Deck questions

[billwmeyer]

I am about to replace a small porch with a large deck, since I bought a large amount of cedar. My question is that this is rough cut cedar, stickered and dried. Will I have to plane both sides of the lumber, or just the "up side"? My thoughts were that maybe i will do a single pass on the bottom side, and of course get a good smooth finsh on the top.

I will be sealing the top with a clear finish for aesthic purposes, but I did not know if the bottom should be sealed also. Normally I would do both, but cedar is rot and insect resistant.

Bill

[Hellrazor]

I would just smooth the bottom off.

[L. D. Jeffries]

By smoothing only one side and then putting finish on only one side you might get some cupping as the unfinished side will absorb moisture even though its dry to start with. As long as the floor joist are not too far apart this problem might not be a problem. I would put finish on the underside as well, staining would not be necessary IMHO, after all whos gonna see it?

[HarmsWay]

I agree, plane and finish all sides. Rot & insect resistant but not -proof. Assuming this is western red cedar, I would suggest asking their association though. I build a cedar deck about 5 years ago and had some very specific questions. I emailed them directly and got detailed answers back very quickly. I really like my cedar deck.

Western Red Cedar Lumber Association:
http://www.wrcla.org/

[billwmeyer]

Thanks guys. I haven't got my hands on the lumber yet. I will try and get some of it hauled in this weekend. I am a little worried because the shed it is in has copperhead snakes around.

I will probably make at least one pass with the planer on the underside. I may try and put one coat of sealer on both sides before starting on the deck.

If anyone is thinking about building a deck, Lowes.com has a pretty good deck planner.

I will try to keep my progress posted.

Bill

[Daryl]

I would plane the second side so all the boards are the same thickness or you will have an uneven floor.

[billwmeyer]

I had another thought on this deck. Watching on tv, they always try to get the deck dead level. I had planned on a slight slope for water runoff. I have done porches like that, but they had tongue and groove floors, where a deck will have spaced floors. Am I wrong to do that?

Bill

[frumper64]

Slope

I would certainly put a slight slope on it (away from the house, obviously) for drainage.

[crokett]

Every deck I've ever done was level with spacing between the decking boards to handle water drainage. I was told that when you put the decking down, make sure any cupping/bowing in the board is set so the crown is up. This will keep the water from sitting on the individual boards.

[Hellrazor]

I always frame them with a slight pitch away from the house. Make sure you install flashing on the ledger board too.

[billwmeyer]

Thanks for the help everyone! Flashing is a great idea, that is one of those things I probably would have thought of about the time I was finshing the deck.

I got most of the lumber home today. I have one more S-10 pickup load to go. If I estimated correctly, I will end up with close to 2,000 board feet of Cedar. I estimate I will need 216 board feet for the deck. I should have plenty left to make some lawn furniture.

Bill

[tommyt654]

I built a cedar deck several yrs ago for a friend and we were advised against sealing both sides of the deck, here is the reasoning. As the sealer wears away due to exposure to the elements (sun/traffic wear/weathering) it will begin to absorb moisture, as the underside will not have this exposure to those elements it will allow moisture to build up in the wood later causing rot from the moisture buildup as most cedar decks are routinely treated with a finish every few yrs due to wear and tear. Leaving a gap between boards will allow runoff. We did not plane the boards but instead after building was complete rented a floor sander to smooth out the finish before sealing to ensure the eveness of the deck as mentioned before to prevent uneven boards which can cause a possible tripping problem later as the board expand and contract. Hope this helps

[billwmeyer]

TommyT,

I had not thought of that angle on the sealing. It certainly would be easier to not seal the bottom side. I think that is the way I will go. As far as the floor sander, that sounds great, but my lumber is staright from a woodmizer sawmill. It is pretty rough and I am afraid it may have an inconsistant thickness, so I will probably plane at least the top side. I will probably take one pass for the bottom side, just to make the thickness a little more consistant.

Thank you for your help.

Bill