I have 15 choice deck posts that will be capped with a post cap. Inbetween the posts at the top is a horizontal rail.
Just about every one of these posts have twisted. Any recommendations on how to toe screw these rails to the post without having 1/8″ gaps on one side from the twisted posts?
Cutting the rails at the angle of the twist seemed like a possibility, but I think it would look obvious.
When I toe screwed from underneath the rail, the gap does not close up.
I thought of making a pry bar out of 2X stock to twist the post straight, but don’t think the screws will hold in the composite material.
The rails are already up and the gaps look hideous, but the SS bugle head screws that I used same as for the deck boards, tend to strip when I try to back them out.
I’m tempted to caulk the voids for lack of a better solution. Feels like a bandaid to shoddy workmanship.
Any remedies you folks can think of? Thanks
Replies
Are these 4x4s, cedar or PT or something else? Or are they composite material? I can't tell from your posting. If they're 4x4s and they're wound like that, there's not much hope of bringing them back into line. You might shim the attachment point at the bottom so as to rotate the post part way back, but it might cause a matching problem at the bottom.
They are 4" composite with a diamond hole through middle.
I would cut the rails to match the angle of the post at the attachment point, much less obvious than the gaps. I use a Kregg pocket hole jig to prebore the rails and use pan head screws to attach the rails to the posts, much more holding power.
Let's not confuse the issue with facts!
I guess a pan head may hold better, but its only going through an inch of composite rail. I may have to recut the bad ones to match the angle then. Thanks for the tips
I'm curious, are those posts wound within their length, or are they off at the bottom? I thought one of the big attractions of composite was that it was stable.
Sometimes you can get a post to twist a bit by coming at it from both sides with tightly cut rails. Cut them slightly long with square cuts and see if you can get them in there simultaneously. This tends to work sometimes when there's a long run of rail to absorb some of the force.
These posts are pretty burly. I don't think coming at both sides will straighten them. It's as if sitting there in the sun albeit NW sun, the wood particles dryed out and twisted the posts.
I dont know about you, but I would be calling Choice Deck and asking them if it is supposed to twist before I did anything else. You paid a premium price for what is supposed to be a premium product, I would not put up with it without a fight.
Just my opinion,
Bill Koustenis
Advanced Automotive Machine
Waldorf Md
I would like to whine a bit. I'm not impressed with the material. I had several decking pieces that were almost a 1/4" wider from one board to the next. Huge warps on the 16' amd 20 footers.The location is somewhat remote and the initial delivery of product from Lowes was off by several pieces. Buying a different batch netted totally different coloring and sizing. The posts aren't square either. 4 1/4 on two sides and 4 3/8 on the others.Every thing is drilled, bolted, cut amd in place. I wouldn't want to pull it all up to get a refund, but maybe some compensation is in order.