To make the centerline a full 44 ft. long, you would need to cut 12 sheets (48 x 96) that taper from 47 inches (at the "outer") end to 41 inches (at the "inner") end. This will give you 12 sections that are 44 inches at the center (or 44 feet).
It is now allowed by the rulebook to build the deck from 11 sections, which need to be 48" (outer) tapering to 42" (inner). This gives you 11 sections which are 45 inches at the centerline, for a length of 41.25 feet at the 60 foot radius. You still make the landing area the full 20 feet, so this deck costs you 2.75 feet of takeoff length.
Our deck is built of 1/2" OSB with simple framework of 2 x 2 under each section. The framework is offset 3/4 inch - so that at the leading edge of the section there is a 3/4" overhang, and at the trailing edge there is a 3/4" shelf. This to help smooth the surface on uneven terrain. It is 3/4" because 2x2 lumber is actually 1.5 x 1.5. OSB is "Oriented Strand Board" - or 'chipboard'. It is available in exterior rated grades, which will be more resistant to moisture on unpainted surfaces. I have had to replace two sections that got some moisture damage - ours sits out on the trailer all year, wrapped in plastic dropcloths with plastic tarps over them. The sections are held together with drywall or deck screws.
I believe I weighed these sections at 65 to 70 lbs. each, and I can load and unload them from the trailer by myself, though it is a major PITA. I have also hauled this deck in the back of my GMC Sonoma (Chevy S10 sized) pickup, by building a couple of quick and dirty shelves to space them up over the wheel wells in the pickup bed and leaving the tailgate down. My wife and I loaded it into the truck - which is still a PITA, but just shows that it can be done. It was patterned after the Treetown deck (Bill Calkins - Aurora, Il) and they haul theirs in a full size van (like an F150).
Topic: DECK PLANS (Read 1387 times)
