A few things about pressure treated lumber it will get checks and splits. Its a real pain to seal every fall. For some reason i forget to do it. Find a PT deck thats a few years old and see if the splits and checks will bother you. Make sure to sand everything well, so the kids don't get splitters. Some people say to seal the ends that you cut, with special P.T. (green color) sealer. The plastic lumber is VERY slippery in the north east winters my general contractor won't use it any more. Redwood is the best option with fasteners that fasten are under the lumber. It cost a lot of money, so i went with the new P.T. lumber for my deck. FYI- add ice and water shield to the home before adding the deck and then add 1/2' blocks every foot or so. Then add caulking to the lag bolts that go into the home framing.

 

Remember to use copper or stainless steel flashing with the new PT material.

 

Treated. That is what I am building my deck from right now.

I did look into the composite (at 3+ times the cost of treated). The problem with composite is - there is no long term data on it. It has been out there a while, but there are many horror stories about the first composites on the market warping and things like that. The newer stuff is just that - newer. Try to find anyone that has had the newer stuff for 5+ years. It is just too new. That is why I went treated - cause you know what you are going to end up with.

Just my .02.

 

Good advice on this topic. It brings me to a question though. Most of the decks in my area are redwood and are sealed every couple of years. I didn't see anyone here mention redwood as a material - is this due to cost or is there something about it I don't know? I have a 640 square foot redwood deck built on a hillside attached behind my house. I've heard termites don't like redwood, anyone know if this is true?

 

Yeah that is one thing I never considered is using redwood or cedar.

 

IF you can stand the price. . . .(read expensive) Redwood is definitely the way to go. Redwood is naturally rot-resistant.

Pressure Treated is good material as a 'second choice'. (My opinion.)
Watch for splinters, as others have stated. They can get REAL nasty, if not pulled immediately, and alcohol poured on/in the opening. OUCH!!!
PT splinters can infect the skin REAL quick!! Hurts like the 'boogie-man' too!
As stated by Wrenchtraveller, use a good dustmask when cutting PT and NEVER, EVER burn PT wood! The CCA 'stuff' becomes very toxic when burned! I've seen pictures of 'sores' that develop in the lungs when this stuff is burned and ingested. Gross! Deadly!!!!!!

Red Cedar is a good choice. The ONLY down-side to cedar is that it is a very soft wood. If you are only replacing the deck boards, go with a 5/4 board, or 2x6 lumber. Cedar WILL shrink, like PT does. I like the 2x6s, personally.
(They ain't cheap, either!)

Either way you go. . . . I suggest 'butting' the boards together. Don't leave a nail width between the boards, as recommended by 'the experts'. The boards WILL shrink, no matter what you use. (Except composite material. I have NO experience with this material.)
On one of the decks I built, I put a 12d (12 penny) nail between the boards and when the wood 'shrank' - the opening between the boards went to almost 3/8"!!! (Too much, for me.) I like a nice little opening/gap.

Lastly, put a preservative on the Cedar or Redwood, about two weeks after you put it down. (Taking for granted you have sunny weather for that two weeks.) I like oil-based preservatives. They give a 'warmer' or 'richer' look than water-based preservatives. I've used both. My wife prefers the water-based. Personal preference, I guess.

In closing, the PT wood will be the least expensive. Redwood, the most expensive.

Good luck with your project!

Keith

 

Thanks for the info on the redwood. The rear deck came with the house so don't know what it cost, but when I replaced the small front deck last summer I went with redwood just to make it look even. I think the 2x6 boards came to about $1.30 /foot! Glad to know it was a good investment.

 

I replaced my deck a couple years ago because of the cheap lumber they used for PT. Then a company comes out with "premium" PT so I use that. No difference, it's still crap lumber. I'd have given anything to have had the brains to go with the composite material. Natural wood may look better when it's BRAND-new, KT, but it just doesn't hold up. Plastic/ composite, all the way.

 

cedar or red. my 12 x 24 is cedar. glad i did 15 years and going. re deck time will be the plastic stuff getting to old to clean and restain now.. yep just a lazy old fart now.

 

Where are you located? Redwood seems to be more prevalent on the west coast because that's where it grows. It is a very good, weather-resistant building material. Another good one that comes to mind if you live in the southern mid-west would be cypress.

I have to ask what seems to me the obvious question. If the old copper arsenic pt was phased out because it was too dangerous/poisionous..... How much safer is the new stuff if it can dissolve a steel nail in less than a year!

 

If you are wanting to make the deck last forever then you will want to look into using the composite decking. The composite decking makes a smooth surface. The only downfall to it is the expense. Even pressure treated lumber will have to be maintained just not as often as non-treated. Like everyone else has been saying watch which treated lumber you get. Although now they are saying that the new ACQ treated is not as bad as they were saying. The lumber yards are being told that it will not eat away at the non stainless screws.

 

Whatever kind of wood you use it has to be treated. You are not limited to pine or cedar. There is teak, mohagany iron wood. But like I said they all have to be treated. And the more expensive the wood the more you treat it. For low maintnance go with preassure treated cedar.

 

The lumber yards are feeding and being fed a line of bull. The new ACQ very definitely will eat non stainless screws. I saw some of the new material in a display at a lumberyard and it was falling apart!

I also looked at some of those trellis boards in 4x8' sheets and the staples were piles of rust and falling apart in the store. You could not even pick up a sheet because it came apart in your hands.

 

They've developed a galvanizing that's suppose to hold up. The boxes the screws come in will be clearly marked ACQ with a sticker. It's not just any galvanizing. I hope it holds up.

 

The new treated does eat up fasteners, the required double or triple hot dipped galvanized fasteners just have a thicker coating on them so "hopefully" they wont corrode all the way through for a while. Stainless will work fine. How about Black Locust? A friend of mine is dead set against treated and uses locust all the time with good results.