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Hi all, I’m building a deck for my brother (with plans I got from the various other contributors on this portal). What’s the best way to be able to trace the stormwater pipe and transfer it onto a decking board to get some snug fits?
Hi @Bomber25,
I am happy that you have found plans for your brother's deck from the Workshop community.
Our resident DIY guru @EricL will be on later this afternoon to suggest ways to create a snug fit for the pipe. We have loads of helpful and experienced community members who can share their knowledge and experience in building decks so let me tag @LePallet, @DIYImpressions, and @Adam_W they may be able to give you a great snug solution.
Looking forward to seeing the final result.
Katie
Hi Bomber!
In the meantime, until that professional arrives, an amateur's thoughts.
Position the board - with the edge touching the pipe. That gives us Mark No.1
Then, correctly spaced - with the end touching the pipe - project (ruler/straight edge) the edge of the pipe along the board - which will give us Mark A.
We know the pipe diameter - mark it on the board symmetrically with Mark A in the middle.
A bit of pipe off-cut would help with this.
Jigsaw or coping saw. Same procedure with the other side.
@Bomber25 how about this. Bit of a work and measurement. I would suggest keep this patches separate so that it becomes convenient for you to open the patch (instead of unscrewing the whole plank) to do any repair work on the pipe (if any issues with drainage in future)
Forget what I said above.
Looking closer at your photo - my method would leave you with an annoying piece behind the pipe?
Time for a cuppa. 😞
Hi, @DIYImpressions, I wish I could do that. Unfortunately the whole deck so far is single board lengths. If staggered it would look out of place. Picky brother even though he ‘s not paying for labour…
Further update: looks like I can purchase one of these from Bunnings to do the job.
Hello @Bomber25
My apologies for the late reply. My suggested cutting technique is not too far off from @Noyade's suggestion. In order to get a very good cut into your decking panel, I recommend making a cardboard template. Ensure that the cardboard is nice and square before you begin.
Here are the steps:
- From the photo you've shared, place the cardboard next to the left-hand side of the decking panel and ensure the cardboard is butting up against the pipe.
- Draw a line indicating the gap between decking panels, this will be your first line.
- Draw another line indicating the distance from your first line to the edge of the pipe.
- Place a line at the back indicating the distance from the wall to the back of the pipe.
- Measure the diameter of the pipe. Draw a line on the right-hand side of the pipe indicating its width. The common downpipe sizes are either 90mm or 100mm.
- Once you have the diameter of the pipe draw a line at the bottom. You should now have a square guide on your cardboard, find the centre of that square and use a compass to draw a circle as your cutting guide.
- From the first line measure the decking panel distance of 90mm and draw a red line indicating that this is the size of the decking panel.
- From these measurements, you can now cut out the cutting templates for your decking panels. Please make sure to include the gaps in your measurements for the following panels on your deck.
I've placed an example of the template below, please let me know what you think.
If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.
Eric
