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Deck Boards (11)

If you're working on a limited budget, treated lumber is the way to go. However, before you make that choice, we highly recommend looking into the plastic wood composites, fiberglass, and vinyl alternatives. Manufacturers of these materials often offer a rather handsome selection of matching railing components and have the potential to last forever with very little maintenance.

On the other hand, wood decking requires constant maintenance. The damaging effect of UV sunlight and constant exposure to the elements takes it's toll on the surface of wooden decking. At best, you can plan on refinishing wood decking every three to five years. When you're comparing costs, don't forget to factor in the gallons of cleaners and finish you'll use up over the years to maintain wood decking.

If you decide to go with wood, we recommend using standard green treated #2 Southern Pine 2x4 or 2x6 lumber - the kind at any building center. The "better" 5/4 (pronounced five-quarter) deck boards that feature rounded edges and may have been "sealed" with a preservative aren't worth the money. Even if those special deck boards were cheaper, we'd think twice about using them. Here's why.

First, they don't look any better. Even though they're generally one grade stamp better, if you just take the time to set the good side of standard 2x lumber face up, you'll be hard pressed to tell the difference. By the way, if you've heard of the "rule of thumb" that states you should always lay down wood decking with the growth rings curved downward ("bark side up"), don't believe it. Studies have shown that if the lumber cups at all, it will always cup toward the sunny side regardless of the direction of the growth rings.

Second, 5/4 deck boards are thinner. "5/4" means the deck boards are only 1.25" thick. Standard 2x lumber is 1.5" thick. This difference doesn't matter for a 16" on-center joist spacing unless you plan on laying your decking diagonally. If you plan on putting down your decking diagonally, 5/4 boards may have more spring in them than you'd like at a 16" on-center floor joist spacing. Consider laying down a little test floor on your driveway that you can walk on it before you commit to 5/4 boards laid diagonally.

Third, the water-borne preservatives they use on 5/4 deck boards are basically worthless. There are some really good studies done by Consumer Reports on deck sealers and stains. Suffice it to say that products like "Thompson's Waterseal" didn't fair well at all. The best advice is to wait 2-4 weeks for the lumber to dry a bit and then seal it with a quality product.

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