PT pine shrinkage versus smooth sided cedar?

[Dan Espen]

Timbertech, but I don't have any basis for recommending one brand over another. They all look pretty good to me.

[clare]

I had cedar on my front porch/deck for over 20 years - replaced it with trex 2 summers ago - Rear deck is SYP -almost 15 years old now and showing SOME deterioration.. Just replaced a 46 year old cedar deck for an old friend last summer - over 80% of it was still in very good shape, but the 20% that was bad required replacing the whole deck. Of coarse it was replaced with - cedar. (Western Red Cedar, to be exact)

[HeyBub]

Right. If you, for example, buy a mess of PT fencing and put it up right away, you might as well go ahead and paint it white because it will look like Ozzie and Harriet's picket fence! That is, there will be 1/2" gaps between the planks.

With wet PT, you've got to give it plenty of air circulation for an extended period before using it.

But what's an "extended period?" you may ask.

I don't know. Several months - with periodic re-stacking - should be sufficient, but here's an idea off the top of my head. Find a PT fence in your neighborhood that's been up for a while. Measure the width, precisely (down to 1/32"), of several boards. When YOUR stacked boards shrink to that width, you should be pretty close.

[clare]

You don't pressure treat kiln dried wood. It is virtually always 'wet" wood before it is treated - and seldom dried before shipping after.

[clare]

Very seldom will the difference between a 10 year old deck and a new cedar deck raise the price of the house by the cost of the deck. If the deck is decent, solid, and safe - and good looking - it doesn't affect the price much - in 5 or more years the new owner will likely have an idea for a different deck arrangement anyway.

[clare]

I used Trex Transcend - and it washes up very easily and does NOT support mold or moss. At less than double the cost of cedar I figured it was a pretty decent deal.

[Ed Pawlowski]

I considered it but went with Tiger Wood instead. In fact, I put a coat of oil on it today to keep it looking good.

Not cheap, but will outlast me even if I live to be 100.

[krw]

Interesting. It's not all that outrageous, as long as it lasts. How do you fasten it? It might be worthwhile doing the Kreg thing. Is there any other maintenance needed?

[Ed Pawlowski]

For most, I used the ipe clips that go into the grooves. I had problems getting some aligned and used the stainless steel screw that leave a very small hole for the head, barely noticeable.

My deck is 12 x 16 so it used 25 boards. They were oversized an inch so had to be trimmed. The extra inch was there in case of handling dings.

[krw]

Trim head screws? Do they hold well enough to keep the boards from warping? The Kreg system looks pretty good, too, but if the slot is there, might as well use it. No issues with another surface for water penetration?

Inch long, I presume. For the 6" (5-1/2") boards it's a bit over $4/sq ft., so it really isn't out of range, assuming it really does last as advertised.

It really does look nice. I made the mistake of sending the link to SWMBO.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Been down for a year now. No cupping, warping, or anything else. I used the screw that came with the clips. If you do go that way, I have nearly a full box of the kit that I'll sell you very cheap. You need a torx bit for the screws.

You can drill, countersink, then plug the holes but that seems like too much work.

The PT deck was over 20 years and was getting ugly. This looks first class, has nice coloring. If you like the look of wood, it is worth considering.

[krw]

Good information. No, it'll be at least a couple of years before I replace the deck. We're talking about expanding it across the back of the house but it'll have to wait until the house is paid off.

For the few where space is tight, that's an option. I've also seen fastening systems that come from the bottom. That's a possibility since the deck is ~10' off the ground (no stairs, which is another problem).

Exactly! Our house was built in '07 so the deck still has a way to go before it has to be replaced. I like the tigerwood look. If it's not a huge deal to maintain it looks to me to be the way to go. I'd have to consider options for the railings, though. White paint would look nice but it's a PITA to maintain. I suppose the framing is just PT?