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I built an exterior deck with 1×6 center match treated planks. The wood was quite wet on installation and shrunk considerably. The builder would like a rustic look with painted floors, but 1/2″ gaps won’t fly. Obivously, KDAT lumber would have prevented this. Any suggestions would be helpful.
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J R , hope you put it down with screws
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Chuck-
Screw shank nails. Anyway, starting over is not an option. This is a second floor deck with 16" columns stacked on top to support the 3d floor. In my defense, it is built exactly to plan. "Mercote" has a 3 layer trowelled on membrane to fix this, but cost and the modern look discourage it. Suggestions?
PS- 2x6 centermatch, not 1x6 (oops)
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If you built to plan, sounds like cost incurred to fix or whether to fix at all is an owner/builder call.
Does a 1/2" gap really make it unusable? Maybe just put up a sign "flat soled shoes only."
*So you're considering going to a waterproof deck -- lots of options there (rubber, fiberglas, plywood, tile, concrete, Astroturf, etc....).Out of curiosity, was the wet lumber installed with gaps?
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Andrew- The deck was existentially tight on installation. It is 10'x60', with six (2)2x10 beams and 2x8 joists between. The big gaps are atop the beams which are ,alas, under the posts. I was hoping to hear of something to fill the gaps and paint the thing. 1/2" caulk?
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You could rip tapered strips off some extra deck boards and hammer them into the gaps, sand them flush, and then nail the strips down with finish nails?
*Someone here must have ideas. i can't imagine what you'd do that wouldn't end up rotting out the planks. It sounds like pulling them up is the thing to do ... unhappily. I came across an odd tool called a "pallet buster," for breaking up old pallets for recycling or repair, in the Rand catalog, http://www.randmh.com. Perhaps it would help out.
*I'm not sure what your final decision will be but, having lived on wooden sailboats for part of my life, I would agree with Andrew about trying to fill the gaps. It's just going to lead to problems down the road. Better think of it as a subfloor or pull it up. Or live with it.
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Thank you Joseph. The simplest solution is often the best. A little wood glue, sawdust, and some narrow crown staples, and she's ready for paint. I thank the others for their comments, also, though treated wood on a covered deck with a 1/4" per foot pitch should pose no rot problem. JRNicholson
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I built an exterior deck with 1x6 center match treated planks. The wood was quite wet on installation and shrunk considerably. The builder would like a rustic look with painted floors, but 1/2" gaps won't fly. Obivously, KDAT lumber would have prevented this. Any suggestions would be helpful.