Building new deck - looking for alternative to standard PT lumber
tworst
12 years ago
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mike_kaiser_gw
12 years agosilvercanadian
12 years agoRelated Discussions
Building Raised Beds Cedar or PT Wood? How Thick?
Comments (18)I thought of using cedar, but when I priced it, it was way too expensive and didn't make sense to do it. And I'm sorry to say, but if you're trying to grow as much food as you can, two 4x4 beds are not very much and I think that is a lot of money for two small beds. I have one long bed 12" high, 11ft long and 4ft wide. I have four beds 12" high, 4ft x 4ft. I made them with Pine because I had some already and didn't have to buy much more. It's actually been about 8 years since we built them and they are ready to be replaced now. Now I want to double the square footage that I can grow in. So I want to build… Two beds 12" high, 16ft long, 4ft wide Six beds 12" high, 6ft long, 4ft wide That doubles my growing space. I don't feel I need deeper beds, because vegetables are annuals and I've read somewhere recently that they don't really need 18" deep beds. 12" is just right for me and I don't mind bending and kneeling. So less wood. I priced what cedar I could find and it was going to cost me over $600. to build those beds. I called 12 lumber yards and only two had cedar and they weren't the dimensions I wanted either. Finally, one lumber yard, said he was steering people to use Eastern Hemlock rough sawn, which is very inexpensive. It is more rot resistant than Pine but less than Cedar. Estimates were 5yrs for Pine, 8-10 years for Hemlock, and 15yrs for Cedar. I priced the Hemlock and it was going to cost me $198. to build the same beds. So, if I built the hemlock and had to replace them in 10 years for another $200. It would still be $200. less than building the cedar beds, and would last me 5yrs longer....See MoreIpe, PT or Cedar Deck?
Comments (2)If cost is no object, I would think that ipe would always be the choice. I'm not familiar with Sikkens SRD, but if it bubbles up, it's the wrong product. You want to generally use a absorbing oil, not a hard finish. If you don't mind driftwood gray, you don't have to put anything on ipe....See MoreComposite vs real wood deck in new construction build?
Comments (4)I don't have the square footage costs you asked about but I did quite a bit of research several years ago and had several concerns I'll mention here. I'm in SE Texas where we have high humidy and a lot of rain so that may change your circumstances. I was concerned a composite 2 x 6 board cost three times as much as a treated board, some composite lumber had mold and mildew complaints and required power washing with cleaning chemicals, composite lumber isn't made for structural members under the deck and I figured if I had to stick with treated lumber under the deck, I might as well use it for the deck surface as well. I ultimately chose fiberglass beam construction....See MoreNew Build Screen Porch flooring - PT wood already on site!
Comments (7)A lot depends on the look you want. We're also doing a screen porch and will use a composite (not sure which yet) but the type that is interlocking and looks like T&G after install. You can't stain a PT deck immediately so it will have to weather as is for a while - how long I believe depends on how much weather/sun exposure it will get but I believe a year is recommended. Will you be screening underneath the PT flooring to keep bugs out? How will it be fastened? Will they do a blind system so you don't have to see nails in the boards?...See Moreweedyacres
12 years agotworst
12 years agotworst
12 years agoweedyacres
12 years agojohn_hyatt
12 years agocommanche
12 years agojohn_hyatt
12 years agocommanche
12 years agotworst
12 years agomike_kaiser_gw
12 years agosombreuil_mongrel
12 years agojohn_hyatt
12 years ago
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