Thread: Decking Recommendations

Originally Posted by JohnG

Make sure you're comparing Shera or Conwood floor or deck prices with Thai Sun deck prices, not their prices for their sidings which some dealers may tell you (100% wrongly - never, never, never!!) can be used on the floor. Shera and Conwood deck prices are at least twice the cost of their sidings.

You also need to look at the base to see how far apart your supporting joists are before you put down any of these, to make sure they'll support the planks safely.

Having had WPC you can't really make a direct comparison with Shera / Conwood as its a completely different product aimed at a different market, plus the finished 'look' is very different so you can't say if one's better value than the other.

Good mornin all. Am off to Global this am to check out costs and possible installation. My steel joists are 50 cm or 20 inches apart.

Originally Posted by rbm

Good mornin all. Am off to Global this am to check out costs and possible installation. My steel joists are 50 cm or 20 inches apart.

Make sure you get at least 25mm thickness of Shera plank, and that you buy quite a lot of drill bits (unless you can find the special one designed for concrete fibre) as you will need to pre drill the planks for the screws

Let’s face it; the cheapest construction material in Thailand is reinforced concrete.


If one has a substantial steel/concrete frame/poled deck; the simplest and least expensive is cheap 1” disposable plywood decking to temporally support a mesh/re-bar 4-5 inch concrete coating till it goes off?

That is how they built our 2m x 11m veranda supported /keyed in to 4m poles at 4m..


Of course pretty comes expensive...Personally I would go with 2/10 teak planks.555

Originally Posted by rbm

Originally Posted by JohnG

Make sure you're comparing Shera or Conwood floor or deck prices with Thai Sun deck prices, not their prices for their sidings which some dealers may tell you (100% wrongly - never, never, never!!) can be used on the floor. Shera and Conwood deck prices are at least twice the cost of their sidings.

You also need to look at the base to see how far apart your supporting joists are before you put down any of these, to make sure they'll support the planks safely.

Having had WPC you can't really make a direct comparison with Shera /
Conwood as its a completely different product aimed at a different market, plus the finished 'look' is very different so you can't say if one's better value than the other.

Good mornin all. Am off to Global this am to check out costs and possible installation. My steel joists are 50 cm or 20 inches apart.

That's not enough!!!

Take a look at the link above from @Vocal Neal. It's in Thai but you don't need to be a linguist to understand it - the maximum centres are 30cm (thirty!!). They may tell you what you want to hear once you tell them yours are 50 cm apart, and you may be told something else by expats on a forum, but I tend to believe what the manufacturers say about their product limitations.

Also make sure you get shown decking - the thickness is no indication of purpose

Originally Posted by splitlid

Originally Posted by JohnG

I'm bored of repeating it, as all too obviously are others.

Shera and Conwood decking is not wood.

The decking is a fibre - cement composite with minimal 'spring'.

The manufacturers both recommend joists at a maximum of 30 cm centres based on Thai weight and regular usage. There are a number of tables available showing the centres and joists / framing required for specific requirements, but 30cm is the manufacturer's recommended maximum.


Some forum experts will tell you something else based on their superior knowledge as an expat and disregard for anything written by / in Thai.

Believe whichever one suits you.

Easy there John, I asked SWW a specific question about his specific build.

Fair enough, but you may not be the only one reading this!

If a manufacturer sets maximum limits on his products I tend to believe them, or in Thailand err on the side of safety and go for less than that maximum. For someone to not just ignore those limits but repeatedly advise that nearly twice that limit is acceptable is, to my mind, not a good idea (and I'm trying to be polite here!) and I think that should be pointed out.

Putting in extra joists when the floor's off / before you lay it is simple and relatively inexpensive. Taking off the complete floor to add joists after you've fallen through it is not so simple, and paying the hospital bill may not be so inexpensive.

5555..
About 8 years ago I constructed a rather pretty deck from hardwood planks and bamboo. We are on the side of a mountain so the deck was wedge shaped.
After a few years the whole lot got eaten and disintegrated.
Most of the area is level so concrete was the answer...Lower level of ‘wedge’ required me to build a hash up of a concrete wall reinforced by any available rebar or junk metal.
Covered the lot with 3-4” hand mixed concrete with mesh and re-bar (Supported the lot with bamboo and various bits of wooden planks etc. )
…not a crack after 5 years..Happy happy lol.

Originally Posted by JohnG

Fair enough, but you may not be the only one reading this!

If a manufacturer sets maximum limits on his products I tend to believe them, or in Thailand err on the side of safety and go for less than that maximum. For someone to not just ignore those limits but repeatedly advise that nearly twice that limit is acceptable is, to my mind, not a good idea (and I'm trying to be polite here!) and I think that should be pointed out.

Putting in extra joists when the floor's off / before you lay it is simple and relatively inexpensive. Taking off the complete floor to add joists after you've fallen through it is not so simple, and paying the hospital bill may not be so inexpensive.

I agree with what you say. Maybe in the future is something has been proven as being wrong. Then if that 'something' gets posted again then it should come with a disclaimer.
:

It's getting kinda embarrassing now. Please stop.

Originally Posted by sometimewoodworker

You do as you see fit, I do the same.

Fer Crissake what's wrong with you?

You do as you see fit and break your neck - fine. I just wish you'd do it sooner rather than later.

But repeatedly advising others to do the same and nearly double a manufacturer's recommendations (from 300mm to 500mm) isn't just stupid it's DANGEROUS.

You claim to be a "sometimewoodworker"; if you don't know not to dangerously exceed manufacturer's recommendation's for something as simple as a deck no wonder your "advice" on other subjects is so far off.

What you are advising isn't just "do as you see fit" about the colour of your paint - it's DANGEROUS. Your advice could get someone badly injured or killed. It's not just "getting kinda embarrasing".
It's DANGEROUS

Originally Posted by crepitas

Let’s face it; the cheapest construction material in Thailand is reinforced concrete.


If one has a substantial steel/concrete frame/poled deck; the simplest and least expensive is cheap 1” disposable plywood decking to temporally support a mesh/re-bar 4-5 inch concrete coating till it goes off?

That is how they built our 2m x 11m veranda supported /keyed in to 4m poles at 4m..

Of course pretty comes expensive...Personally I would go with 2/10 teak planks.555

Agreed 100% (again!). I had a beautiful sala -style house here for about 12 years here which was one of the prettiest houses I've ever seen anywhere, with wooden verandahs back and front and a deck out over the lake. Nightmare!

Now I haven't got any wood in the house I'm having built (except the furniture) and when we want a picnic house it'll be either built with a 'proper' concrete base and tiled or it'll be all bamboo. Where I live (Loei) a very nice (and pretty!) bamboo picnic house the same sort of size as that pictured here costs around 4,000 baht; when you want a change of view you move it and when the roof needs replacing it's about 1,000 baht.

If you wanted to buy one in the UK or the US it'd be about ten times that and everyone'd be saying how great and 'Eastern' it looks and want one to keep up with the Jones's. Instead we come to Thailand and spend ten times the cost of something 'Eastern' (now just 'local') on something 'Western' because that's keeping up with the Somchai's!

Originally Posted by JohnG

Originally Posted by sometimewoodworker

You do as you see fit, I do the same.

Random stuff with no proof

I have posted a specific recommendation for Shera Plank from the company that makes it.

You are making a claim that because a different product from a different company has a different specification that it must also apply to Shera Plank.

You haven't bothered to find anything to back up your statements that you are willing to share

I also have 4 years of real world usage in one case and 2 years in another.

If you use Conwood then your 300mm has proof and should be followed.

Do everyone a favour and find the specifications for fixing at the intervals you say and I will not argue and will accept that. If you can't prove your claim then man up and admit you were wrong.

Conwood is not Shera Plank, different companies, different products.

Nice one SWW. I may be reading it wrong but I can definately see 500mm joist spacing for decking.

Builders confirmed they wanted to frame it up to lay the planks at 50cm intervals, originally they said they do them at between 60 - 70 cm in all the other buildings they have done. I wanted them closer so they reckoned that 50cm was near enough. I jump up and down on here and there's no movement. My teak houses are done at a slightly bigger spacing and they move a lot.
These are DURA planks though.

Originally Posted by splitlid

I may be reading it wrong but I can definately see 500mm joist spacing for decking.

I've rather lost interest in people who give any credibility to someone who, when someone asks for advice about an uncovered deck, has no qualms about saying that their deck "has had no protection from the elements" and then posts a link in the same post to pictures of it where it is clearly covered by a large roof. I just can't begin to understand that sort of mentality.

You're not "reading it wrong" at all, @splitlid.

For my own peace of mind I contacted Shera directly and asked them if they had a guidebook for fitting Shera floors as I needed to know the joist spacing.
They directed me to their website for all their downloadable catalogues and fitting instructions ( SHERA build better, live better ).
The 'Flooring and Decorative Applications Guidebook' on the JM Timber website is not there so I asked if it was theirs and where I could find it. They explained that it was no longer available, was not valid, and their agents / dealers had been instructed not to use it.
I asked what their recommended spacing for floor joists for a deck was and they replied that it was between 300 and 600mm depending on the application and use and that the exact spacing was up to the builder.

They were 'non-committal' as to exactly why deck flooring was apparently the only item without a current installation guide, but my guess is that it has something to do with the caveat they now have on all their current installation instructions: "Any damages caused by unfollowing this instruction are not covered by the warranty" (sic), and that admitting the old instructions were wrong could open them up not just to liability for any accidents but liability for replacing any / all floors fitted according to their old recommendations.

I am sure that @sometimewoodworker will say that he has got different information from Shera (although I am rather less sure of whether that will be the truth or not), but if anyone wants to check this I would strongly suggest they contact Shera themselves instead of taking anyone's word for it here, or they can just draw their own conclusions from its absence from the Shera website and currently available guidebooks / instructions from Shera (as distinct from a hardware store in Malaysia).

Originally Posted by sometimewoodworker

The section I have posted I got from the company that makes Shera Plank.

Really?

If you got that section "from the company that makes Shera plank" then why is the link from JM Timber, not "from the company that makes Shera plank" ?

Why don't you put the link from Shera / Mahapant here for all to see if you got it from them as you claim?

Originally Posted by chenposeb

These are DURA planks though

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't DURA planks / decking WPC (Wood Plastic Composite), not fibre cement?

If so they've got about as much relevance to joist spacing for Shera / Conwood type decking as purlin spacing for regular tiles has for Colorbond. They're totally different materials.


Dura Composite Decking - Anti-Slip & Low MaintenanceDura Composites

Originally Posted by sometimewoodworker

Thanks for another data point.

I prefer to post constructive information that may help other posters make for a safe build rather than collect "data points". The only connection between Shera planks and Dura deck is that they both go on the floor. Totally different materials.

Originally Posted by sometimewoodworker

Sometimes finding detailed information is not easy here

You shouldn't have any problems posting that link to "The section (you) have posted (which you) got from the company that makes Shera Plank", though - after all, you say that you've already got it.

Originally Posted by sometimewoodworker

But be careful that you don't die because you didn't use 300mm

Somehow I doubt if anyone who puts their foot through the floor and is hospitalised as a result of your over-confidence and mis-representation here will find it quite so amusing.

In the absence of the link to that elusive Section which @sometimewoodworker says he got from Shera / Mahaphant I'll take a break from responding to his wind-ups.

The Dura planks we got are a similar material, not up on all the spec as I just went to Global and got the best deal I could. I specified the fact that they are Dura so there wouldn't be any confusion.
As I read the post, I thought it was asking for advice about decking options. I am not really getting involved in a conversation about it too much as I'm pretty busy, sorry.

Just letting the OP know that I have built a deck with Dura board at 50cm spacing metal frame which doesn't move when I walk on it and seems very sturdy. The builders we used were using larger spacings on other decks, but I can't comment on them as I haven't seen them.

My teak houses use reclaimed teak wood pretty much throughout, they are thinner than the dura board as well, different sizes as it's reclaimed, but I'm hoping that regular applications of teak oil will keep a little spring and less brittleness as there's a 2m drop if they go...lol

Originally Posted by chenposeb

The Dura planks we got are a similar material, not up on all the spec as I just went to Global and got the best deal I could. I specified the fact that they are Dura so there wouldn't be any confusion.
As I read the post, I thought it was asking for advice about decking options. I am not really getting involved in a conversation about it too much as I'm pretty busy, sorry.

Just letting the OP know that I have built a deck with Dura board at 50cm spacing metal frame which doesn't move when I walk on it and seems very sturdy. The builders we used were using larger spacings on other decks, but I can't comment on them as I haven't seen them.

My teak houses use reclaimed teak wood pretty much throughout, they are
3 thinner than the dura board as well, different sizes as it's reclaimed, but I'm hoping that regular applications of teak oil will keep a little spring and less brittleness as there's a 2m drop if they go...lol

"Similar" to what, exactly, as the OP asked about both WPC and fibre-cement composite boards?

Could you possibly find time to confirm who these 'Dura' planks / boards are made by?

The only Dura planks for a floor / deck I can find anywhere on the net are either WPC (Wood Plastic Composite), or HDF laminate which is
for floors not decks. The only 'Dura' planks I can find similar to Shera / Conwood (fibre - cement mix) are from SCG and are for sidings for walls, fascia boards, etc, NOT for decks unless you want to kill someone! Fibre - cement boards are far more brittle than laminate, WPC or wood and will barely 'move until they snap, usually with no warning. That's the problem.

Comparing the thicknesses of genuine teak planks, WPC planks and Shera / Conwood fibre - cement mix planks is like comparing the thickness of kevlar body armour with a paperback and then inviting someone to shoot you assuming that you're going to get similar protection. Not a great idea!

Just a clear brand reference / manufactirer for you 'Dura' planks / boards would help clarify things enormously if you've got time.

Originally Posted by Dapper

Every homebase sells cheap knockoff composite decking for next to nothing these days.

Same factory but much cheaper.

Don't fall for the hyped up marketing over-priced bullshit.

Some poor fucker I know paid hand over fist for Vispac stuff that turned out to be the cheap stuff anyway.

Buyer beware.

Excellent point ... and also an excellent demonstration of why I'm trying to establish what 'Dura" boards @chenposeb used, as Vispac is a WPC.

Personally I'd use WPC over fibre-cement composite any day for an uncovered deck, but (getting back to the OP!) there is still a difference in price.

Sorry, can't be too much help as I just went by what the stores' staff told us and our builders kind of agreed with them.
All the shops around here that sell Shera and Conwood also have Dura boards.
They are all placed next to each other and the staff all believe them to be the same material - cement fibre boards.

In my opinion there is a slight difference, I put that down to the boards being so thick, it could be different materials. I doubt any of the companies would tell you really what they have in them, a little like paint companies wouldn't be telling you the real mix of their paint.

I have worked with Shera, Conwood and Dura all different thickness for different applications. The Dura seem more solid, but then I think that is due to the thickness of these planks (25cm). The actual grain seems stronger to me, but that is purely my opinion.
DURA was also the cheapest option. I haven't looked on the internet, but it's sold everywhere in the NE Isaan area, can't comment on other areas as I haven't been to look there.

Hope that helps.