- Decking joists
- Coach screws
- Coach bolts
- Combi drill
- Socket set
- A saw suitable for your project and the thickness of the timber
- Pencil
- Decking preservative
- Sandpaper or sander
- Measure your deck frame and cut to size if necessary.
- Make 2 pencil marks on each end of the frame’s 2 outer joists to mark where the coach screws will go. They need to align with the centre of the adjoining outer joist. Then, use a flat wood drill bit to drill recesses into each mark. Make them the same depth of the screws that your using’s head and wide enough for a ratchet or socket to tighten them.
- Using a thinner drill bit, line up the outer joists and drill a pilot hole through the middle of the recess. These pilot holes act as a guide for the screws and stops them from splitting the wood.
- Fit the coach screws with either a drill driver or socket and ratchet.
- Repeat the process for the inner joists once you’ve assembled the outer frame.