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Building Tips For a Great Looking
Tebo Deck
The goal of every deck builder is to build a great looking deck with as
little effort as possible. The only thing more important is the over all quality
of the deck in order to avoid nagging callbacks. Therefore, good building
practices are important. For this reason, we are offering some tips to get you
off on a better foot and to insure a quality deck the first time.
Installing Deck Boards with the Tebo
 | Prior to installing deck boards To
lengthen the life of the deck boards completely seal all wood deck boards prior
to installation. |
| Installing the first board Currently, the first board should be
fastened with a nail or screw on the starting edge (usually against the house).
(See Diagram 1 below) |
| Placement of the tool The Tebo Decker should be placed into the
corner of the deck board and joist making certain to have good contact with both
boards. It is most important that the wedge block on the tool make full contact
with the deck board to insure the Tebos 3rd leg results at a 90
degree angle to the deck board. |
| Tight contact with joist Step on the edge of the deck board as
close to the tool as possible or step on the foot plate. Lean with all of your
weight over the board edge and strike the driver with the rubber mallet. Install
a fastener at every joist intersection. |
| Driving on the next deck board Place the heel of your foot close
to the edge of the installed deck board and first pointed prong. The ball of
your foot and toes should be overhanging onto the next deck board. Keep most of
your weight on the edge of the next deck board that is being driven on the first
pointed prong. This pressure will insure that the next deck board is installed
tight to the joist. |
| Working left to right We have found that working from left to
right works best for most deck builders. Move ahead of the next prong (to your
right) to make contact with the deck board and keep your weight on the board (as
mentioned in paragraph above). Lean to your left while striking the deck board
onto the next prong. Always reach out to the left as far as you can comfortably
reach. |
*The most important goal of driving on the deck board is to look for a tight
fit to the joist.
| Butt Joints While Tebos should normally be driven on the right
side of the joist, they can also be driven on the left side. This allows you to
drive one on each side of a joist and bend the leg of the Tebo on the left side
to a perpendicular position. Both pieces of a butt joist can be tapped on to the
Tebo. By fastening two more on the other side of the deck boards you are able to
anchor both pieces properly. |
| Ipe deck boards Since Ipe is such a dense material, pre-drilling
a pilot hole may be required to insure that there is minimal checking and the
third leg maintains its 90 degree orientation. The Tebo drilling fixture allows
you to drill pilot holes that properly align with the Tebo coming out of the
tool. |
Framing Tips To minimize visible fasteners, there are
certain framing methods you should consider that may make your installation
easier.
| Lumber Selection As always, it is much easier to work with
lumber that is in good condition and is straight. Minimize the use of lumber
with crooks, crowns, or damage to the top edge of the joist. Do not use pressure
treated deck boards with a width dimension over 5-5/8" due to excessive
shrinkage. |
| Framing on a Beam Whenever possible, we recommend resting the
joists on a beam. This will allow you to use the Tebo Decker all the way out to
the end of the joist. After the deck surface is completed, the band or rim
joist can be installed. |
| Bracing We recommend using a diagonal brace nailed to the
underside of the deck to hold the frame square. We also suggest using spreader
boards every 4 to 5 feet on the top surface of the joist to maintain your joist
spacing. Of course the spreaders can be removed as your deck surface approaches
the spreader and the diagonal brace can be removed once the deck surface is
completed. |
| Bridging Bridging installed prior to deck board installation can
obstruct the Tebo Decker. Therefore, we recommend installing your bridging
member between the joists once you have installed the decking surface up to that
location. You can install the bridging right in front of the deck board just
installed. Then next deck board will then cover over the bridging and will not
obstruct the Tebo Decker. |
Additional Tips for Driving the Next Deck Board On to the Tebo 3rd
Leg
| Tapping Block For softer woods, you may want to consider using a
tapping block. This will protect the wood and will spread the impact of the
blow. We recommend a 4 minimum length with 1" minimum thickness. |
Place the tapping block against the deck board at the fastener points on
which you want to drive. Use the front of your foot closest to the starting
point to hold the tapping block while applying your weight to the heal of the
same foot that is over the board edge contacting the points.
Your second foot should be at least a joist space ahead of your first. Your
toe or heal should always keep pressure on the edge of the board that is in
contact with the Tebo points.
| Sledgehammer - When using a sledgehammer, it is easy and much faster
with two people. With two people positioned on the tapping block and deck board,
you can drive the decking on more points at one time before moving the tapping
block forward. |
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