Old cypress deck needs repair. Trex? YellaWood? Ideas?

3 years ago

Our old waterfront home was built over 40 years ago, and made entirely of cypress. Cypress siding, trim, decking, even the deck wall is cypress clad. The only reputable cypress dealer I can find (two states away from me) says that cypress decking boards would never hold up now – – something about it wouldn’t be old growth, or it would have too many knots in it. I can’t quite recall, but he said it just wasn’t possible to get what we have.

So I looked into going with something like Trex. But the old deck is on 24“ joists, and Trex requires 16”. My contractor says all the pressure-treated yellow pine he can get is junk nowadays, and will begin to fail in 5-10 years. He complains that old fashioned CCA is no longer made, whatever that is, and that we might need to order something exotic.

Our local Trex dealer suggested YellaWood, which he says is superior to regular yellow pine. Our contractor says he is aware of it, but has never used it. It also isn’t easily available in our rural, mountainous area. We pulled a couple of boards up early in the summer, and the joists look good. We can double up the joists and go back to the idea of Trex, but it will look messy from underneath, where it covers a substantial ground level patio. And I honestly don’t love the idea of pairing a manmade material with such an organic looking home.

I would appreciate any advice on any of these products. And I would especially appreciate any other ideas for what we might use. I don’t want to say money is not an object, but I don’t want to waste it. I just want a nice wooden deck floor similar to what I have now. Many thanks.

Featured Answer

User

3 years ago

New porch

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (17)

cat_ky
3 years ago
Have you considered cedar?
0
MizLizzie
Original Author
3 years ago
No, is it hard to obtain? It should be a close match to cypress, I’d guess. Is it a good option, and long lasting? Thanks!
0
Related Discussions
Composite Decking Debate...
Q
Comments (71)
We put down a trex deck on east side of our home with lots of shade 3 years ago. No problems with mold until we had a very wet spring and summer in minnesota this year. I expected to have to wash and maintain this low maintenance deck. We had lots of mold staining everywhere on deck. After tring Behr deck mold and remover with no luck I was extremely unhappy. Tried Simplying Green full strength with no luck. After pulling out my hair and complaining to my husband about why he wanted composite instead of wood I told him I would have been better off spending 2 days staining a real wood deck. After lots of reading on various threads on composite decking problems and trex websites on how to clean it,I finally found a product that working amazing! I used Mold Armour ez deck wash from Home Depot. I know the product contains a bleach solution but it worked in a matter of min. I did wet down the surrounding areas with a water hose including the railings and grass. Wet down the deck boards first before applying the product with a soft brush in an ice cream pail. No scrubbing was required but I had control with application by this method. I did small section at a time and rinsed off after only 5 min or so. You can see the product work! Be careful not to let solution on boards to long because it does contain bleach and bleach will fade anything it comes in contact with. I did this project on July 4 and want to see how long mold stays away. I plan on buying a more eco friendly product in future like Corte Clean but didnlt try it this time because no stores in our area carry it and it is quite expensive. You also have to watch expiration date and have to buy it on line. Has anyone had luck with this product with mold spots and how long does the mold stay away with Corte Clean or Mold Armour? By the way my deck looks amazing and has no structure problems like some I have been hearing about. My husband built deck himself and followed all the proper guidllines to install. We also used hidden fastener system for instalation and used proper support system underneath. We have the saddle color with accents brand. Hopefully the mold issue will be a controllable one since we plan on staying ahead of it this time and not wait so long to wash it. We also had alot of snow this winter and I didnt always get out there to promply to remove snow. Let me know if you have had better luck with other products as I dont want to use a product so often that contains bleaching agents. Still wish my husband would have agreed with me to use cedar but I lost the battle and had to settle for composite. I keep telling him I told you so about composite and I am stuck with an $8,000 deck that is not low maintenance. I appreciate any feedback on a sealer or something to put down so i only have to wash deck to maintain and keep mold spots at bay. Any luck with sealers or stains?
...See More
Composite Decking Materials - Please comment
Q
Comments (67)
Since this post IS so old, I wonder if some who posted early in this string made any decisions, what they went with, and if they are happy with the choices they made. I have builders trying to get me to use EverGrain, another one wants to build with Latitudes. Neither of them want to use composite railing. They are really trying to sell their composite (I'm guessing they have some discounted contract with their dealers), but somehow no one likes composite railing. I was leaning on building using composite (possibly TimberTech, but I haven't found anyone in my area willing to go with TimberTech yet), and I was hoping the deck railing could be complimentary to the material on the deck and actually be made of the same composite material. This seems to be next to impossible for me to accomplish. What am I missing here?
...See More
Evergrain deck Disintegrating
Q
Comments (67)
My EverGrain deck is also disintegrating, flaking peeling. I called Tamko today 1-31-22 and they sent me an email with instructions to send them an email with information. Then they would send me a kit to start a claim. So I'm early in the process but hoping someone with previous comments on here will let us know how it's going for them and if they are doing a law suit.
...See More
Deck- composite or not?
Q
Comments (26)
I will be replacing my wood deck either next summer or the summer after. Did a lot of reading on the different decking forums. Because I live in the ND/MN area, I need something that can withstand wide fluctuations in temperature. I will be going synthetic for ease of maintenance. Seems that the primary synthetic brands that receive the highest marks are Azek and Timbertech. The least maintenance is poly instead of composite but there are drawbacks - some creaking sounds and it is hot to walk upon. Ipe wood was the best to use if you want wood. It's a Brazilian hardwood, and costs more than cedar or pretreated wood. No one on the decking forum liked Trex. However, my carpenter brother-in-law is planning to use Trex when he replaces his deck. He likes Trex, but says that there are different levels of quality of Trex. Don't buy from big box stores because those are lower-quality "seconds." I'm having my front steps replaced in the next few days with Timbertech XLM, so I'll have an idea if I will like the 100% poly before I do a whole deck with it. So, there's my 4 cents. :-)
...See More
PRO
AdvantageLumber.com
3 years ago
Ipe is the best natural wood decking you can get, and is comparable in cost to composites. Extremely strong and durable, guaranteed to last up to 75 years. If you use 5/4x6 boards, you can use your existing 24" joist spacing. It's also low-maintenance; you just have to oil it once a year or so to preserve the color, or you can just let it turn gray and never have to touch it.

Chic California Decks & Patios · More Info

Why Fit In When You Were Born to Stand Out? Advantage Ipe™ · More Info

If you let it turn gray:

Buffalo, NY - Ship Canal Gray Ipe · More Info

You can learn more here: https://www.advantagelumber.com/decking2.htm
0
MizLizzie
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Ipe! Thank you. That is the exotic that was mentioned to me. Couldn’t recall the name. I wonder if I can get it around here. Also — from your webpage, it looks like you CAN supply cypress decking???
0
PRO
AdvantageLumber.com
3 years ago
If you can't get it locally, you can order from us online. We're currently offering free shipping on orders over $2500: https://buy.advantagelumber.com/collections/ipe-decking
0
User
3 years ago
Black locust is superior to Ipe in a lot of ways. We just had our front porch installed with Black Locust from Black Locust Lumber. You can look at their web site and see how many projects they have completed world wide ! I will link them below. Please get some info before you decided on Ipe. Stubbie and Marie run an amazing company and source their eco friendly wood from all over the world in a sustainable manner Our boards are 12ft long without one single blemish.https://www.blacklocustlumber.com/
0
User
3 years ago
Other direction
0
pennfire
3 years ago
We used thermally modified ash to replace the floor of a large porch in a 100+ year old house.

https://www.bingamanlumber.com/services/thermal-modifcation.html

If you are interested, I can take pictures.
0
MizLizzie
Original Author
3 years ago
Wow, so many good options I never knew existed.

Trail runner — gorgeous! — can that be stained? We need something the color of 40 year old cypress. Ha ha.

penfire, I don’t think ash will work, but I’d love to see pics of you have them handy.

AdvantageLumber, your minimum will not be a problem here. Looks like we are not too far from your NC location. Can we pick up cypress or ipe there?

i seriously thank you all.
0
pennfire
3 years ago
The ash is very dark so if you are looking to compliment instead of match the cypress.
0
pennfire
3 years ago
I’ll take a picture tomorrow
0
User
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
The black locust can be stained using a Sikkins product. It comes un-oiled It will age to grey like your cypress if you look on their website you will see at the Apple Cupertino offices as well as boardwalks the world over that they have supplied the wood for. But if you don't want to wait Sikkins makes a lovely grey. c ps the company is headquartered in Pennsylvania so not far from you. It only took a few days for shipping but it takes 6 weeks after you order to then ship.
0
MizLizzie
Original Author
3 years ago
The house has been kept a brown color with hints of gold, especially where it gets less sun. Like Cuban tobacco before it gets rolled. The original owner/architect meant it to go gray, I think, then changed his mind and had it treated or stained with something around 2016. I guess I should ask him what that was . . .
0
PRO
AdvantageLumber.com
3 years ago
"Looks like we are not too far from your NC location. Can we pick up cypress or ipe there?"

Yes, local pickup is an option. I'd advise calling that location directly to place your order if that's what you want to do.
0
User
3 years ago
@MizLizzie Sikkins also makes a beautiful un colored finish that imparts a beautiful golden color to the wood. We just used it on our 110 yr old front door . You could try some samples.
0
Jeff Ward
last year
last modified: last year
I hope you did NOT use Yellawood.

8 years in and my Yellawood substructure (yes, pressure treated) is failing. Black mold and rot, causing stainless screws to back out/not bite. Yellawood team saying not their problem, but I've NEVER seen PT wood fail like this 4 feet off the ground with ventilation. 18 x 36 deck....
0

Old cypress deck needs repair. Trex? YellaWood? Ideas?

User

Comments (17)

cat_ky

MizLizzie
Original Author

Related Discussions

AdvantageLumber.com

MizLizzie
Original Author

AdvantageLumber.com

User

User

pennfire

MizLizzie
Original Author

pennfire

pennfire

User

MizLizzie
Original Author

AdvantageLumber.com

User

Jeff Ward

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Old cypress deck needs repair. Trex? YellaWood? Ideas?

Comments (17)

MizLizzieOriginal Author

Related Discussions

MizLizzieOriginal Author

MizLizzieOriginal Author

MizLizzieOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

MizLizzie
Original Author

MizLizzie
Original Author

MizLizzie
Original Author

MizLizzie
Original Author