Deck in a Day

Written By: Donna Rhodes | Issue: 2017/07 - July

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Congratulations on considering adding a Deck-in-a-Day to your outdoor living space.

Whether or not you already have your pallets, here is some good information about how to select optimum materials.

Often pallets are built of cheap, soft wood, but you can find oak and other hardwoods on a lucky day.  For this project Troy collected both hard and moderately soft woods. Bear in mind the harder the wood, the longer the deck will last.

A standard pallet is 40″wide by 48″long or 48”wide by 40”long (where runners go the opposite direction).  Runners are the top pallet boards.  For this project extra long pallets are ideal.  Troy found five oak pallets that measured 48″ x 120″ at a construction site.  They were heavy duty with five runner boards per pallet.  But you can use six standard pallets if that is all you can find.

Now let’s talk design and strength of materials.  Many deck boards are softwood, less than ⅜” thick with three runner boards.  These are unusable for decks unless you add more runner boards, which is a hassle–but doable.  Ideal deck boards are hardwood or ¾” thick.  Spacing is the issue.  Determine whether your runner boards are 40” or 48” long.  Few pallets are solid tops, deck-ready.  Most likely boards will have gaps between them.  If so, cut the boards off.  Or you can nail new boards on top.  Troy decided to saw the deck boards off (squeezing the Sawsall blade in-between boards to sever the nails).  Then he nailed the same boards onto his frame, three at a time so as to keep frame stable. You don’t have to remove old nail heads.  He alternated old boards with pressure treated pickets.

Since he lives in Florida where sun, rain, and termites are hell on decks, he raised the deck 11 ½ inches off the ground.  All added-wood was pressure treated.  Enamel porch paint sealed the deck.    

Time to get started. Here’s what you’ll need:

·     Pallets

·     Sawzall ® for cutting nails; you can rent, borrow, of buy one at Harbor Freight Tools for about $20.  Get a couple of metal cutting blades.

·     Deck screws ($20-$50) and a drill.  Better yet, get an impact driver; or you can use a nail gun and nails for speed.

·     Stack of thirteen 8′ picket fence replacement boards ($2.60 per board at Lowes)

·     Deck Paint (about $16 for one gallon)

·     Bricks or concrete blocks for support (to avoid bugs and rot).

 If you already have blocks/bricks, nails (Troy had some left over from another job) and deck paint, so much the better.  Cost will fall well below $100.  If you were doing a DIY with all new materials it would cost $200-300.

 Process:

            1. Determine deck placement site and measure off where block supports will go at corners (or anywhere support seems necessary).  Troy used 12 concrete blocks.

            2. Using the Sawzall®, saw through pallet board nails.  Take off 3 boards at a time to keep the frame stable.

            3. Nail boards on pallet frame, side by side.  Alternate pallet deck boards and fence pickets (if you have a mixture) for strength and for pattern.

            4. Continue with Sawzall® to trim boards to fit if necessary.  Pallet boards are rarely precision-cut.

            5. When all deck boards are secure, it’s time to paint.  Optional: If you want to add a couple of years to the life of your deck, caulk the spaces between boards, particularly at the board ends where they are likely to absorb moisture.

            6. When the paint’s dry, koozie-up with your favorite refreshment alongside family and friends and enjoy the heck out of your Deck-in-a-day!