To drill or not to drill

chris johnson

Member
Messages
18
How many of you out there pre drill when laying 2x4 decking. I will most likely be using cedar or p/t. Also on a 2x4, do you guys use one screw or two per joist? I have a little deck refacing project coming up and I am trying to iron out the details.

Chris
 
We use PT lumber (cause that is about all we can get) here and never predrilled a hole. Have switched from nails to desk screws with torx heads. Those things are great!

With Cedar, depending on which cedar it might split and you would need to predrill.

Two screws per joists. If not, and probably will anyway, the decking will cup. Watch the growth rings and when laying them down and lay them so that if they cup it face down.
 
I pre-drill. If you have two cordless drills (I have four), it's easier and faster than not pre-drilling.

I use one screw per joist, in zig-zag pattern (at one edge this joist, at the other edge the next joist). The ends of the decking boards get two screws.

If later I find out that one screw is not enough, I can always add another.

My deck it 11 years old and I haven't seen the need for the other screw yet.
 
I would think that pre-drilling or not would be in direct relation to how wet the wood is. Since pressure treated wood is pretty darn soggy, I wouldn't think pre-drilling would be nessasary. Neither would cedar decking if it was sawn right off the log. But of course if the lumber is dry, then pre-drilling just might be required.
 
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