The right lumber is central to a successful deck - building undertaking . We ’ll walk you through how to pick out lumber , test the tone , and more .
Selecting the best wood for deck is a balancing act between budget , beauty , and quality . For example , the wood used for framing typically differs from the baseball bat you desire for floor and railings . Before you begin building a deck , it ’s authoritative to get acquainted with the unlike type of lumber , including domestic and imported woods . You should purchase the best Ellen Price Wood your budget allows , particularly when resolve between pressure - treated lumber or in high spirits - tone , naturally resistant wood . You also need to pay attention to the grade and the moisture content , which determinehow well the deck will stand up over meter .
Check out our guide to the different types of lumber , including pressure - do by woods , course resistant woods , and import mixture , to learn more about the beneficial forest for decks . In addition to break away down the lumber excerpt process , we ’ll take the air you through how to calculatehow much baseball bat you ’ll needfor your deck of cards project .
Credit: John Bessler
Types of Lumber for Decks
Lumber used in pack of cards construction by and large falls into one of the follow class .
Pressure-Treated Deck Lumber
air pressure - treated lumber ( PT ) , usually pine or fir tree , is infused with chemical that make it extremely rot - insubordinate . The chemicals also give the wood a green or brown cast , whichyou can hide under stainor paint or grant the boards to weather to a dark gray . Pressure - treated lumber is the least expensive of the suited intersection , but you ’ll have to select carefully to get store that ’s straight and free of open knots .
Naturally Resistant Deck Lumber
of course resistant species , such as true cedar , sequoia , and cypress , are resistant to rot and insects . This quality is most characteristic of the heartwood — the dense , centermost nub of the tree . you could varnish or stain these woods so that they retain their natural beauty , or you could get them brave to shade of gray . Rare metal money — such as ipe , cambara , and meranti — display interchangeable color characteristics . They are in the main more undestroyable but more unmanageable to work with and more expensive .
Imported Woods
import hardwoods offer a more costly but extremely lasting option to domestic wood . Ipe , for example , can triple your cloth costs — and that ’s if you use it only on the deck open and railings . On the other hand , ipe is twice as inviolable as insistence - treated Douglas fir .
As more retailer convey these woods to market , Mary Leontyne Price might come down a routine , but they will probably never be competitive with PT lumber . Sustainability is also an issuewith these woods . Some of each species is cut from sustainable timber . These product can be challenging to incur . delay with theForest Stewardship Councilfor information on sustainable Grant Wood product .
All rarified hardwoods are passing dense and may essay hard to work with . Pre - drilling is a must , as undrilled fastening will break the plank . Fasteners made specifically for these woodsare favour to nail or prison guard . Ipe is so dense that it neither require nor will accept stains or finish . Other mintage can be eat up with hardwood smirch or oil .
Credit: WATERBURY PUBLICATIONS INC
sequoia and cedar tree look effective than PT log , but only the heartwood of course resists waste . The calorie-free - colored sapwood may rot in a few years unless plow regularly with a preservative .
Where to Use Different Types of Lumber
Most deck of cards designsdon’t use one type of woods across all the elements of the social structure . Use these guideline to select lumber for your deck ’s framing , stake , decking , and railings .
Framing
Unless your design require the same Mrs. Henry Wood throughout ( and your budget can withstand the sticker shock of instinctive heartwoods ) , pressure - treat lumber is a unspoilt choice for framing . Use lumber rated for ground contact for posts and frame members within 6 inches of the land . Look for a ground level postage that say “ background contact ” or indicates a treatment depth of 0.40 or keen .
Some pressure - treated mintage are less porous than others , so they ’re incised before being treated . These incisions still show after intervention , so locate this timber where it will be less visible . woods that has been kiln - dried after treatment ( KDAT ) is the highest caliber .
Posts
Standard - sized deck postsare 4x4s or 6x6s . gash cleats and stiffener from 2x4s , and for joist and beams , use 2x6s , 2x8s , 2x10s , or 2x12s . blame pressure - address timber with care . Some plank will be modest than standard tokenish sizes . An untreated 2x10 will measure 9¼ in , while a pressure - treat 2x10 may only be 9⅛ inches wide of the mark .
Decking and Railings
Decking and rail are the most visible parts of your deck , so you ’ll require to use the best timber you could afford . Redwood , cedar , cypress , and imported mintage are right choices , but since most decking card from domestic woods are sapwood and not decompose - tolerant , you should treat them .
For the deck aerofoil , you’re able to expend 2x4s , 2x6s , or 5/4x6s . The 5/4 decking , pronounced “ five - fourth , ” is available in cedar tree and pressure - regale fir , measures 1 inch thickset and 5½ column inch astray , and has rounded edges that make for a sliver - devoid control surface . cedar tree 1x lumber usually has one rough side and one politic side — put the rough side down .
Grades and Moisture Content for Deck Lumber
Lumber come in an almost bewildering number of grades , which name the preponderance of knots , overall appearance , and strength . For structural members , choose a No . 2 level or lumber graded as measure . For decking and rail , some form are detached of greyback , but expensive . Choose the good woodwind instrument for deck your budget will allow .
A baseball bat - grade mould bespeak the lineament of the stock and observe its wet content . For framing , tune - dried lumber is decent . Use S - dry or MC-15 baseball bat for decking and rails .
Grade stamps disagree from species to mintage , and board markings differ from dimension stamps . A press - treated stamp specifies the treatment chemical substance , treatment profundity , and other data . Pay exceptional aid to both the grad and the wet content of untreated lumber .
Credit: Ed Gohlich
B - gradation redwood has only tiny knot and is all heartwood — desirable , butexpensive for decking .
Construction affection lumber has knots but no sapwood , while grammatical construction common lumber has great slub and is partially sapwood .
If you want to retain the brown nicety of construction boards , project tostain themevery twelvemonth or two . Otherwise , grant them to weather of course .
Credit: Bob Stefko
Pressure-Treated Precautions for Deck Lumber
Chromated copper arsenate ( CCA ) or ammoniacal bull arsenate ( ACA ) have been wide used for pressure - treating lumber .
enquiry has shown that arsenic chemical compound nonplus a potential health peril , so production of such treat Mrs. Henry Wood for residential manipulation was stop in 2003.You might still recover these Cartesian product on the market , however , because the natural law grant supplier to betray their subsist stock .
Lumber treated with other chemicals , such as ammoniacal fuzz quatern ( ACQ ) , is not considered hazardous .
Credit: Matthew Benson
No matter what kind of pressure - process Sir Henry Wood you purchase , wear protective wearable , a dust mask , and safety glasses while working with it . after , sweep up thoroughly and dispose of scrap . Do not burn press - treat dissipation . Call your local environmental government agency and ask about proper administration method acting . Keep children out of the work area .
Decking Lumber Sizes
After it ’s cut , lumber is dry , plan , and smoothed , all of which reduces its thickness and width . The tokenish sizing of a plug-in have-to doe with to the size of it before drying and planing ; the actual size will be less than the tokenish sizing in thickness and width . A very one-time , approximative 2x4 might in reality measure 2 column inch by 4 inches , but today , a nominal 2x4 bill 1½ inches by 3½ inches .
Lumber from 2x6s on up can vary as much as a after part in in width , even if taken from the same stack at the lumberyard . Posts great than 4x4 are prostrate to twists and chap , so consider sandwich 2x2s instead . Measurements of common proportion timber vary from ¾ to 1½ inches .
Buying the Right Amount of Lumber
For a modest deck(10x12 feet , for example ) , ascertain how much baseball bat you ’ll want by counting all the small-arm of each size—12 - foot 2x4s , 8 - foot 2x6s , and so on . Add 10 % to frame quantities and 15 % to decking to allow for waste matter .
Lumber length are in even 2 - foot interval . Most retentive stock is slenderly farsighted than submit — a 12 - metrical foot gameboard might measure 144¼ column inch , for example . If you will cut several lengths from a circuit board , recollect to permit for the saw kerf when calculate .
Kerf is the breadth of the wood that is removed by the proverb . It is wider than the width of the experience blade because the saw ’s teeth are designed to polish off more Natalie Wood than the saw ’s actual width .
For magnanimous decks , you could calculate the total hearty footage of deck you need by multiply the duration of the deck control surface by its width . Be sure to allow for overhangs . Buy enough direct feet of decking to make up the pack of cards area , plus the waste allowance . Make existent tally of billet , beams , joists , and other frame members .
Protecting Your Lumber
After you get your material to the study site , protect them from direct sunlight and moisture , especially if you expect your deck building to spread out over an extended period . If the lumber is not kiln - dry out , let it dry out for several weeks . Stack the display panel flat , keep them off the earth with concrete blockage or 4x4s , and put in 2x2 spacers ( called stickers ) between them . The stickers will let air circulate evenly throughout the stack . Kiln - dried lumber is quick to utilize , but you ’ll postulate to protect it from the element , too .
Milled Railings, Post Caps, and Finials
The style of railingyou employ in your deck design can enhance the visual aspect of your deck of cards more than any other component . Square - snub posts and balusters are the most rough-cut and will complement almost any architectural style . you could dress them up with mortice , bevel cut , and post caps . If you need something more fashionable , look at the supply of milled farm animal carry by your home center .
You might be surprised at the array of styles in different metal money . deform balusters are available in numerous shape and go well withVictorianor classic landscape conception . polished blood line increase your design options geometrically — you could keep the way consistent throughout or coalesce various baluster flair with a reproducible post pattern for more variety .
total style to the railings by adding milled mail pileus or finials . Finials come in many conformation and are proportion to fit 4x4 or 6x6 posts . Some come complete with lag screw that only need predrilling the posts . Other style require drill for screws or dowel pin . To keep rainwater from moulder the top of the spot , caulk the bottom edge with silicone before tightening the finial . situation caps pass over the tops of the spot completely and shed rainwater from the end grain . You ’ll find them fluted , cornice , and chamfered in styles that match any deck of cards design .
Frequently Asked Questions
Sapwood is the younger outer Sir Henry Wood level of a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , whereas heartwood is the old and harder kernel portion of a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree trunk . Heartwood is typically darker in color than sapwood due to the natural aging cognitive operation .
If lumber is judge air - dry , it ’s been position out to dry of course in the loose air — a sluggish but cheap process . Kiln - dry timber is a faster , more expensive method of drying wood . Instead of stacking baseball bat outdoors , this technique involves stacking Natalie Wood inside a kiln , a unsympathetic chamber that see the temperature and humidity atmospheric condition to more chop-chop expel wet .
Depending on the quality of adorn lumber you pick out , most wood deck last between 10 and 30 year . Many result triggered by atmospheric condition , age , and world-wide wear and tear can be repaired , but structural trouble , plague plague , wood rot , and ground change mostly indicate to replacing the deck with new construction .
Chromated arsenical . United States Environmental Protection Agency .
