Hi B,

Sorry to see no one has responded to this yet.

“Scuff marks” what you’re seeing is commonly known as “reverse grain” or “grain tear out”. This is completely natural. In all wood grain runs pretty much in one direction, but occasionally it “reverses” direction and you get the soft fluffy effect you’re seeing. While it can’t be totally eliminated... sanding and oil will go a long way to mitigating it.

Stains. Well, sounds like you’ve got a pecan tree in your yard and any solution will be relatively temporary. You could start with a mild dish soap/push broom/water approach and if that doesn’t work step up to a product like Messmer’s Deck Cleaner and Brightener... if that doesn’t work then yes sanding and recoiling will probably be your only solution. After that it will just be a matter of keeping tabs on the time of year the pecan tree is dropping whatever it’s dropping that is causing the staining and just keeping the deck swept clean.

Hi B,

We've been supplying Ipe for nearly 30 years and there's a couple things we noticed here with your deck. First is that your deck is very close to the ground and your gap spacing is very close to non existent on some boards. We are not sure if it was installed like that or if it has swelled from being so close to the ground. This could eventually lead to your deck boards cupping. We also noticed some of the ends of your boards checking this generally should not happen if you apply a wax end seal to the ends of any cut boards.

In regards to the stains pecan trees can be very problematic and cause lots of stains on concrete, decks and many other surfaces. The pecan shucks contain high concentrations of phenolics and tannins that almost permanently stain anything they touch.

Squirrels will crack the shucks open and drop them on your deck so this will be a never ending problem. We would recommend DeckWise Cleaner to try cleaning them but as we said it will be an ongoing problem.

You could have the tree removed or perhaps think about a covered roof or shade sail put over your deck to help significantly reduce this problem.

We’ve been in the lumber business for over 130 years and dealing in tropical hardwoods for roughly 30 years.

If after 4 weeks the boards haven’t cupped you’re probably fine. People successfully build at grade regularly. You could always add some vents to the side of the deck and on top of it back by the house wall if it looks like it is going to be a problem. Based on the photos We’re not seeing any cupping or crowning. For people reading this thread contemplating their own at grade projects we recommend 18” of airflow, but excavating out under the deck and filling with pea stone for drainage will help dramatically.

If your contractor did not reapply Anchor Seal wait for the boards to dry out and contract a little then apply it. It’s inexpensive and easy. Your gap spacing looks ok for the most part, but would like to see them just a little wider apart so dirt doesn’t get caught in between the boards which can lead to rot. They’ve probably expanded as far as they’re going to go so if once you blow the dirt out and there’s still space that should be fine for drainage and airflow.

As a general rule of thumb we encourage keeping as many tree’s standing in the world as possible. Strange to hear that from a lumber company, but every tree left standing is one more scrubbing co2 and pumping o2 into the atmosphere. Beyond that, those of us in the south love our pecan trees. While they are admittedly a messy tree.... there’s no replacing fresh salted pecans, pecan brittle or pecan pie! Or just as a simple shade tree. It’s nature’s air conditioner....