “on his fingers.”)

Let's move on. Next on the list are electric saws. There are many models from different manufacturers, which naturally differ in price and quality. It is clear that the main difference between the available types of electric saws is the principle of operation, but almost all of them (to a certain extent) are interchangeable.

Let's start classifying them. Electric saws, like everything else in this world, can be imported or domestic. Imported ones are divided into disk (circular), jigsaw, cross-cut saws (the operating principle is the same as disk saws), reciprocating, chain and carpentry electric hacksaws. Domestic ones are divided into disk, jigsaw and chain. Other species, at least to me, are unknown.

Let's start with circular electric saws. The cutting tool in them is a metal disk with sharp teeth, which rotates at high speed around its own axis. A circular saw is used to make long, straight cuts. The saw can be held in your hands and moved relative to the surface being cut, or you can fix the saw in the frame and move the material being processed (for large volumes of work, it is best to do this).

Electric circular saws are very useful for country house construction and repairs. Here, for example, is a specific case.

I have one friend - a man with “golden hands”. He earned very good money - he worked hard from dawn to dusk. And he spent his long-awaited vacation in stuffy Moscow. Sometimes, of course, I went to some resort, but... The man was not in the mood for such a vacation. And he decided to build himself a house in the Moscow region. I bought a plot of land, erected a log house, and began to add a terrace. Well, then - a story that is painfully familiar to everyone: crisis, loss of work, occasional and insignificant earnings... In general, the frame for the terrace has been made, but there is nothing to upholster it with - there is no “golden” reserve.

And then a miracle happened! The man had the opportunity to “privatize” unedged boards in sufficient quantities to cover the terrace. Well, of course, he privatized this “croaker”, but then what? Upholstering the terrace with a “slab”? Ugly. Such a structure will look more like a shed, but, as you know, you need a terrace. This is where the “circular”, purchased in better times, came in handy (I don’t know what model). In short, the man sawed a normal edged board from this firewood - not “super”, of course, but quite “at the level”. I reupholstered the terrace and still had some left over for the shed. And in his spare time, my friend started counting. It turned out that in the end he completely repaid the cost of his saw. This summer, the man is quite successfully “hack-working” with the help of his “circular”, that is, he receives a net profit. Here's the story.

But just in case, I warn you: a circular saw pays for itself quite quickly if you are engaged in construction seriously and for a long time. When performing “piece” work, it is worth buying a household-grade saw and a cheaper one, maybe a used one.

Now about the different types of circular saw blades. First of all, discs come with carbide tipped and without tipped. Solderless blades are usually used to obtain clean and beautiful cuts in soft wood. This disc will not cope with hard wood, and even more so with metal. If a nail is accidentally caught in the board being sawed, the disc will remain “without teeth.” It is impossible to revive him: “false jaws” are not produced for this purpose.

In this sense, models with carbide tips seem much more interesting. Such a disc will easily saw through a nail that comes across “tooth” and calmly continues its (your) work. But here you have to come to terms with the fact that when working with such a disk, the cut is not very clean, even slightly “shaggy”.

About the tooth shape: they are, I’m not afraid of this word, active (positive sharpening angle) and passive (negative sharpening angle). Let me explain: if the tooth is bent as if in the direction of rotation of the disk, this is a positive sharpening angle; if against the move - negative. The positive angle allows you to cut wood, wood with nails, plastic, etc. A negative angle can cut, for example, tin and copper. Theoretically, such a disk can also be used to saw wood, but the cut turns out to be very “shaggy”: the teeth do not cut, but tear apart the wood fibers. So before choosing a disk, you should decide what kind of work you need it for? And the sellers will suggest a specific model.

Now about specific models. I am pleased to note that circular saws are produced in Moscow that are not inferior to imported analogues in either design or reliability. Power 1200 W, disc 200 mm, cutting depth up to 65 mm, equipped with a protective cover. The price at the beginning of summer was about 1300 rubles. Manufacturer: Moscow Radio Engineering Plant. A similar model is produced in Perm, the price is the same.

Regarding imported models, I can say that nothing fundamentally new has been invented recently. But I will tell you about some models.

Black & Decker. Model KS 865

Power consumption 1200 W, blade diameter 184 mm, cutting depth 65 mm, 2 blade rotation speeds (2700 and 4000 rpm), complete with carbide-tipped saw blade and protective cover. The model is also equipped with a parallel stop (from below for more precise guidance of the saw along the board). 2 year warranty. Price about DM 280.

Bosch. Model PKS 66 CE

Amateur class electric saw. Power consumption 1400 W. Disc with a diameter of 190 mm, cutting depth up to 66 mm, smoothly adjustable speed 1800 - 4100 rpm, included carbide saw blade, parallel stop. The control electronics ensure constant torque under load and a smooth start for precise cutting. Weight 5.2 kg, 1 year warranty. Price about 290 DM.

Makita. Model 5703 R

Power consumption 1300 W, blade diameter 190 mm, cutting depth up to 66 mm, blade rotation speed 4800 rpm. Weight 5.2 kg. Includes carbide blade and rip fence. Price about 460 DM.

De Walt. Model DW 62

Industrial electric saw with cutting depth up to 62 mm. Disk with a diameter of 184 mm, power consumption 1150 W. No-load speed 3800 rpm. Weight 5.0 kg. 1 year warranty. Price about DM 325.

Bosch. Industrial model GKS 66 CE

Power consumption 1600 W, blade diameter 190 mm, cutting depth up to 66 mm, smooth speed control from 1800 to 4100 rpm, control electronics, overload protection. Weight 4.8 kg. 1 year warranty. Price about DM 600.

Skil. Model Skilsaw 5140

Power consumption 1000 W, cutting depth up to 40 mm. Disc rotation speed 3500 rpm, weight 3.9 kg. 1 year warranty. Price about DM 150.

Atlas Copco. Model K 66 SE

Power consumption 1500 W, blade diameter 190 mm, cutting depth up to 66 mm. Control electronics, soft start. Disk rotation speed from 2000 to 5000 rpm. The set includes a carbide disc and a key for changing it. Weight 5.7 kg. 1 year warranty. Price about DM 680.

Milwaukee. Model 6365-2

Power consumption 1450 W. Disc diameter 184 mm, cutting depth up to 84 mm. Disk rotation speed 5800 rpm. Weight 3.2 kg. 1 year warranty. Price about 450 DM.

More about models. Here I have listed the most interesting of them, but this does not mean that they can be seen in all stores and construction markets. There, as a rule, simpler and cheaper copies are sold. With these simply cheap power tools, we decided to conduct a kind of experiment, or, as it is now fashionable to say, we conducted a “rating”. The essence of the process is this: we took two models from each of the above manufacturers (from those that can be purchased on the market), equipped them with absolutely identical saw blades (domestic production), and brought to the editorial office several identical spruce boards 6 meters long and 50 mm thick. And then we elected a “group of comrades” from among the editorial staff (including beautiful ladies) and invited them to take turns sawing the board lengthwise, using available electric saws. Each model was then rated out of five and the average score was calculated. Here are the results of this test.

Black & Decker. Overall, the impression is good, although there are some shortcomings, especially noted by the weaker half of the editorial team: the handle is not very comfortable (not at all comfortable for a person with a small palm), a fairly high level of vibration - it is difficult to hold the saw exactly on the cutting line. The result is 3.75 points.

Bosch. Amateur-class electric saws are recognized as more comfortable to hold in the hands than the glorious representatives of professional saws. The noise level is slightly higher than the Black & Decker, but the vibration is lower. Result (combined amateur/professional class) – 4 points.

Makita. Very good impression. The team decided that the only drawback was the rather high price for this model. The result is 3.75 points.

DeWalt. I probably liked this model more than all the others, the design is good and the handle is comfortable. The noise and vibration levels are low, the model is suitable for comfortable long-term work. The price for a power tool of this class is quite acceptable. The only drawback noted by our ladies is the yellow color of the case. They say it will get dirty quickly and will be ugly. But, on the other hand, an instrument of such bright colors is clearly visible in the grass - you won’t lose it. The result is 4.5 points.

Skil. Here opinions differ greatly. On the one hand, it is very reminiscent of an amateur model from Bosch, but the processing of the case is too “clumsy”; on the other hand, the price is quite reasonable. The result is 3.5 points.

Milwaukee. An extremely rare guest in Moscow markets. I came across this copy, according to the seller, completely by accident. The impression is good, but the price is unreasonably high. Why are we overpaying? Is it unclear? It is declared that we pay for quality, but this brand is new for the Russian market, and consumer opinion on this matter has not yet formed. But overall, it’s a fairly easy-to-use electric saw. The result is 3.75 points.

Power saw produced by the Moscow Radio Engineering Plant(MRTZ) makes a very good impression for its price. Of course, there are certain shortcomings (who doesn’t?), but for the money they are all very insignificant. The result is 4.25 points.

Atlas Copco. I did not find any models from this manufacturer either in markets or stores. True, the company’s representative office told me that I was looking poorly, but they agreed that the appearance of this brand in retail trade is an infrequent occurrence. Therefore, we have not yet been able to test these electric saws, but in the future we will definitely test and tell you about them.

Speaking about circular saws, I want to emphasize: each model is designed to use a disc of one specific diameter. You simply cannot install a disk of a larger diameter, and a disk of a smaller size is unacceptable for safety reasons: in this case, a gap is formed between the disk and the protective casing, into which a finger can accidentally get caught. Considering the speed of rotation, you will be left without a finger instantly.

No less useful in the household can be jigsaws, as well as electric hacksaws, and a chain saw can come in handy, but more on that another time.

A fairly simple task: even non-professionals can cope with its installation.

The process is clear: we bought a decking board and laid it on the joists. But, installation of even the highest quality decking, if not carried out according to the rules of installation technology, will lead to the decking board being re-laid within a season.

How to avoid mistakes and lay the flooring correctly?

In this article we will talk about the main mistakes that are made when laying decking.

1. Incorrect preparation of the surface for laying the terrace system; its level is not maintained.

The surface on which the decking board will be installed must be as level as possible. If this is not done, immediately after laying the decking board, surface unevenness may be visible, which will intensify over time and deform the board.

2. Use of wooden logs.

Sometimes, in order to save money, buyers use wooden logs as the base of the flooring instead of WPC logs. Unfortunately, literally after one or two winters this will lead to forced large expenses, since wood and WPC have different coefficients of linear expansion. The two materials will elongate or contract differently due to temperature changes, causing the composite to pull out of the wood joist and tear it from its fasteners.

In addition, after 2-3 seasons, wooden logs, when exposed to moisture, will be susceptible to rotting and mold, cracking and swelling. This will immediately affect the surface of the WPC flooring; it will swell and sag.
You will have to spend money on dismantling, purchasing new logs from WPC, and replacing the deformed decking with a new one.

All responsible manufacturers of WPC decking boards indicate clear recommended distances between joists for specific decking boards.

Trying to save money, sometimes clients install joists at a greater distance from each other. Because of this, the load on the board increases significantly, it sags and deforms under the weight. If you increase the center distance to the maximum unacceptable, the flooring will generally fall down.

4. No gap to compensate for linear expansion of the board.

WPC decking boards undergo linear expansion under the influence of the environment (like many other building materials). This means that when the air temperature changes, the board expands: it lengthens and narrows. A MANDATORY CONDITION FOR INSTALLING A TERRACE BOARD is to leave gaps to allow linear expansion of the decking. This is especially important to do at the junction with limiters (for example, a permanent structure)!

Why is this important? It’s very simple: one flooring will bend the other, breaking the edge of the board at the points of its mechanical fastening.

5. Loose or too tight fasteners.

Terrace board - decking made of wood-polymer composite, this is a modern flooring material. Decking is mainly used in the construction of open terraces, which are becoming increasingly popular among owners of country houses.
Terrace serves to connect the external environment of the site with the living space of the house. It allows you to be outside the walls of the building in the fresh air, but at the same time spend time with the comfort inherent in a home environment. With the help of a terrace, you can connect the shore of a reservoir or the slope of a hill to your personal plot. Modern construction technologies make it quite easy to expand terraces and increase their height, as well as fit terraces into any complex landscapes.
In addition, the material is widely used in the construction of: verandas, gazebos, piers, berths, decks. Often decking used in conjunction withdecorative fences from WPC, as a rule, this happens when arranging areas near swimming pools, children's playgrounds, garden paths and bridges, and patio areas. In general, a WPC deck board is an ideal option wherever you need a durable, moisture-resistant, safe and environmentally friendly material that combines wood and plastic. The deck board is produced by extruding 60% wood flour and 40% polymers under pressure at high temperatures.
The boards are painted completely to the full depth of the material and fade naturally over time without losing their primary color, that is, WPC decking naturally stabilizes color over time, just like wood products.
WPC decking boards have a number of advantages over conventional wooden boards. WPC productsare not subject to rotting, shrinkage and shrinkage, and withstand mechanical stress, temperature changes, sudden changes in seasons and high humidity, which allows the material to be used in difficult weather conditions. The biostability of the board is achieved by using special polymers in the decking board, making it immune to the effects of mold, fungi, bacteria and insects.
WPC decking boards can be cut, sawed, drilled, and self-tapping screws can be driven into it. To assemble decking boards, we recommend using regular carpentry tools.
The high-tech decking board has a natural appearance and retains its original geometry, strength properties and even color for a long time; the material does not create additional concerns for deck maintenance.

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It is distinguished by its high hardness: cutting it with ordinary larch discs will certainly work, but the process may take a little longer. Ordinary wood, familiar to us, does not have such indicators of hardness and resistance.

For successful cutting, WPC logs, trimming of composite steps and other products, appropriate components for tools are used.

It is worth noting that the wood-polymer composite is processed mechanically in much the same way as wood we are used to. It can be sawed (cut) to the required length, and holes can be drilled in the board for installation. Some even manage to cut unusual shapes from solid WPC boards. But now we are not talking about masters of their craft.

To work with decking boards and composite logs, you will need:

• Circular saw for cutting PVC or chipboard,
• Saws with fine tooth blades,
• Carbide wheels,
• Drill,
• Carbide drills,
• Screwdriver,
• Screwdriver,
• Level,
• Hammer,
• Roulette,
• Pencil or construction chalk.

Almost everyone who has already built a country house and is now engaged in landscaping their site has all the tools listed above. As mentioned above, the most important thing is to choose the appropriate cutting discs and drill bits.

When starting installation work, you first need to cut the joists for the supporting structure. If you are using WPC joists, as the manufacturers recommend, all holes are pre-drilled. Mark the points on the joist where you need to make a mounting hole, use a drill. It is better not to use a screwdriver for this purpose, even if it is very powerful: there is a risk of overheating the device or even breaking it.

Next, you should lay and secure the logs, having first checked the slope with a building level. Do not forget that decking boards, especially in open areas, must be laid with a slight slope of 1-2 °. Excess moisture will drain from the terrace, and puddles will not form on the board.

Installation of WPC decking boards is not difficult thanks to special fastenings - clips. You will need a screwdriver to secure the clip to the joist with a self-tapping screw. Remember that the screw is not screwed in all the way: too tight a fastening can negatively affect the “behavior” of the clip and the board during thermal expansion. But the fastening should not be loose, otherwise the boards will sway.

Sometimes a solid decking board made of WPC, bamboo or ipe is directly mounted to the joists with self-tapping screws. In order to facilitate this process, professional installers make holes in the boards and joists in advance. There is one small trick here: the holes should be made with a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the screw. This way, the tightness of the fastening is not compromised, and the installation process is faster.