How to Make a Wooden Slat Walkway

Hey everyone, welcome to Homes for Beginner where I show you how to do repairs around the house yourself. In this video I will be showing you how to make a wooden slate platform. I made this for this enclosed trailer which is being used for storage, we have a sandy environment, it can get messy fairly quickly. So this gives us an area to walk on to clean off our shoes before going into the trailer. This design can be easily adapted for a variety of projects such as a larger walkway, smaller stepping platforms like patio stones, a bench, tabletop, privacy panel, etc.

Dimensions and quantity of wood will vary depending on your project. I calculated the size of this platform to minimize the amount of waste. The total width will be 71” and the depth is 22 1/2”.

• 2x2 wood
• 2x4 wood
• 2x6 wood
• speed square
• pencil
• tape measure
• mitre saw
• clamps
• hand sander
• hammer
• screw gun
• wood screws
• drill bits
• brush
• linseed oil
• turpentine
• metal bowl
• large propane torch
• small propane torch

For this I am using 2x2, that’s its nominal size and its actual size is 1.5x1.5 inches. Therefore the depth of the platform will be based on multiple 1.5 boards put together. However I do find some wood isn’t exactly 1.5 inches and there may be variation such as 1/8 of an inch, so some boards will be cut when it’s partially put together.

First was cutting the boards to length. I do find they’re not always square from the lumber yard or can have a rough cut, so this was all touched up on the miter saw.

Measure each of the inner pieces, if you want the exact platform I’m making, I’ll provide the measurements along the way. These pieces were 68” and there was a total of 6.

Next is cutting the spacer blocks in between each of the slats. I need a total of 28 spacers, they are 3 1/2” in length. Whenever cutting the wood, it’s always best to measure multiple times instead of making a mistake. I used my shortest pieces that couldn’t be used for anything else to make my spacers, reducing the amount of waste.

I haven’t cut the outer perimeter boards yet, but I have put together a rough mock-up to determine those finalized measurements. It’s held together with a bar clamp to ensure there are no spaces between the slats and spacer blocks. These spacer blocks will be screwed into place for a smoother look.

Cutting the 2x4s for the bottom, they are 22 1/2” in length. Only 2 are needed. The platform will have a 1.5” space on the bottom so it’s not directly on the ground and these 2x4s also serve as a way of fastening the slats.

Next is 2 2x6s, serving the same purpose as the 2x4s and are the same length. These will be located on the outside of the platform. None of this wood is treatment, I will be applying my own treatment which you’ll see further on in the video.

With the mitre saw set to 45 degree, this can be referenced using the speed square as the factory presets can sometimes be off. Now is cutting the perimeter boards. First is the side boards, make the first cut, and then measure over from that cut to the next cut point. I am starting at the 1” increment as I can’t clip the tape measure on the inside edge. Just make sure you add 1” to the final measurement when doing this, the inside measurement is 19 1/2” but I would need to make my mark at 20 1/2”.

The same 45 degree cuts are made for the longer boards. Make the first cut on one side. This measurement is already known from the previous longer slats. To keep the tape measure in place at the 1” increment, I used a clamp. Then make the final cuts.

Due to the rough cut of the wood, I gave everything a quick sand using a handheld sander with 220 grit sandpaper. This will help remove any sticking-up fibers and clean the edges.

Before the platform gets assembled, next is the wood treatment. For this I am using the Shou Sugi Ban method, I had shown this method on the deck board in a previous tutorial. This is a great way for treating wood as you don’t have to worry about peeling stain, this provides a great barrier against moisture, is inspect resistant and has minimal maintenance. If you’re looking for more info on this method, be sure to check out my other video. In this situation I didn’t clean off the charring to see how well it holds up to foot traffic. Every face of each piece of wood was burned.

I did have to make a slight adjustment to the base boards as the wood did appear to shrink after the burning process which is why you’re seeing freshly cut ends. After that was marking the holes and drilling the holes. This will help the boards clamp down into place. Nails can be used, but I prefer screws instead as they’re stronger and boards can be removed if a replacement is required. To screw the boards down into the base boards, 2 1/2” screws are used. To screw the perimeter board to each of the slats, 3” screws are used here.

Only the slates have screws going down from the top and from the side, the spacer blocks only have one screw as they’re purely for aesthetics. The screws on the top are kept in line but are also far enough in where they’re not interfering with the 3” screws.

And as you can see I’m also using the clamp to keep everything tight and in place.

Installing the inner boards, these are the 2x4s. This will prevent any flex in the center, along with keeping the platform more rigid. The centerline measure from the outside edge is 23” which leaves the spacing very close to being even.

All the spacer blocks were installed, drilled, and then everything was screwed into place.

After that was the opposite side. Depending on your application, you may need to make adjustments and even do a test run stepping on the platform to determine where you can minimize any flex.

Before the final treatment is touching up those freshly cut ends with the torch.

As for the final protective coating, just like my other video, I’m using an equal parts mixture of linseed oil and turpentine. The linseed oil is dumped into a metal bowl, then heated using a torch to improve its flow, helping it soak into the wood.

Once it’s boiling, turn the torch off and add an equal amount of turpentine. This would be a 50/50 mixture.

Using a brush, apply it to the wood. The turpentine will thin out the oil, also helping with absorption and improving drying. Apply the oil to every surface of the wood, it does soak into the wood quite quickly so apply a heavy amount. You’ll notice a strong odor which is normal and this will typically disappear after a week.

Flip it over and apply the oil to the opposite side. This project was done a year ago, so you’ll be able to see how it’s worn over a one-year period. I did apply a second coat this next year as preventative maintenance. It’s not mandatory but does help further preserve the wood.

This charred finish did last quite a while with heavy traffic and being exposed to sand, it can be very abrasive on wood. It’s held up extremely well, after that second coat of linseed oil, this finish did darken up again just like the deck and the worn charred areas have blended in with the rest of the finish.

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