daniel lane
01-22-2012, 4:39 PM
Hi, all -
I've done research and read what quite a few folks have had to say about composite decking materials, but I have a request to use it in an unusual manner and having never played with it, wanted to ask some advise. I've been asked to rebuild the step 'boxes' used in the bathrooms at my son's pre-school, and they are keen to use composite for what they view as a sanitary upgrade (the old ones are well-worn wood). These will be simple steps, built essentially like free-standing rectangular mini-decks. For fear of being tagged by the Creek's software for doing a search for "decking children," I thought I'd ask my questions and hope the answers are fairly straightforward:
How 'splintery' (for lack of a better word) is this stuff? If I just countersink and screw the material from the top, do I need to be concerned about little feet potentially getting slivers?
If I chamfer or round-over the edges with a router, do I need to worry about slivers? Tearout?
How much cost and complexity do the 'hidden' fastener systems add? Obviously it's not as much of a question when building a multi-hundred square foot deck, but if I'm building eight 2.5sq.ft. mini-decks, I'm not up to paying $100 for a jig. I am, however, interested in the potentially added safety (see #1) and hygiene, and think it would look better, too.
I've read that at least some of this stuff is still somewhat porous, is there a recommended brand that may have minimal issues? I'm not keen on providing bacteria breeding grounds for the school bathrooms. I expect they will clean them, but they may also assume 'plastic = less of an issue' and if that isn't true, I'd at least like to know.
I've read that glues don't stick - is there a recommended way to end-join this stuff? I'm thinking that I would prefer to use the same material for everything, and for the rectangular box on the bottom, I'd rather not butt-join it at the corners. My first thought is to rabbet one end and screw through the rabbet into the 'end grain' of the other piece, but I'm trying to figure out my options - including potentially using dovetails or box joints with screws from the edge (i.e. from top toward floor). These will see a LOT of use, and I'd like to provide a near-bulletproof design.
That's about it for right now, if anyone can help, I'd appreciate it!
Thanks,
daniel
I've done research and read what quite a few folks have had to say about composite decking materials, but I have a request to use it in an unusual manner and having never played with it, wanted to ask some advise. I've been asked to rebuild the step 'boxes' used in the bathrooms at my son's pre-school, and they are keen to use composite for what they view as a sanitary upgrade (the old ones are well-worn wood). These will be simple steps, built essentially like free-standing rectangular mini-decks. For fear of being tagged by the Creek's software for doing a search for "decking children," I thought I'd ask my questions and hope the answers are fairly straightforward:
How 'splintery' (for lack of a better word) is this stuff? If I just countersink and screw the material from the top, do I need to be concerned about little feet potentially getting slivers?
If I chamfer or round-over the edges with a router, do I need to worry about slivers? Tearout?
How much cost and complexity do the 'hidden' fastener systems add? Obviously it's not as much of a question when building a multi-hundred square foot deck, but if I'm building eight 2.5sq.ft. mini-decks, I'm not up to paying $100 for a jig. I am, however, interested in the potentially added safety (see #1) and hygiene, and think it would look better, too.
I've read that at least some of this stuff is still somewhat porous, is there a recommended brand that may have minimal issues? I'm not keen on providing bacteria breeding grounds for the school bathrooms. I expect they will clean them, but they may also assume 'plastic = less of an issue' and if that isn't true, I'd at least like to know.
I've read that glues don't stick - is there a recommended way to end-join this stuff? I'm thinking that I would prefer to use the same material for everything, and for the rectangular box on the bottom, I'd rather not butt-join it at the corners. My first thought is to rabbet one end and screw through the rabbet into the 'end grain' of the other piece, but I'm trying to figure out my options - including potentially using dovetails or box joints with screws from the edge (i.e. from top toward floor). These will see a LOT of use, and I'd like to provide a near-bulletproof design.
That's about it for right now, if anyone can help, I'd appreciate it!
Thanks,
daniel