| Name: |
plantlady
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| Subject: |
Decking materials
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Date:
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9/13/2012 6:54:03 PM
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Am renovating our dock and am considering different decking materials. Would appreciate any recommendations based on users experience after a couple of yrs.of ware. We are considering natural treated wood, composite, and exotic. I've had experience with wood, and understand the maintenance issues. Have researched composite and exotic wood(ipe, tiger wood, etc)and have a very general understanding of the cost/benefits. From what I've read, composite can have long term issues with decomposition, mildew and staining; however, I can find owners who swear by its maintenance features. I would appreciate any advice/recommendations from the practical experience of other Lake Martin owners. Thank you
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| Name: |
itisd
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| Subject: |
Decking materials
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Date:
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9/13/2012 7:54:21 PM
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I vote for wood, it's natural, warm , rustic and doesn't look fake and artificial. It's cost effective compared to the composites. If you pay attention to the coatings you use to protect the wood you can get years of service. I have a pier, dock, floating dock that still has the original wood that was installed in 1997. We don't know how long the composites and others will last as there is no long history of service with these materials. It's kind of like buying hope. With wood being 1/4 the price of the other materials, I would go with wood. My $.02 worth. Good luck with your project.
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| Name: |
Mack
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| Subject: |
Decking materials
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Date:
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9/13/2012 8:21:27 PM
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Natural treated wood. And forget any 5/4 flooring or rails. It warps and wears quickly. If you go with QUALITY treated 2" lumber it will last many years. If, if you pressure wash it faithfully and reseal with a QUALITY water repellant coating. And, after washing and sealing, it looks brand new.
Unpainted/unstained wood is my vote.
Also, use screws rather than nails. More expense, but a screw will not back out.
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| Name: |
roswellric
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| Subject: |
Realistically...
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Date:
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9/13/2012 8:42:36 PM
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You will have to re-stain the wood every 2-3 years. It just depends on how much you have. Check out Consumer Reports on wood "sealers, stains, preservatives". I found the advice on pressure treated wood products to be accurate.There are pros & cons to each so you have to weigh it out yourself. Do your homework and you won't be dissapointed or at least surprised.
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| Name: |
GoneFishin
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| Subject: |
My 2 or 3 cents
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Date:
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9/13/2012 9:38:58 PM
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I have read that composite gets hot in direct sun.
If you use wood, I strongly suggest Grade 1 or better with few knots. Make certain they will take back bad boards.
I am not a builder just a homeowner who recently went through the same as you for a new floor on a porch with a roof in Florida. I used 5/4 grade 1 pt with 316 stainless steel screws 2 1/2in. with a star head pre drilled and hand screwed. I used the 316 stainless because the house is on The Gulf and it is more corrosion proof..There is a 304 stainless tTat is less expensive but will work at the lake. You should also do well with regular deck screws made for PT. If you are doing it yourself, use a star or minimum square head to avoid stripping the screw.
If you are building a deck let me suggest a way to design it that we used and it looks sharp. I wanted to avoid a lot of cuts in the wood as different lengths of wood were used for the deck. Every cut can raise as time goes on. The porch is 10x32 under a roof. We used 5/4 grade 1 with very very few small knots. I looked at each board and returned some of them for better boards. We took a 10 ft piece of 5/4 and ran it the width of the porch. Then used ONLY 16 boards for the floor with no cuts. They all met at the 10 ft board and the side of the porch. It is neat not to see all the typical cuts from various lengths of wood.
Our dock at the lake is 2x6 rather than the 5/4.
NO NAILS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Deck screws long enough to hold. Here is is an interesting site:
http://starcraftcustombuilders.com/deck.handbook4.htm
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| Name: |
Osms
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| Subject: |
Decking materials
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Date:
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9/13/2012 11:17:23 PM
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I can make a recommendation after putting in several decks with treated decking at different times of the year. If you can put down exposed decking in the winter, the wood will have time to dry out slowly and is much less inclined to crack, cup, or warp. Decking I've installed in the summer always cracks, and cups very quickly. The wood just bakes in the sun and ruins. BTW, I've had good success with nail-gunned ring shank galvanized nails.
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| Name: |
Maverick
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| Subject: |
My 2 or 3 cents
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Date:
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9/13/2012 11:21:16 PM
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What GF said, very good advice. Also agree with pressure washing and resealing as needed, again good advice.
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| Name: |
MartiniMan
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| Subject: |
Decking materials
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Date:
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9/14/2012 8:51:45 AM
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At my lake house we have wood and at my home we have composite material. For ease of maintenance, longevity, etc. I would highly recommend the composite materials although all are not equal. I can't recall the brand I have but will try to look over the weekend. It looks very nice and is wearing extremely well so no complaints and I certainly don't miss the regular staining/resealing of wood and carpenter bees are not an issue. I just pressure wash it once a year and it looks like new.
As for the heat that GF mentioned, that has not been my experience with ours. In fact, nothing I have seems to get as hot as the treated lumber we have on our dock. I really don't believe there is any difference but again, that could be product dependent. If I redid the decks at the lake house I would probably not use wood.
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| Name: |
Jim Dandy
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| Subject: |
Decking materials
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Date:
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9/14/2012 10:03:45 AM
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I've had composite decking on my dock for about five years and have been very pleased with it. No maintenance and easy to clean (pressure wash). Still have to treat the banding with sealer but only takes a few hours to do that. A word of caution - the material is substantially heavier than wood, so you need to make sure that joist are sufficient to support the material. My dock is framed on 12" centers, which is the minimum to support.
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| Name: |
Lifer
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| Subject: |
Decking materials
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Date:
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9/14/2012 10:09:09 AM
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All good advice so far. The only experience I have with composites is at a friends house. They used composite for their piers/porches. There was not really a problem with the porches due to shading, but the pier was so hot you couldn't stand on it with bare feet in summer. The heat would even transfer through some thin flip flops and swimming shoes if you stood still for a short time. They actually ended up putting a garden hose on the deck to keep it wet so as to be bearable. As Mav said, this may be brand specific, but definitely worth taking the time to research before hand. I seem to remember reading about new technology of using honeycombing of composite decking to reduce density and hence tackle the heat retaining issue. But anytime I mention memory/remembering the info is subject to doubts and questions...lol.
Osms also gave good advice about laying wood in winter as opposed to summer for the drying aspect. I have never thought about that before, but it is very good advice that I will follow in the future if at all possible. The last decking I did was in summer heat and within a couple of years it was in terrible shape with bucking. Also make sure to check each board and lay with the crown up to prevent puddling. I would also use screws only. It makes removal of any bad boards in the future much easier and you never have to pound them back down.
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| Name: |
lakngulf
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| Subject: |
Decking materials
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Date:
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9/14/2012 10:59:58 AM
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"Also make sure to check each board and lay with the crown up to prevent puddling."
Always seems to me that they stamp that black label on the side that needs to go up, go figure.
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| Name: |
Lifer
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| Subject: |
Decking materials
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Date:
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9/14/2012 3:55:12 PM
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Maybe I am missing something, but I don't know what the hell you are talking about. Maybe I am ignorant but I have never seen any black labels on any lumber I bought, much less seen anything to mark the crown.
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| Name: |
GoneFishin
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| Subject: |
LIFER Get Serious
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Date:
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9/14/2012 4:55:49 PM (updated 9/14/2012 4:56:38 PM)
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You never saw the "BLACK" mark???? You must be one of those Romney supporters who drive with their dog on the roof. It is the"label" that shows the grade and wood type. On the grade one 5/4 it was red and on the bottom side. Even CAT knows about the "BLACK" mark on wood.
Hope you are doing well.
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| Name: |
peruecreek
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| Subject: |
Decking materials
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Date:
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9/14/2012 5:47:22 PM
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I just resurfaced our entire dock and floating pier this spring with the Evergrain composite in the Cape Cod Grey color. The grey looked better than the wood colors as it blended better with the aged wood left on the dock. The wood colors really stuck out as unnatural versus the existing wood. I have not noticed any issues with excessive heat possibly due to the lighter color. I would definitley go with an experienced company (Lake Martin Dock did ours) so that if any issues arise in the future they will stand behind the product and the installation. So fat I am very satisfied with the product and would recommend it.
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| Name: |
CAT BOAT
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| Subject: |
Lake Martin Dock Co.
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Date:
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9/14/2012 5:51:53 PM
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They do an awesome job (per my opinion). They are nice, easy to deal with, and recommend what they have experience with. When we do service calls, and come across nice, exceptional work, there name comes up a lot. As well as others. Everyone I talk to enjoys the business experience with them.
Steve
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| Name: |
LKBR
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| Subject: |
Decking materials
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Date:
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9/14/2012 11:14:42 PM
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I built a boathouse and pier a little over a year ago and used Evergrain. I did a lot or research on it on the internet before deciding to go with it.
So far I am VERY pleased with it. I like that it doesn't twist and warp and I especially like that you don't get splinters from it.
In my opinion, it is no hotter than treated wood after the wood is weathered and turns gray. I've had both. The color on mine is Redwood.
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| Name: |
deepwaterd
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| Subject: |
Decking materials
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Date:
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9/15/2012 7:30:23 PM
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Very good advice from everyone here. I have used it all over the past 20 plus years. Facts #1 treated lumber needs constant maintenance at any grade or price. #2 evergrain composite is the best composite hot because of density at any color(lighter color is better of course) . ALWAYES USE SCREWS. But no one mentioned vinyl. It it cool to walk on. light in weight. and lifetime warranty. most do not like the look. Good luck on your project.
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| Name: |
water_watcher
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| Subject: |
Brazilian Hardwood
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Date:
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9/16/2012 8:12:33 AM
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This is absolutely beautiful ... a natural wood that will outlast composite and look 10 times better. Cost wise it will be the same as composite, maybe a bit higher.
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| Name: |
plantlady
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| Subject: |
Decking materials
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Date:
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9/18/2012 4:03:39 PM
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Thank you all for your feedback and suggestions. This has all been extremely helpful to us. Amazing how the comments started from treated lumber and then transitioned to composite, and finally, exotic wood. Maybe these posts will be helpful to other folks. Thanks again!
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