joists for decking are warped, how to rectify them?

[TofuSpaceship]

Hi all,

been busy building a decking and I received all the materials for the frame four weeks ago. The joists have been stored outside on their sides on some brick footers.
Made some progress at the beginning then had to stand still for a while; thus out of the ten 4.8metres 120*47 joists I have left to fit, only 3 are somewhat straight, all the others are badly twisted.

Do I stand a chance in rectifying them somehow? Or will it be a waste of time?
The deck frame is supported by three 200*47 timber beams which are bolted in place, would it work if I were to wet the warped joists and clamp them to these straight beams?
How much should I wet the joists and how long will it take for them to get in a better shape?

Any other more valid suggestion?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

You won't rectify them, I'm afraid. We tend to use twisted stuff as short pieces for solid strutting and noggins

I'm sure I won't have to tell you that next time you store timber outdoors and needs to be stickered to allow air circulation and properly sheeted over and out of bright sunlight, too

 

[^woody^]

If the twist is in length only or just slightly in width, you can sort this out with noggins when you build, and if need be soak the joist first for badly twisted lengths.

 

[phatboy]

A few noggins, and then the deck boards will hold it all as it should be.

Connect each end then force the noggins in. If you have some big clamps, they can help to squash or spread the gap

 

[TofuSpaceship]

Thanks all for your replies; sorry I hadn't replied earlier but was busy down on the deck, all completed now!

@JobAndKnock very good tips on how to store timbers for next time, appreciated!

Indeed I was able to use the most twisted/warped joists as noggins; the more straight ones have been used as joists and fixed in place with some 10cm long heavy duty brackets; that combined with counter-twisting the joists with a long clamp when nailing the brackets in did the trick. The end result was very satisfactory and straight!

Thanks all again!