It depends on how you define failure, if spliting,cracking,splinters are not in that define then yes pt decking will probley last 10/12 years altho acq material has no track record any place near that yet.

It wont matter how you fasten it or what you maintain it with pt material well react the same way exposed to the sun/weather. There is no babyen pt material in fact Gilbert you could just leave it alone with no finish at all with the same results that would help out far as your spending fortune goes.

No one knows whats going to happen 10 years from now conected to anything if we are faithfull or not. However!.... the adverage pay back with a well done outdoor area last year was 112% thats better than a bath or a kitchen fix up.

Necessary for enjoyment ?? now that is a question I like, is it really necessary to ride a new Sportster or just limp along thinking about it, is it necessary to install pt decking and hate it for ever?? or for 10 years or so should I go ipe/garapa love it from the begining and say in 10 years plus get 70% of my mola back when I sell?????

I vote go for the HD Sportster,new pipes/rejet. Do not use pt material for decking or a rail system if your even thinking about 10 years down the road. J.

most of our volumne is the new home builder market so we have a ton of experience with pt decks cuz thats what most of em build unless they are building high end. i can tell you to expect what john has already said re cup, warp, bow, shrink, check, etc. these are known in the industry as "normal properties of the (SYP)wood". the problem is exacerbated by more and more fast growth or plantation timber coming into the building industry lately... its a no-brainer, the faster it grows the fewer the growth rings. thus the less dense and thus the less stable.

acq is otta here in our country... replaced with mcq. like john said, the jury's still out on these new coctails that replaced the old cca. still, i don't think you'll ever have rot or insect probs with pt.

what you will have is what we've already talked about and those probs will start immediatly. it has to happen. think about it this way... kiln dried goes into the chambers at roughly 18% moisture. chamber is sealed and water borne coctails are injected into the cells of the wood under high pressure. when they pull it out of the chambers water is literally running out of the bundled material. the epa won't let em ship it til it stops dripping. but as soon as it does its on the road and it literally stays bundled until it hits the job site where we break the bands and build a deck out of it. this is the first real opportunity for most of the sticks to be exposed to air and sun. and i can tell you you don't wanna mess around. you wanna get this stuff nailed up immetiatly cuz thats when the real drying out process begins and thats when it starts to move. most of that takes place in the first 2 weeks post-install. don't do any care and maint and it expands and contracts with the rain, sun, and humidity and the more of that you have the more probs as it ages.

so........ if you're going to use PT, upgrade to premium 5/4 or #1 2x6 PRIME and SCREW it down. soon as you drive that last screw get out there and SOAK it with a good searler with a uv protectant in it. wiating to do this after it dries is a MYTH!! then do it again at max 6 months. then every year or 2 therafter depending on conditions. in no way is this a cure-all but do this and you will substantially reduce what are known in the industry as these normal properties of the wood.

likewise with the rails. cedar is the next price point up and make a nice rail. the caution on cedar is this... if it can trap moisture anywhere and not dry out, its gonna rot!

do the upgrade, do the screws, and do the sealing and you can still make a nice inexpensive deck from pt. expect to change a component that goes to the dogs. good luck.