Decking Options - Open

Izak

Izak

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Isaac
I have a lovely plywood deck on my place and would like to replace it in the next few years. Black Locust is my natural first instinct but am open to other options. If you have some piles of wood to move along I am here to listen.

Thanks,
Isaac
 
Western red cedar is a decent choice but you have to watch for sapwood in the newer stuff. Also, if you are willing to do a bit of maintenance, walnut or even White Oak are long lasting. Sassafras used to be a good one, but with the diseases, there are hardly enough good trees to get a deck worth of wood scrounged up.
A size and description , such as height off ground, and covered or open, will also help in finding an appropriate selection.
Your first call, black locust, doesn't care, can be used in place of treated wood as per the local building codes
 
To add to franks list:
Thermo ash (Ash that has gone through a process similar to torrefaction you will only be able to get it from a flooring or decking supplier, cumaru, teak (if you can get it) will all last at least 25 years in western climates (if not too extreme like Florida) and around 10 in tropical climes. Black locust is that same class.

With all of these sapwood, the pith, the outermost and innermost heartwood rings and defects all are less durable. Also, as they will get wet and then dry a lot, quarter sawn wood is better than flat sawn for stability. You don’t want rift sawn because it can twist and rip out your fastenings.

Yew is very durable too. I seem to remember you having quite a lot. Might want to try that. (Yew is also in that same class of durability as black locust)
 
Avoid thermally modified woods. We had several ash and yellow poplar decks put in locally. Each year another 1 or 2 have failed. Wood becomes brittle. One of the places was heavily shaded and had fungus issues.

Black locust is a local winner. Check with your local building codes. Some places allow it for decking but not framing.

I'd add IPE and Bulletwood to Dan's list.
 
Mr. Peet said:
Avoid thermally modified woods. We had several ash and yellow poplar decks put in locally. Each year another 1 or 2 have failed. Wood becomes brittle. One of the places was heavily shaded and had fungus issues.

Black locust is a local winner. Check with your local building codes. Some places allow it for decking but not framing.

I'd add IPE and Bulletwood to Dan's list.
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Thermo ash might be a decking scam. I have heard good things though.
BL is very very good. I already had Ipe though. Bulletwood is a good one I didn’t think of.
 
Ituaba should last 75-100 years. Weathers beautifully but not cheap.

I have a source if interested, ships from LA.
 
daniscool said:
To add to franks list:
Thermo ash (Ash that has gone through a process similar to torrefaction you will only be able to get it from a flooring or decking supplier, cumaru, teak (if you can get it) will all last at least 25 years in western climates (if not too extreme like Florida) and around 10 in tropical climes. Black locust is that same class.

With all of these sapwood, the pith, the outermost and innermost heartwood rings and defects all are less durable. Also, as they will get wet and then dry a lot, quarter sawn wood is better than flat sawn for stability. You don’t want rift sawn because it can twist and rip out your fastenings.

Yew is very durable too. I seem to remember you having quite a lot. Might want to try that. (Yew is also in that same class of durability as black locust)
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I should add that the 25 years is a minimum expectancy.

Similar to the go by date on Jogurt.
They can easily last a life time. I forget which one but one of your countries larger bridges has ipe pilings that were only replaced after 40 years. They were submerged in coastal water all that time. Ipe is known to not only be one of the strongest woods around (by a lot, the wood database has a good article) but also one of the most durable.
 
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I love all the replies to my question. Yakima is a dry land so wood could last longer here than wet climates. I wonder where people look if they want to buy 1x black locust, probably a local mill that had access would be the best option if it can be found.
 
@Izak I’ve got a fair amount of 4/4 black locust most of it is planed down to closer to 13/16. How much do you think you need? I unfortunately just sold 50bdft. Most of them are 5-7 feet long. No idea what shipping would be I’m in Ohio
 
I have a bunch of Borneo Teak that was brought into the country probably about 50 or 60 years ago by a local importer/furniture maker. I ended up buying everything they had left. It's 6/4 material all about 8 to 10" wide and about 10' to 12' long. The stuff is incredibly dense and it's supposed to be some of the best wood for holding up in exterior projects... would be great for a deck I would think. It's definitely nicer than the stuff we can get now. Could be shipped up to you I suppose?
 
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Danged - gett'n fancy. I've done sometimes cypress, but most often treated wood, well except for the decks on various levels of a hospital (first roof deck in Nashville and tough to negotiate the roof warranty) that were redwood. Except for a few boards on my treated deck (and I'm in a humid area with deck exposure, mostly shady) I've gotten 40+ years. Of course, I'm a troglodyte and treated wood is fine and lots cheaper.
 
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Ipe and Cumaru were recently listed in CITES, so pricing may have already started to rise (not sure, as I didn't know pricing to begin with).
 
Big Ry said:
Ipe and Cumaru were recently listed in CITES, so pricing may have already started to rise (not sure, as I didn't know pricing to begin with).
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Ipe has always been a more premium outdoors option but still affordable. My lumberyard sells it for the same as walnut (~4500 bucks per cubic meter)

Cumaru is still cheap. Same as jatoba.
 
daniscool said:
Ipe has always been a more premium outdoors option but still affordable. My lumberyard sells it for the same as walnut (~4500 bucks per cubic meter)

Cumaru is still cheap. Same as jatoba.
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Yeah, I noticed a while back that Cumaru was quite cheap. I picked up a few boards from Bell Forest because they were only a few bucks each. I still have not used them. I was planning to use Cumaru to build a mailbox post since its inexpensive but very durable, but then I came into a bunch of Ipe super cheap so thats what Ill be using now lol
 
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