I’m building a deck and I need some advice on joist spacing. Joists are 2×8 with spans 6′ and 8′ between beams . Decking is 5/4 x 6 CCA/ACQ. Can I get away with a 24″ joist spacing without the deck being springy or do I need to go with 16″? Its a pretty much a standard deck, ie no hot tub or massive planters on it.
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
Ford Motor Company slashes prices for some F-150 Lightning models to stimulate demand for electric vehicles (EVs).
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
Just a thought but sooner or later you or somebody else will be replacing those deck boards.
With the exponential growth in the use of synthetic decking, those replacement boards might possibly be some type of synthetic. Many (most?) of them won't work with spacing larger than 16".
I'd bite the bullet and use 16" spacing, but that's just me.
My impression is that 5/4 feels springy on 24" centers. Not even sure it would be code here, but I've seen/felt it a few times.