How to keep the cuts consistent in less time
Samurai Carpenter checks in from a beautiful jobsite in the Pacific Northwest with his Free Tip Friday—which comes on Tuesday this week
Adding a border to the perimeter of a deck is a great way to kick up the quality a notch—if you do it well. If you cobble it together like a rookie, It will be obvious.
Rather than installing a border and then cutting the decking to fit inside, install the border last.
If you butt decking to the border, chances are, the square cut on the decking will not be 100% in agreement with the 'square' installation of the border. Making the two look out of square.
Instead, run deck boards wild past the edge.
Measure at the ends where the border will be, mark, and snap a chalk line across the decking.
Set the blade of your saw to about 1/16 or 1/32 inch less than the decking depth, to avoid cutting into the membrane covering the joists.
Break off the deck boards and use a chisel and utility knife to clean up the cuts.
"There's your tip for this Friday; I hope you enjoyed it."
—The Samurai Carpenter is a timber framer and furniture maker in Victoria, BC. See more on his YouTube channel
