Biscuit And Glue Correct Deck?

PA woodbutcher

I'm building a set of 6' stairs on a deck using correct deck. Would like to frame the treads and was wondering if I could get away with biscuiting them or would there be to much expansion and contraction? Tite bond II or PL?

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jeffaah

I have tried that several times and they have all opened up a bit. I tried bisciuts and pocket screws with the same results. According to CD all joints should be gapped...including miters. Remember this stuff WILL move.

If you give it a shot then PL Premium is your best bet. Titebond won't do anything with CD

Snobnd

Nice look, cept the grain on the end. I would not use glue - Pocket screws and add to the stringers for the design. my .02

neolitic

Mac was using pocket screws on the
treads for that entry deck last summer(?).
Wonder how that one's doing?
http://www.contractortalk.com/showthread.php?t=39131

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WarnerConstInc.

I took a pice and put some pocket screws in it and threw it in the back yard for a while, it still shrank back and moved a little bit, it looked ok. I still think you have to leave a gap no matter what. I know it seems silly for the big bucks spent on these kinds of materials, but that is just that.

jeffaah

I just remembered one thing I did and it woked out pretty well. I cut and fit the miters and then made a shoulder cut on the top, about the width of a blade and 3/8"-ish deep. This left the apperance of a gap but still let me pocket screw the peices tight together. The joint did open up a TINY bit but was barely noticable because of the "fake" gap.

It still was not a true gap like CD would want, but it looked good.

PA woodbutcher

[quote=WarnerConstInc.;532835]I took a piece and put some pocket screws in it and threw it in the back yard for a while, it still shrank back and moved a little bit, it looked ok. I still think you have to leave a gap no matter what. I know it seems silly for the big bucks spent on these kinds of materials, but that is just that. Everything moves, plastics more so. This is my first CD product and was unsure about how much it moves. I do know that Azek and Geo deck move ALOT....really surprised me how much[/quote]

Thanks for the comments guys. I figure that if I could biscuit them I could put everything together in the shop easier to get everything same - same. I'll wait for MAC to respond as to how he made out and I know that Robert and Greg have done things a little different.

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'The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.' - Ronald Reagan

PA woodbutcher

The headcotes aren't too bad. I didn't do anything but pre drill and sink these.

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'The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.' - Ronald Reagan

RobertCDF

I have never used biscuits on CD but I have used a polyurethane PL premium glue with it and am VERY happy with how it worked. CD moves a lot less than most I believe in a 20' run its about 3/16". You will have it open up a little but I bet it will still look good.

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Colorado Springs Custom Decks
Colorado Custom Decks
Custom Composite Decks

MartyCD

Bryan,
Zippy looking project. Be sure to show us finished pics.

This is the best glue we've found for CD:
DP8010 by 3M

http://www.shop3m.com/62278304308.html


It is very good stuff. But I checked with our customer service and they weren't ready to start recommending it by itself (i.e. without screws).


Marty

BuiltByMAC

Hey guy, haven't been back out to that job lately. I'll get in touch w/ the owner and drop by sometime this weekend. I'm hoping he got the cedar painted by now so I'll be able to get some finished pics. I'll take pics of the mitered corners and drop 'em in this thread so you can see what 6 mo. timeframe does to TT XLM. No experience yet w/ CD CX - not sure if they'll react the same.

Mac

BuiltByMAC

Finally remembered to upoad these pics - mitered corners 6 months after installation, TimberTech XLM. The one picture shows how I screwed the corners together from beneath - (2) 3" screws through Kreg pocket holes, (1) 1 1/2" trim screw near the corner.

Mac

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Meetre

Mac, did you use any glue or just the pocket screws? it's holding up nice!

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BuiltByMAC

No glue, I haven't experimented yet w/ which ones would work for the XLM foam guts...

Mac