Wiki: Duckboard
meow...@care2.com
NT
A '''Duckboard''' is a slatted timber item for use in wet conditions.
It maintains a well drained surface and sheds dust & dirt. They're
mainly used in bathing areas. Wood also has a degree of natural
antibacterial & antifungal effect, reducing the spread of foot
infections.
Traditional duckboard consists of many narrow wooden slats spaced
apart to allow free drainage, mounted on cross pieces underneath to
hold it all together. The slats have rounded top edges for comfort.
==Why duckboard?==
* Never stand in a wet puddle again when you get out of the [[shower]]
* Stand on flooring that stays a lot cleaner than its surroundings
* Duckboard flooring can be taken outside and rinsed or pressure
washed
* Practical floorcovering for £1.25 a square foot (Wickes 2009)
* Works well with damp floors, allowing evaporation
* Basic duckboard is more practical than pretty. Decorative patterning
is discussed further down.
==Decking meets duckboard==
The use of grooved decking timber makes a quicker and more robust
modern version of duckboarding. The construction is different to
exterior decking, but the surface is the same.
* much quicker to construct
* timber already treated
* more robust than traditional duckboard
* heavier, and unlikely to get knocked out of position
* closed grooves drain satisfactorily but require cleaning more often
than traditional open duckboard
==Material==
Softwood duckboard has limited life, just like decking. However
indoors in a dry house it should usually last decades, as normally it
gets a chance to dry out fully daily.
Durable timber such as oak heartwood can last indefinitely. However
for the average bathroom its not usually worth the extra cost.
Plastic duckboard is available ready made, and is completely
waterproof. But it tends to be either:
* lightweight domestic duty, and too small to be very useful
* or heavy duty for farm & factory use, with a 3 figure price to match
==Construction==
The top planks are standard decking board available from any DIY shed
or builder's merchant.
The underside cross pieces are simply ripped down pieces of deckboard.
This is close grained & treated, and can be cut from the decking
offcuts. Its mounted upside down so that
* a treated surface will be in contact with the floor
* the groove makes the screw heads recessed, minimising corrosion
* and eliminating any risk of a screwhead scratching the floor below.
The underneath cross pieces can rot eventually, usually well before
the top deck. If screwed in place rather than [[glue]]d they can be
replaced in minutes.
Pilot & clearance holes minimise the chance of splitting the timber,
some of which is small (split wood is much more vulnerable to rot).
Drywall [[screws]] have a thin shank, increasing the amount of lateral
movement available to the wood, and making drilling and driving
quicker. (If eventual rust staining of the floor could be a problem,
stainless screws can be used.) The clearance holes should be made
wider than the screw shanks to allow a little natural movement of the
wood without problem.
==Decoration==
The usual way to make duckboard decorative is to divide the area into
sections, with each section having boards laid at different angles.
Hexagonal patterns are mildly pretty, but your imagination is the
limit.
==See Also==
* [[Special:Allpages|Wiki Contents]]
* [[Special:Categories|Wiki Subject Categories]]
[[Category:Wood]
[[Category:Floors]]
[[Category:Bathrooms]]
The Medway Handyman
Softwood decking has a 30 year lifespan minimum if its tanalised. Wouldn't
call that limited life.
--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
meow...@care2.com
> > Softwood duckboard has limited life, just like decking.
>
> Softwood decking has a 30 year lifespan minimum if its tanalised. Wouldn't
> call that limited life.
Cheers for that... how about:
Softwood indoors in a dry house should last decades, assuming it gets
a chance to dry out daily. If particularly heavy use is expected and
it won't dry out, which is unusual, tanalised timber is a good choice.
NT
Jon Fairbairn
> A '''Duckboard''' is a slatted timber item for use in wet conditions.
s/\./ (the term is also used for a load spreading item for roofing work, though that's not covered here)./
... or something more succinct.
--
Jón Fairbairn Jon.Fa...@cl.cam.ac.uk
http://www.chaos.org.uk/~jf/Stuff-I-dont-want.html (updated 2009-01-31)
Dave Osborne
> meow...@care2.com writes:
>> A '''Duckboard''' is a slatted timber item for use in wet conditions.
>
> s/\./ (the term is also used for a load spreading item for roofing work, though that's not covered here)./
>
> ... or something more succinct.
It's also used for anti-slip/anti-fatigue matting for hard floors in
industrial environments.
John Rumm
Indeed - I have always used the term in connection with something more
traditionally used on a building site. On an incline it can become a
duck ladder (i.e roof access - the cross members being placed on top to
act as treads).
--
Cheers,
John.
/=================================================================\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\=================================================================/
The Medway Handyman
> Dave Osborne wrote:
>> Jon Fairbairn wrote:
>>> meow...@care2.com writes:
>>>> A '''Duckboard''' is a slatted timber item for use in wet
>>>> conditions.
>>>
>>> s/\./ (the term is also used for a load spreading item for roofing
>>> work, though that's not covered here)./
>>>
>>> ... or something more succinct.
>>
>> It's also used for anti-slip/anti-fatigue matting for hard floors in
>> industrial environments.
>>
>> e.g. http://www.jaymart.net/duckboard.php
>
> Indeed - I have always used the term in connection with something more
> traditionally used on a building site. On an incline it can become a
> duck ladder (i.e roof access - the cross members being placed on top
> to act as treads).
>
But why is it called a duck board/ladder? What have ducks got to do with
it?
John Rumm
Pondering such questions could cause one to quack up...
Steve Walker
>> ==Material==
>> Softwood duckboard has limited life, just like decking.
>
> Softwood decking has a 30 year lifespan minimum if its tanalised. Wouldn't
> call that limited life.
And yet you keep perpetrating it.... ? :o)
Dave Osborne
According to wackypedia, "duck" is another word for "a very short cave
sump", a sump being a low space that collects water. In the first world
war there were lots of trenches. The bottom of a trench with water in is
akin to a duck and they had "duck boards" to cover the duck to keep
their feet dry and also the duck boards would spread the load to
alleviate getting bogged down in the mud.
Hence the use of the term for boards which either keep your feet off the
wet floor or spread the load on a roof to stop you falling through.
The Medway Handyman
> The Medway Handyman wrote:
>> John Rumm wrote:
>>> Dave Osborne wrote:
>>>> Jon Fairbairn wrote:
>>>>> meow...@care2.com writes:
>>>>>> A '''Duckboard''' is a slatted timber item for use in wet
>>>>>> conditions.
>>>>> s/\./ (the term is also used for a load spreading item for roofing
>>>>> work, though that's not covered here)./
>>>>>
>>>>> ... or something more succinct.
>>>> It's also used for anti-slip/anti-fatigue matting for hard floors
>>>> in industrial environments.
>>>>
>>>> e.g. http://www.jaymart.net/duckboard.php
>>> Indeed - I have always used the term in connection with something
>>> more traditionally used on a building site. On an incline it can
>>> become a duck ladder (i.e roof access - the cross members being
>>> placed on top to act as treads).
>>>
>>
>> But why is it called a duck board/ladder? What have ducks got to do
>> with it?
>
> Pondering such questions could cause one to quack up...
Or develop a strange mallardy...
Phil Addison
Not quite. A short cave sump is indeed called a duck, but that is
because one 'ducks' through it, in the way a duck (the bird) thrusts its
head underwater, with its ass in the air, looking for food*. This sort
of cave sump is a short one which you can pass by holding your breath,
ducking under the obstructing roof (i.e. the roof dips below water
level) and popping up the other side. Caving was not a sport of any
significance at WW1 time, and any cavers certainly wouldn't have
ventured through sumps until much later. To 'duck' means to avoid
something, so a duck-board is a device that allows you to avoid the
puddles, or any obstruction you want to bridge with it.
* In swimming, a 'duck-dive' is a method of transferring from surface
swimming to underwater swimming.
Phil
Dave Osborne
>> According to wackypedia, "duck" is another word for "a very short cave
>> sump", a sump being a low space that collects water. In the first world
>> war there were lots of trenches. The bottom of a trench with water in is
>> akin to a duck and they had "duck boards" to cover the duck to keep
>> their feet dry and also the duck boards would spread the load to
>> alleviate getting bogged down in the mud.
>>
>> Hence the use of the term for boards which either keep your feet off the
>
> Not quite. A short cave sump is indeed called a duck, but that is
> because one 'ducks' through it, in the way a duck (the bird) thrusts its
> head underwater, with its ass in the air, looking for food*. This sort
> of cave sump is a short one which you can pass by holding your breath,
> ducking under the obstructing roof (i.e. the roof dips below water
> level) and popping up the other side. Caving was not a sport of any
> significance at WW1 time, and any cavers certainly wouldn't have
> ventured through sumps until much later. To 'duck' means to avoid
> something, so a duck-board is a device that allows you to avoid the
> puddles, or any obstruction you want to bridge with it.
>
> * In swimming, a 'duck-dive' is a method of transferring from surface
> swimming to underwater swimming.
>
> Phil
Cool. Thanks Phil.
george (dicegeorge)
and also the duck boards would spread the load to
>> alleviate getting bogged down in the mud.
>>
like ducks' feet?
or like the little ladders hens use to get to their houses
(put away against foxes at night)
[g]
Dave Liquorice
> Softwood indoors in a dry house should last decades, assuming it gets
> a chance to dry out daily. If particularly heavy use is expected and
> it won't dry out, which is unusual, tanalised timber is a good choice.
Not sure I'd want tenailles timber in a bathroom and softwood is far more
prone to damage and thus splintering. Think I'd rather have a nice bit of
Beech, the tannin from Oak will assist the corrosion of the fixings and
possibly stain the flooring.
--
Cheers
Dave.