Redwood deck boards can make an attractive walkway that complements landscaping or serves as a path on the property. Typically, walkways are 36 inches wide and may extend from a porch to the sidewalk, border the sides of a house or traverse though a garden. On sloped ground, shorter sections of walkway can step up or down to the next section. Making a walkway isn't a complicated job, and in most cases, you’ll see progress in a relatively short time. After the walkway is installed, the boards can weather naturally or be sealed to retain their redwood tone.
Layout and Runners
Determine the points where the walkway starts and ends. Install 12-inch wooden stakes at 4-foot intervals to define one side of the walkway. Drive the stakes partially into the ground with a steel mallet so that they can be pulled out after the runners are set in place. Attach a nylon string line at the first stake, and draw it alongside each stake to the last stake. Pull it straight and tie it off.
Use the string line as a guide and dig a shallow trench for the first line of runners with a garden spade shovel. The trench is 4 inches wide and between 1 and 3 inches deep, depending on the height you want the walkway. Save the excavated dirt alongside the trench for backfill after the runner is installed.
Place a piece of 4-inch by 4-inch pressure treated lumber in the trench at one end and align one edge with the string line. Use the shovel or claws of a hammer to contour the bottom of the trench so that the upper edge of the runner is flat instead of tilted to one side. Repeat this step and install the remaining runners end to end. Cut the last runner to length with a circular saw. Remove the string line and stakes.
Establish the line of the runners at the opposite side of the walkway based on the width of the walkway. Measure from the outer edge of the installed runners and drive stakes at 4-foot intervals as before. Reattach the string line at the stakes and dig the trench. Install the runners as before. Shovel the loose dirt against both sides of both runners to provide stability; the dirt will settle over time.
Measure the distance across the walkway from the outer edge of a runner to the outer edge of the opposite runner. The deck boards can be cut to this length or longer for an overhang at each side of the walkway. Typical overhang at each end is between 2 and 4 inches. Double the amount of desired overhang, and add this to the original measurement across the walkway.
Measure and mark a piece of 2-inch by 6-inch redwood decking to length as the first piece at one end of the walkway. Use a builder's square and carpenter's pencil to make a cutting line across the face of the piece at the mark. Put on safety glasses. Cut the board at the line with the circular saw. Remove any burrs at the cut end of the piece with a sanding block.
Position the first deck board across the runners at one end of the walkway. Align each end with the corresponding outer sides of the runners, or position it with equal overhang at each side. Align the outer edge of the board at the corresponding ends of the runners.
Set up a power or cordless drill with a screw-tip attachment. Attach the first board by driving 3-inch deck screws through the face of the board that align with each runner. Use three screws, evenly spaced at each attachment.
Cut several more pieces of redwood to length as walkway boards. Align the ends of each with the previously installed board and attach them with three screws at each runner as before. The boards can be installed edge to edge or with a 1/4-inch gap between each for drainage.
Continue to cut and install the remaining deck boards and complete the walkway. Cut off a portion of the edge at the last board, if necessary, so it fits into place at the end of the walkway.
Things You Will Need
- 12-inch wooden stakes
- Steel mallet
- Nylon string line
- Garden spade shovel
- Measuring tape
- 4-inch by 4-inch pressure treated lumber
- 2-inch by 6-inch redwood decking
- Builder’s square
- Carpenter’s pencil
- Circular saw
- Sanding block
- Power or cordless drill
- Screw-tip attachment
- 3-inch deck screws
- Obtain the 4-inch by 4-inch pieces of pressure treated lumber based on the length of the walkway multiplied by two. Obtain the decking based on the square footage of walkway, or the length multiplied by the width.
- Create areas for potted plants along one or both sides of the walkway. Cut several deck boards longer and allow the ends to overhang the side of the walkway.
- In wet climates or loose soil, stabilize the runners with steel rods at 48-inch intervals before installing the deck boards. Drill 1/2-inch holes through the runners and drive 1/2-by-24-inch rods flush with the top of the runners at each hole with the steel mallet.
- Always wear safety glasses when cutting lumber with a power saw.
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