Decks

Round deck walkway part 2

DIY deck construction
Building around a round deck

Over halfway done, not its time to figure out how to curve the deck boards.

 

 

 

 

I laid out a few boards to get a feel for how it would look. I knew that in order to make up the larger gap that was on the outside edge of the deck and walkway I would have to taper the boards. So the next board I measured the length and took a guess at what the tapered amount should be. For this first board I made a taper cut to one side only. The board was 101 inches long and I tapered it from 0 inches to 1 inch on the opposite end. I marked the line with a chalk line and cut it free hand with the circular saw. Then finished off the cut edge with a roundover bit on the portable router table. I did a second board the same way.

Taking another look, if I was going to achieve what I wanted to do I was going to have to make a bigger taper. Rather than taking a 2 inch taper off of one edge of the third board, I took a 1-3/4 inch taper on each side. At this point I was still guessing at whether this much of a taper would be enough of an adjustment.

I cut the fourth board except I took only 1-1/2 inch off each side. It was suppose to be 1-3/4 inch off each side. Guess I was too quick to measure. Once this board was nailed in, I took a loose board and positioned it to where I thought the walkway would start. I determined this only by the positioning of the framing I already had in place. As well, the center point of the deck plays a roll in this. The idea is to have the walkway boards in line with the center point of the deck so that they radiate out. The center point of this deck level just so happens to have a support post in that location. So the layout of the boards was more of a visual determination rather than any actual measurement for positioning.

The fourth tapered board measures about 2 inches on the inside.

Deck and walkway construction
Measure more than once to be sure

And it takes up about 7 inches on the outside.

Building a backyard walkway
Measure and measure again
Build your own backyard deck
Double and triple check your measurements.

So with the fourth board in place and the temporary board for the start of the walkway in place I took a measurement of the inside and outside. It just so happened that the inside measurement was 12 inches and the outside measurement was 42 inches. Doing the math, I would need 6 tapered boards. Pretty good I thought. Let’s see how it works out.

How to build your own deckway
Don’t rush, always check your measurements

So this is what I got. This picture shows the sixth board about to be nailed into place. Pretty close to where I wanted to be. From here I figure it will take another 4-6 boards with tapers to be in position for starting the walkway. The walkway will be 3 feet wide. How many boards will have to be tapered I don’t know yet. Maybe all. Maybe every second one. As I go, I’ll make that determination. As well, how the board pattern will look also plays a role.

Building a deck walkway
Looks good so far.

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A Newfoundland born Canadian with a life long interest in woodworking, baking and anything else that peaks my curiosity.

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