Mini deck

Use tongue and groove landscaping timber and fence palings to create this stylish mini deck.

Build a mini deck for your back garden

Ways with wood with Mark Rayner - Project 91

Difficulty level: Challenging

You will need:

Tongue and groove landscaping timber cut to the following sizes.
- 1800mm (x5)
- 1000mm (x8)
- 910mm (x2)
- 800mm fence palings (x7)
- 50mm x 50mm x 910mm treated timber (x2)
65mm and 100mm exterior screws
Decking nails
Fence capping (approx 4m)

Hammer
Paint stirrer
Paintbrush
Pencil
Resene Woodsman wood oil stain tinted to Resene Heartwood
Tape measure
Turps for washing brush
Saw
Screwdriver
Spade
Spirit level

To get the look: Mark painted the adjoining shed wall with Resene Lumbersider tinted to Resene Half Dutch White.

Other ideas: For a rich red look stain the mini deck with Resene Woodsman tinted to Resene Cherrywood.

How to build a mini deck

Step one
Measure, mark and cut the tongue and groove landscaping timber to the lengths listed above.

Step two
Construct the base of the deck, as shown, using two 1800mm lengths, two 1000mm lengths and two 910mm lengths of tongue and groove landscaping timber, fixing with 100mm screws. Use a spirit level to ensure the base is level.

Step three
Build up the sides of the deck, as shown, using the remaining 1800mm lengths and 1000mm lengths of tongue and groove landscaping timber. Again, fix with 100mm screws.

Step four
Measure, mark and cut the fence capping to fit along the sides of the deck and fix into position with decking nails.

Step five
Attach the two 50mm x 50mm x 910mm pieces of timber at either end of the deck base, as shown, ensuring they are flush with the other central supports. Fix with 100mm screws drilled in at an angle.

Step six
Lay the fence palings in position and fix with 65mm screws. Measure, mark and cut the final fence paling to fit.

Step seven
Carefully stir the Resene Woodsman tinted to Resene Heartwood.

Step eight
Apply two coats of Resene Woodsman tinted to Resene Heartwood to the whole structure allowing 24 hours for each coat to dry. Wash brush with mineral turps.

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