Is it okay to use composite deck boards (not T&G) on front porch?
We have an old 1916 craftsman home. The T&G boards on the front porch needed replacing because water could leak into the basement from the porch.
I’ve essentially followed the instructions from this article: https://www.finehomebuilding.com/2004/11/01/a-watertight-second-story-porch
I’ve deviated from the article slightly by putting PT plywood down (no fiberboard), and laid down Grace water & ice membrane (instead of EPDM) on a .2″/ft slope.
My question relates to the boards being installed on top of the sleepers. I bought Veranda grooved composite deck boards (the box store had no T&G options available). The issue is the boards are installed with a spacing between them and Veranda wants a 1/4″ gap between boards (I don’t mind doing slightly less). My worry is that over time too much debris will fall below.
In theory, the porch should be waterproof and I could simply hose the front porch off a couple of times a year. Alternatively, I can deal with the hassle of returning the boards, then special order some T&G porch flooring. The downside is it costs 3-4x as much the deck boards we currently have.
Is it folly to think I can just rinse of the porch from time to time and clear out debris? Or should I deal with returning these boards and spend an additional $1-2k for T&G boards?
Thanks for the help.
Replies
water and ice membrane on PT plywood is not the same as EPDM over a fiberboard built to go with the roofing.
They call for it to be covered within 90 days.
so gaps in the decking are a bit of a concern from a light exposure basis.
the sleeper distance would also be a consideration. T&G would have a longer span, I would expect.
If you followed the rest of the article, the good news is you should be able to lift the decking to not only hose off any debris, but also inspect your ice and water shield to see how well it is holding up.