Hi all,
I am planning on replacing the decking of a covered front porch on a 1915 craftsman in Seattle. I am considering using t&g fir and plan to coat all exposed surfaces prior to instalation and then sand and paint the deck.My questions are;
1)any suggestins for material besides VG fir or hemlock?
2) what expansion / contraction should i expect along the length of the boards and how do I allow for this. I planned to butt the end grain against a 3 1/4″ rounded over trim peice that would be exposed to the side walk. Do I bang it up tight or leave a gap.
3) any good ideas for getting all the boards to the exact correct length and getting a nice straight line along the end grain portion of the decking. Due to pillars I won’t be able to lay them long and trim them later all at once. I planned to butt them up against a removable straight edge.
4) anything to treat the boards with besides a good oil base primer?
5) any old FHB issues that you can remember that deal with this?
any other info or questions are welcomed.
Thanks in advance.
Dave E.
Replies
I did the same thing to my porch last fall. VG doug fir is the way to go, I think.
1)any suggestins for material besides VG fir or hemlock?
No. Fir is the way to go.
2) what expansion / contraction should i expect along the length of the boards and how do I allow for this. I planned to butt the end grain against a 3 1/4" rounded over trim peice that would be exposed to the side walk. Do I bang it up tight or leave a gap.
Bang it tight. There is little or no movement along a boards length.
3) any good ideas for getting all the boards to the exact correct length and getting a nice straight line along the end grain portion of the decking. Due to pillars I won't be able to lay them long and trim them later all at once. I planned to butt them up against a removable straight edge.
If you really can't run them wild and cut at once, then perhaps you can rig up some kind of temporary board to butt into. I can't see your project, so it's hard to say.
4) anything to treat the boards with besides a good oil base primer?
I used an oil based self priming porch floor paint from Diamond Vogel.
5) any old FHB issues that you can remember that deal with this?
Dont' know.
any other info or questions are welcomed.
Thanks in advance.
Dave E.