Why Board Spacing is So Important in Deck Installation?

Deck installation is a tricky business. You need to work on the getup of the deck, the material it is to be made up of, its dimension that will fulfil your needs, and its look and feel that will satisfy your aesthetic preferences. However, apart from all these, you need to take into account another factor that will make all the difference. It’s the board spacing or the spacing between the boards of the deck.

What is Board Spacing?

What does it mean? Spacing on a deck technically refers to the small edge-to-edge gaps between the boards that are used to prepare the flooring. Despite being small, this gap is one of the most crucial components of any good deck. Without proper board spacing, the boards may buckle out of place, as and when they expand due to the influence of nature over time. As a result, you will have broken decking quite frequently, compelling you to go for frequent replacement.

That is why it is so very important to ensure the decking is carried out with proper spacing between the floorboards. Therefore, you need to hire an experienced company that will have a fair amount of knowledge about this factor. For instance, if you are looking forward to deck installation in Brisbane, a reputed company like us will take into account the nature of the wood along with the climate of Queensland, particularly in and around Brisbane, before deciding on the boarding space. So that says why it is so important to hire a company like BB Decking for the installation of decks.

Here on this write-up, we discuss in detail the reasons why it is important to have a proper decking space.

It Allows the Wood to Expand and Contract

Wood, by its very nature, expands and contracts with the change in temperature and humidity through a process of absorption and expulsion of moisture. Thus, when this phenomenon is not taken into account by deck installation professionals, and the boards are placed with hardly any gap between each other, they will buckle upwards or downward and get distorted. This will prompt you to go for frequent repair and replacement. Proper spacing will allow the wood to expand and contract.

It Allows the Deck to Breathe

Besides allowing expansion and contraction, board spacing will encourage the proper flow of air through and around the deck boards, allowing them to ‘breathe’ properly. Thus, the wood gets less moistened, which minimises damage. Remember, it is the moisture that damages wood the most, over time.

It Allows Proper Drainage of Water

This is another importance of maintaining proper spacing during the installation of decks. Rainwater can prove to be particularly detrimental to wood decking if there is no proper provision of its drainage. With no gaps between the boards, the water and the resultant moisture will remain trapped, leading to issues like mould and rot.

Proper Board Spacing Helps Easier Cleaning

The presence of proper board spacing also makes cleaning and sweeping away the debris from the decking surface easier. While a minor amount of debris will not make much structural difference to the decking, it will affect the look and feel of the deck. However, too much debris on the deck will trap moisture and may cause structural damage to your deck. Thus, to be on a safer side, our professional deck builders in Brisbane will maintain proper spacing between the boarding and make cleaning of the deck a cakewalk. 

Therefore you see how important it is to mind the gap between the boards when it comes to the construction of a deck. Indeed, the immense experience that our experts have in this regard will help them to come up with a flawless construction of a deck from all aspects. Thus, to get in touch with BB Decking and to know further details about the issue, call us at 0434554470 between our office hours.