fig1 for example by placing the lateral deformations 26 in the flexible tubes 22 each of the slats 12 is secured in place that is the slats may slide slightly one toward another but only to a limited extent and in any event the structural integrity of the modular deck tile 10 is assured when for example the tile is picked up using one of the slats 12 however to ensure that the end slats remain in place stop means shown generally at 28 in fig1 are employed specific stop means are described in greater detail hereafter turning to fig3 and 4 an alternative embodiment 30 of a modular deck tile employs the use of a plurality of slats 12 and at least two flexible tubes 22 is shown this embodiment provides at least two advantages over the embodiments of fig1 and 2 the first is that there is less slippage or movement of the slats 12 along the flexible tube 22 and thus they maintain their relative positions much more effectively the other advantage is that as will be described hereafter the flexible tubes 22 may be caught in several different positions to achieve several different purposes including the provision of an alternative stop means at the outer edges of a modular deck tile as seen in each of.