Anybody Using Composite Lumber?

PoodleHeadMikey

This is an experimental 'floating deck' I am building at my own house. No posts or footings. Just two by lumber laid flat with the deck planking screwed down on top of it.

At a former house I built a walkway with this method - but using P/T. That was about 20 years ago and when I drove over there not too long ago it was still fine, and the new owners apparently do nothing for maintenance.

At some point in my 'planning' I hit on the idea of using composite instead of P/T and ending up buying Oasis decking and Oasis 2 by 4's for the flat 'joists'.

Has anyone here ever used Oasis lumber? And if so; exactly how are the screws driven in?

For me the #1 square drive heads strip, so I first pre-drilled 7/64" and then 1/8". Then bought a better grade of bit.

I was out there early this morning. It is now after ten A. I have pre-drilled for and installed exactly 51 deck screws with only a few stripping the heads, luckily those right at the last second so that the heads are Almost flush, and I am exhausted. This just cannot be the way it's done. I'm sure I still weigh over 180 and I have to lay my full upper body weight and muscle onto the drill motor to drive each screw.

I am already one drill size larger than the correct one for this size screw (1/8" instead of 7/64"). At this rate I will be months completing just this phase.

The decking is fine, but has anybody ever attached anything to Oasis lumber with screws? If so; please tell me The Secret. <g>

PHM
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JTW

I can't say I would recommend, but I do see these done @ the beach with composite going overthe dunes, the composite does seems to get quite flexible in the sun using this method....

neolitic

1) Composite lumber is not
structural
2) Trim head screws
3) http://www.starbornindustries.com/smart-bit/
4) Grind the tip of your square drive
bit flat

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deckman22

The few time I've attached composite board to composite board it always seems to be problematic. If you drill a pilot hole I worry about the screw coming loose later. Without a pilot you get the plastic material the screw causes to come out of the board riding up the screw as you drill it in. This leaves the material to build up between the boards, kinda like making a composite washer between the boards. Not a snug fit if you don't clean the stuff off the screw best as you can.

I would recommend attaching the composite deck boards to real lumber, probably treated pine unless you're on the west coast where they use treated doug fir.

I have used Oasis composite before, it's one of many that use strandex technology in their boards. I did a lot of Premier decks & a couple with Oasis, pretty much the same board other than the embossing used for the simulated wood grain.

Some of you may say that weatherbest used strandex technology on their boards, which is true, and look at what just happened to them, big recall of millions of feet of product. However it was when weatherbest got away from making their board using strandex that they made the bad boards. They made a cheaper board at their plant in Idaho using a different mixture, not strandex, and these boards are the ones that cracked. Nothing new for a composite company to have to recall boards because of bad product. Trex, Smartdeck & Geodeck come to mind right away.

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PoodleHeadMikey

The composite lumber is not for structural support in this application - it pretty much just locates the planking and holds it's spacing.

The 2 by 4's are laid flat over the soil at 16" and the planks screwed down to them.

All available decking screws appear to have been intended for use to secure composite down to pressure treated lumber - not composite lumber.

That Smart bit only drills the planks - not the underlying board.

The problem with pre-drilling is that it is not the planks which require it - the underlying 2 by 4's are what need the holes. So a standard drill is too short . A 1/8" aircraft drill will reach, but the flutes are only a little over the an inch anyway. So each hole requires that the drill be removed and the flutes cleaned three or four times - For Each Hole.

And although 7/64" is the standard pre-drill for this siz screw, even 1/8" is apparently too small. And 6" aircraft bits are not available in 9/64" <g>

The only thing I found so far which can be installed in a timely manner is Phillips II composite screws. Which are phillips drive with flat heads. They mushroom and are only available in dark gray. Which makes them Really stand out on this pale gray decking. And they mushroom pretty bad too. These can be predrilled, countersunk, and driven with a reversible drill/drive bit. Still not exactly quick but at least do-able.

I love the planking - but getting it down successfully has been a Real bas tard.

Can I be the only person on the planet who has ever had this issue?

Oasis Technical Support said (basically): huh; damifino. never heard of That before. <g>

PHM
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Chris G

What kind of driver are you using? Impact? Also, by yourself the best driver bits you can. Check Lee Valley tools.

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PoodleHeadMikey

So far I have used a 12 and 18 volt Hitachi cordless. And a 24 volt Firestorm cordless. A DeWalt corded drill just spun the bit in the head so then I just used it to drill and not drive.

I did try four or five different bit manufacturer's drive bits. They all act about the same to me: won't stand up to the torque required.

I used star-drive bits and screws two weeks ago on a pressure treated deck. And they worked just slick as you please. I sure do wish I could have composite screws in start drive. <g>

But I guess I will have to tolerate the huge mushrooming dark gray flatheads on this pale grey deck. I hate the idea but I can't just leave the planks loose. <g>

I have no idea how to make it work and apparently no one else does either.

PHM
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neolitic

There are others,
http://www.screw-products.com/composite-deck-screw.htm
Did you search,
"composite deck screws"?

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MartyCD

I have used our material as framing in a variety of situations, usually for boardwalks in wet areas. We often donate material for this kind of thing. In this case I always use the hidden fastener material; you still have to predrill the framing member, but the fastener is only going through plastic clip and then into the composite so it's not quite so frustrating.
What you might do in your situation is drill two diameters. You could drill a larger diameter through the deckboards, and just touch the sleeper. Then come back and drill the sleeper at the appropriate smaller diameter.
You can get a similar effect with a screw that has no threads on the shank. For example building a playground a composite 2x4 attaches to a composite 4x4 - using a Timberlok I predrill and it zips right in nicely. Hope this helps. Marty

RobertCDF

I would use a 9/64" bit and GRK T-10 star drive RT screws. It should work wonderfully. I use this setup for all my installs (almost all CD CX, the hardest composite ever) I even attach composite to composite with very few problems.

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Colorado Springs Custom Decks
Colorado Custom Decks
Custom Composite Decks