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O.T. lumber selection for new deck?

M

Mike Henry

Member
Wife wants a bigger deck on the house.16x16 should do. I understand that I need treated posts and it is best for the stringers to be treated as well. But where we are hung up is the decking material. Most folks go with 5 1/4 x 4 x length. I dont like the sponginess of that. I would like a little more beefiness. Im thinking 1.5 x 12 x 16 rough cut would add a little meet to the floor. Then the question is what lumber do I go with? Seems to me that gr.pa always got ash for wagon racks when we replaced them but I havent done that is so long I may be mistaken. Working with a budget makes decisions critical as a screw up in this process could sink me later if its not right. Not even bringing up the wifes I told you comments. this deck will be painted. Any help would be appreciated.
 
I wouldn't use rough cut on a deck, nor would i go 12 inches wide due to splitting and cupping. 1.5 x 6 or 8 I have used and worked quite well, fasten it down with screws and with the sapwood up--you could go 24 inch on center with the stringers
 
5/4 thick 1x6 treated pine decking from an actual lumber yard is what I recommend. The stuff I put on my 12x36 foot deck was almost 1-1/4" think. Rough cut hardwood will be very costly and give splinters in bare feet. Same with cedar. If you don't like regular treated 5/4 boards, go with composite, but not the cheap stuff. If you do go with regular deck boards, screw them down the SAME DAY you buy them. No gap between boards because they shrink ALOT.
 
Anything but treated will rot quickly, especially for joists.

I agree on 16" spacing for joists.

Wide decking will split.
 
You said "BIGGER" deck....What did you use on the other? Try to match. Stay away from ANY composite - use real wood. Since it is painted, your options include whitewood, also.
 
I used 2x6 -12ft dougfir to secure it use camouflage tool and screws they are toe nailed at the edge of the board home depot & lowes carry the system
 
I didn't care for the switch from 2x decking material down to 5/4, so I have continued to use 2x since. However, you likely don't want to go wider than 4" or 6" (nominal). Actual measurements would be 3.5" and 5.5" wide. Anything wider and you're asking for more problems.

As for the joists, there is no problem in Michigan with going untreated, and same with decking. You don't have termites there, so unless you have other wood-boring pests, treated is really money thrown away. However, you DO need to protect the wood against moisture. Modern pressure treating includes some amount of moisture protection, but make no mistake - pressure treatment is "primarily" designed to ward off bugs and rot. Yes, rot begins from infiltration of moisture, but the pressure treating doesn't stop the influx of moisture; it only helps kill organisms that develop into fungus that rots your wood.

If it were me (and this is what I do up here in MN) is, use treated posts, then buy standard untreated lumber for the rest. Coat with your favorite protectant. Many folks say to use used motor oil on trailer decking and even on house decking, but in this instance, I think I'd just bite the bullet and use fresh, new motor oil. If you want a red hue to the wood, then use ATF. Not sure if all ATF is red in color, but what I'm familiar with is.

And finally, surfaced wood or rough cut? Well, that's a personal preference. Most people (including myself) prefer surfaced wood. While rough cut might provide better traction (unless under snow/ice), the wood grain will show through better with surfaced wood. It's also easier to walk on barefoot. And lastly, rough-cut, even from a bandsaw mill, will be more inviting of moisture than surfaced wood.
 
Best deck out there is worth a fraction of a concrete porch!!!! I have owned two houses with lumber decks. They are a PAIN!!! Splitting and splinters within a short time. Then treatments/paint to keep them looking good.

First thing I did on this house was drag the wood deck out to the burn pile!!! I poured a concrete slab the same size and height. Priced the lumber for a replacement deck that cost was within $300 of what it cost me to pour a 4 inch concrete slab.
 
I have a very good experience with composite decking and railing. I installed a composit by the brand name of Nexwood 15 years ago here in northwest Iowa and it still looks like new. I have done nothing for maintenance. Downside is the extra up front cost of the composit plus the cost of extra support material underneath. If you are on a tight budget it probably isn’t something you can use but I thought I would throw it out anyway.
 
I'm working on a replacement deck now with 2x6 Yellawood spanning just under 4 ft. I replaced another deck 3 years ago with the same type of treated wood but from G-P. The quality was a little better with less shrinkage and dishing. Used the CAMO screw system on both with good results but the heads are small and do not resist dishing or warping real well. The original decks were redwood and lasted about 40 years.
 
Forget the wood.
Too high of maintenance.
Here's the steel deck I built on the back of the house a few years ago.
No paint. I just let it rust.
The hand rail is the final drive chains from an old dragline.
a271568.jpg

a271569.jpg

a271570.jpg
 

Unless you need more maintenance go camposite. Lumber prices have been skyrocketing while there is a huge world wide glut of the recyclable plastic, so the Chinese need to move the composite.
 
I helped a buddy put the floor on his deck. A 4 ft wide by 20 something long deck. He bought 16 ft trested 2x6's. We cut them to length and had to carry them 20-30 feet to the deck to install. Some boards were so water-logged they sagged in the middle so much they drug on the ground. We snugged up the spacing fairly tight, The spaces opened up about right, but what we didn't count on was them shrinking in length as much as they did, some pulled the screws over an inch thru the boards. My buddy replaced several of the boards. They just kept shrinking as they dried out. He had ghem stacked on his trailer he hauled them home on. I would have scattered them out to dry before installing them. I'm not a big fan of double work.
 
Well at 75 years of age I have had a few decks. Built some out of treated deck lumber and some out of 2 by 6s. Neither lasted over 10 years. When we built this house 10 years ago I used 12 thousand dollars worth of Trex and it was the best investment I ever made. To this date no problems , easy to wash off and last better than wood. Not near as high now as it was when I did this and they say they have improved it.
 
Built a 16' X 40' deck on the side of the house and put a roof over it keeps the deck nice and is about 10X more useful than a deck without a roof.Also gave it a 4ft over hang with the roof.
 
Use 6" wide not 4". 6" is not springy on 24" centers and certainly not on 16". 5/4 treated make good deck boards.
 
You need to post that so Sweet feet can see it!!!! Nice deck. I really like the chain hand rail. Gives me some ideas as I have some heavy roller chain out of the TMR wagons laying around.
 
No deck is maintenance free.

My wood deck is now 23 years old and going strong. All treated wood with 5/4 deck planks and joists at 16" centers. Wood is a moving product. It gets pressure washed every year, and stained with a transparent stain & water proofing every 3 years. Prior to staining, I go over areas like hand rails and such with a quick standing of a random orbital sander and 80 grit paper to get rid of the raised grain. Deck is about 50% shaded thru the day.

Composite decking is more maintenance resistant, and more costly. Spacing is critical, as it expands in the heat and can buckle if not installed correctly. Can also be really hot on bare feet if in direct sun. Still needs to be pressure washed on occasion. Any deck I have seen of this stuff still weathers some over time.

Decks with treated wood need to still be designed to shed water. Have seen some bad workmanship out there. Wood ages and gets weather checked over time. That's the nature of the stuff. Some folks say a deck needs to be replaced at this point. Your choice. Rotted? Yes, replacement is needed. Cause for that can be poorly treated wood, or poor design in wet areas. Wood treated for ground contact normally has a higher level of treatment in it, but folks don't look for that stuff when they buy their materials.

If you think you can build a deck to live out in the weather, and look like a fine hardwood floor in your house for years to come, expect to be disappointed.

Pete
 
5/4 treated decking lumber is usually more expensive than 2x6 treated pine. I normally will just use 2x6's instead. The wood is surfaced too fast to have a good appearance so I send it through my own planer and take a 1/16" off the surface of it. With 5/4 they round the edges over so that makes gaps between the decking. I think the square edges of the 2x6's make a cleaner look. The important think with either is to stack it up and allow the wood to dry for a few weeks before building. Depending on how fresh it is from the factory I might let the decking dry as much as a month before using it.
 
Trex has gotten much better in the last 10 years. Great stuff. Very low maintenance. Lots of how to videos on YouTube. Don't mess up the install. You will regret it!!!!!
 
Lots of good opinions. For the composite decking material, remember like anything, there are some kinds that are much better than others .... and price differences are usually a good indicator of which composite decking is best. Remember thought that even with composite decking, you are still at the mercy of wood rot underneath for your beams or joists.

I have a friend who complains that his dark-colored south-facing composite deck gets very hot in direct sunlight and his young kids have to be careful when wandering onto it barefoot.

Anyways, I prefer 2x6 wood decking myself, and despite what people say about which way to face the boards up or down depending on the annual ring orientation, that is a bunch of hogwash. Some boards will cup up regardless of which way the rings are orientated, I've been there, done that and seen that.

If a person is using 2x6 wood though (preserved is best), I would recommend cutting a lengthwise "kerf" or sawcut down the middle of the board on the bottom side of each 2x6 before nailing or screwing down to your joists. The kerf slot should be about half the thickness of the board, so about 3/4" deep on a 1 1/2" thick 2x6. You can brush a bit of preservative into that slot before installing the boards. When installing, the second nail or screw will fasten the board down FLAT and will tend to prevent (hopefully) the cupping that so often occurs. Lots of videos on the web, just Google something like " saw kerf cuts in deck lumber" .... etc.

One other thing, for those concerned with the 5/4 deck boards sagging a bit, for sure 16" centers on the joists (stringers) would be good, and even 12" is best (although maybe a bit of overkill). But really, a few more joists in a project won't make much difference in overall cost.
 
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