Going to be fixing my brothers deck over the weekend. The 2″ x 10″ beams underneath are in good shape so most of the work will be just pulling up 1″ x 6″ planking and replacing with PT wood.
Lowes in our area has a great sale going on PT select pine for decking and we plan to buy it there.
Question is if this PT lumber is moist do we have to wait for it to dry out before we paint it? An experienced painter who has done lots of work for us says “definitely wait couple of months before painting”. Others I have talked to say go right ahead and paint as soon as you build it. So who’s right and when do you paint it?
Also once we pull up old lumber, I’ll pull a few string lines and use a PLS5 and shims to make sure everything is nice and smooth and level before we put down the new surface planks. But how thick should the spacing between planks be? I was taught to use 16p nails as spacers, but I’ve heard others say that is not enough space, take it out to a full 1/4″. I remember seeing a thread here on BT on this but have to admit I didn’t read it, and now can’t find it. So how wide of a space should I leave between surface planks?
This house is in Chicago so there will be quite a lot of varying climate conditions.
I want to do a proper job for my brother so it will last a long time. Any info on when to paint and what dimension spacing would sure be appreciated.
Thanks,
Cork in Chicago
Replies
Wet PT. Snug it up. As for painting I'm not going there.
CAG?
Cork,
We always nail the deck boards tight,you'll find by next summer you have the right spacing. If you space them a 1/4" now by next summer it will be a 1/2" space.As for painting if they're very wet I would wait at least until the end of aug.
Vince Carbone
We prefer to wait up to a year to paint but we use oil.
Some have reported using latex and doing ok since it can breathe but I tend to doubt that it works over really wet wood. Read the label on the can.
Excellence is its own reward!
I agree, wet PT wil shrink, so little space is needed between boards. You might use an 8d nail or similar to get some air movement to dry them out faster.
Avoid paint. It will peel and be a maintenance nightmare. Use a semi-transparent oil stain, or maybe one of the newer latex decking stains. Plan on re-doing it every few years. I you have nice, hot, dry weather, two or three weeks could be enough drying for the first coat.
Chicago, huh? Better double check your footings, posts, beams, connections to house, etc. We had a great posting here about what can happen to old joist hangers. I think they limit deck parties in Chicago to three people now.
Good luck!
Al Mollitor, Sharon MA
Are you really going to use 1x deck boards? What's the joist spacing for that?
Do it right, or do it twice.
Lowes sells trex - see if that will do. I see more of it on decks and patios. No painting, darkening or splinters