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Common wisdom has always been install deck boards bark side up. A book I was thumbing through recently (Black and Decker Decks) claims that new information shows this to be incorrect, that boards cup up away from the bark side, and thus they say to install deck boards with the bark side down.
This goes against everything else I have ever read, including the FHB Deck book by Schuttner. But I have no long term experience here. I’d like to hear from all you deck builders. What has your experience been?
Replies
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Having built dozens of decks and docks the simple answer is the best side goes up...The boards don't have two good sides to pick from...Nail or screw well...
Near the stream, watching deck boards go both ways,
J
*FXDP,
Joseph FuscoView Image
*I'll have to agree, no matter which side you put up, wood cups towards moisture.Jon
*Put it bark side up and when it cups you have a hump that sheds water. Put it bark side down and you have a trough that catches water. Look at the end grain and you will see what the cup will look like. Put it good side up.
*Use Trex. It won't cup.
*ditto
*Trex is garbage...Literally and literally.Near the stream, found newer style garbage that looks like a third generation trex product...Near the stream, trying new garbage,J
*Not garbage ... recyclable items.
*MikeSorry guy, maybe it's a California phenomena, but your exactly wrong. . . bark side(long grain)down. . . wood cupsb awayfrom the annual rings, looking at the end grain it should be installed exactly opposite to the way iti looks like it will cup, and then iti will cup high in the middle and shed water. . . the only time that I vary from that, whether it be 5/4 or 2x is if the side I want to use is total garbage, and then I try not to use it at all.And a couple of gazillion deck boards says I'm right!!! And it wasn'ti newinfo 20 years ago when I learned it!!!
*You are absolutely right. I did get that backwards. Nevertheless, I still subscribe to the good side up theory. 20 years ago they still had logs big enough to cut boards out of that didn't cup much. Today you have to put it bark side down so the bark doesn't show.
*I said ditto to the previous posts that said "good side up" and wthe next thing I knew I had "dittoed" Trex! Never used the stuff but am very leery of it and am patiently waiting. Saw LP siding and was scared stiff (luckily) don't have as strong a reaction to Trex, but skeptical for sure.
*Young Bob, don't be scared of LP siding. I love the stuff! Of course, it probably doesn't work so well in wet climates, but regional material differences will always be a part of the building differences.Blue
*I'm with the "good side up" crowd. I never could figure out where the bark was, when the tree was already planed! Besides, most trees here in MI are round, and there is bark on all sides!Technically, I guess I always put the bark side up...and also always down!fence sitting,Blue
*First of all, good morning all, second, why are you guys building with cupped lumber, or poor cuts that will cup. If you're going to use junk you had best stick to 3/4-5/4 stock or you are right...it will look like junk. Any piece of lumber that you can see the direction to the outside of the tree, will cup and crack badly. Any piece of lumber with the core of the tree in it will crack all 4 sides and will also be the first to rot. As for my opinion about trex, if it has no measurable structural strength at 80 degrees ferinheit, I'm not going to use it. I also don't like the fact that it sunbleaches and then you can't stain it.
*I agree with Jack to an extent, the better looking side goes up, but so does the "smile", whenever possible.... look at the end grain of the board, and "smiles up". Also, when you install wood shakes or shingles, always put "smiles up" (I'm amazed at how many shinglers don't know there's a right side up for cedar shingles).
*LawrenceYou an I both build primarily with cedar for exterior structures, and living less than 200 miles apart, on the i goodside of the border I can't imagine that you have access to substantially better quality Western Red Cedar than I do, although your post certainly implies it. I switched from 2x to 5/4 for decking a few years back because the quality as 'decking material' was so much better, but even so, most of the 5/4x6 'premium' that I get shows the i cupof the grain to some extent, carefully nailed precious little ever splits, probably because being outside it never really dries out completly?
*gday Patrick, it seems to be getting more and more difficult. We've struck a deal with a local lumber yard and pay a little more to go up 3 grades. They still send second growth at times, and when that happens I drive 120 miles and rob some nameless lumber yard of all their good posts. Good decking is difficult to get. Even 3 grades up we still end up with 30% the smiling lumber you are describing. I certainly wouldn't pay for q-sawn, but when it is there I do take it. Clients can decide for themselves wether they can deal with cracks up front, (when I explain), and I give them the option of going clear.(which is usually old growth and better cuts)
*Interesting?
Joseph FuscoView Image
*and harder times are ahead in this regard - read in FHB or JLC that the largest lumber supplier in Canada (McMillan/Blodel?...not sure) recently agreed to stop cutting ALL old growth in an effort to appease the environmental folks. To me, that means less availability and higher costs for not only Cedar but my alltime favorite VG Fir (have to bow my head to say that)
*Blue, man, that stuff is no good in THE GREAT NORTHWEST. They claim to have it fixed and do still sell it here but if you haven't seen it, you wouldn't believe how bad that stuff mildews - countless lawsuits in these parts, I was really lucky, never had a customer insist (came close once, but they changed their mind when I told them I would line them up with someone else and request waiver of responsibility for that part of job) Hardi Plank siding is king here now and for past 3-4 years. No foolin' guys have buisnesses here removing that stuff - kind of like asbestos. - yb
*b b,f+s Y.B.MacBlo, as they're known here, are not to be believed on any account, especially any i appeasementto environmentalists. What they probably said was that they weren't going to cut anymore of what they had already cut. . . i 'cause it was already cut. . .they took corporate bafflegab to new extremes years ago. I do like workin with cedar though
*Back to Trex! I bought it in the final analysis for environmental reason, as it is recycled and recyclable. My thinking was that if i was going to spend all that money for good first-growth lumber I wasn't going to leave it out in the rain! This is no high-end home, so I think it will work out OK. Structurally, no problem, though I did use their "commericial" (more conservative) recommended span. It's kind of fun to work with too. Recently worked with a pile of cedar for a client's arbor and enjoyed it very very much ... but then it was her money.Would love to try Pau Lope. And still putting the pretty side up.
*No big deal. the stuff was grown to be dropped!New stuff will sping up in a few thousand years.Blue
*We are not having any problems with LP siding here in MI. We do have a intermittant humid days, but for the most part, everything tends to dry out. Not many builders install vapor barriers, on the ceilings, or the walls. maybe that is a factor.Blue
*andrew - Pau Lope? - yb
*JoeGood side up i regardless of grain orientation =b Fine Washboard BuildingHey a new mag/discussion bored. . .. FWB. . . sort of a hybrid as it weren'ti Home fer lunch/Feverish with SpringTook a tour of the lake late last night with a buddy who counts spawning pickerel. . . biologist/eco dweebs have some strange ways to catch amusement-P