Three year old porch. Buffalo, N.Y. Priming all 4 sides might have added a few years, maybe. This is why I like masonry at grade & in the weather!!
Contemplating Trex (lose the T&G look, which goes with the porch style) or T&G Ipe’ (worry about buckling if too tight or gaps if too loose when laid)
(I’m thinking material cost is close, but also wondering if quality ipe is still around)
There’s plastic over gravel under the framing (which I’m hoping is good, wolmanized, not ACQ, on decent pads). I’m thinking maybe the plastic is part of the problem, since any water that does get in just sits there (and will be worse if I go back with Trex)
What would all you bright guys do?
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Ooops, fergot the pics...here we go
Maybe talk to Tendura?
Forrest
One problem with your T&G flooring is that it runs parallel to the outside edge of the porch. I should run perpendicular and sloped away from the house to allow water to run out of the grooves. The way you have it the water will sit in the grooves.
I have an old T&G covered porch. I'm decided to try the T&G Ipe. I like the durability of the material and the fact that you can get a hardwood floor look with the use of penetrating oil. If you paint T&G porch flooring sooner or later it will peel.
Of course I'm just a stupid homeowner, not a pro, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
I just tore off a covered porch that had 2 1/4" t&g flooring (yellow pine?) perpendicular to the building. It was 80 years old and, except for one board at the top of the stairs, was in fine shape -- in fact, it was about the only part of the porch that was NOT rotting! Properly installed and sloped, a T&G floor can be just fine for a covered porch with sufficient roof overhangs. I do think that the narrower boards may be a bit better for painting since they will not move as much as a wider board. Just my $0.02.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
I did a similar repair recently on a porch that was only a few years old. I did not have the budget to refloor the entire porch, so replacing the rotted boards was the only way. What I did was cut the new boards to length first, then gave them a good soaking in epoxy sealer from the Rot Doctor. Finished up with latex floor paint. We'll see. One advantage I had was that the boards ran perpendicular to the wall, and were sloped for drainage (which did not protect the previous installation from quickly rotting, though).
The porch on my own house is PT T&G, probably pine, and, while it's not the greatest looking floor in the world (far from it), it has been rot free for 20+ years despite no drainage slope and being parallel to the wall.
This is low enough to the ground that here in non-freezing LA, it woulda been slab on grade in the first place. For a nicer look, Mexican tile over the slab. Somebody from cold country will probably fill us in on whether that could work there.
-- J.S.