Straight line

[wjwren]

I'm putting some composite decking down. I laid the first few rows but made the mistake of thinking the house is straight which it isnt. I've looked on YouTube and people suggest using a chalk line. This might sound daft but how do you know the string is straight against the two points?

I relaid the decking again yesterday and thought I had it straight but after around 8 boards it's bowing out. The boards are all straight. They are 2.4m long over a length of 3.6m



Any tips advice please. This should be a simple job!

[wjwren]

biggiles said:

Apologies if this is like eggs and grandmothers, but a "pinged" chalk line should be straight. Pinging it is key!

No I'm happy to take advise. I'm not a builder so this is all new to me. But I'm close to setting fire to it!

[wjwren]

Vincecj said:

Did you check the diagonals of the frame?

No. If this can't be done as I've got a few boards fine now then what is the best way to ensure each board is ' straight'?

Thanks

[wjwren]

InitialDave said:

Does it look straight in person?

If so, I'd just crack on, making sure you maintain even gaps.

You can drive yourself mad trying to get things like this right by the numbers.

It looks straight in but the last few boards have to be 'bent' over and pulled in so the gap is equal. Looking down the boards I can see it is obviously not straight.