I am building a deck for the sole purpose of putting a plastic manufactured shuffleboard court on it. The size of the deck and court will be 52' X 8'. The court will weigh approximately 200 lbs. I'm planning on running my support boards lengthwise and my 2 X 6 deck boards crosswise. At most there will be only 4 people ever standing on the deck (2 on either end). Here are my questions:

1. Given the very little weight being put on the deck, can I use 2 X 4's for the support boards?

2. Can I go beyond the maximum spacing of 5' between blocks lengthwise (assuming I'm using 2 X 6's for support boards)?

3. Do I have my block calculations correct as far as the total number of blocks I need? 3 rows of blocks, 11 blocks per row for a total of 33 blocks?

Thanks for your help.

1. No. You cannot use 2x4 lumber as support boards. In most places 2x4 lumber boards are not rated as a structural board when used as a floor joist (support board).

2. In rare cases it is OK to go slightly beyond the 5' max spacing between the blocks. The absolute Maximum spacing between the blocks must never go beyond 5'6".

3. I took a look at the 8'x40' deck and added the number of blocks to the 8'x16' deck. The total number being 65 blocks.


Deckman