roof construction

What to use when building a deck is always the question!

Decks can be built to be maintenance friendly or not so sweat friendly… Let’s deal with the “maintenance friendly” first.

Consider using one of the composite products, they can be up to 70% wood fiber and 30% polymer plastic. It looks like wood, it feels like wood, gray like wood in the sunlight; but requires no staining or painting and bolts down with deck screws. Some are tongue and groove and allow water to drain through their unique system of weep holes. Sounds interesting… You bet! Ask your local building materials center for more information.

Now for the 2nd, not so friendly; real wood No, I am not anti-natural wood fiber, but it should be maintained every 2-4 years depending on exposure to the natural elements. If you insist on using real wood, use 5/4 X 4 Rocky Mountain treated western red cedar or pine applied to pressure-treated joists.

For best results, use Deckster galvanized strips to give a nail-free face to the decking surface. Finish with a natural topcoat oil after prepping the surface with mill polish remover.

refinement

Wood drip covers are the type that is typically built, whether 2 X 4 or 2 X 6, or covers with rounded treated edges, which lay flat on a joist system that allows water to drip down to the ground. . Regardless of the type of wood you use to build your deck—red or yellow cedar, pine, spruce, hemlock, redwood, or fir—you must prepare the surface properly to accept your deck finish. As the wood goes through the grinding process, the blades polish the face leaving what is called a mill glaze on the surface. This glaze prevents adequate penetration of the quality decking stain.

First scrub the deck with a mill polish remover available at your local building supply or paint store, or sand the surface of the deck with 60-grit sandpaper.

Apply natural oil or semi-transparent deck finishes for best results. Apply to all 4 sides and ends before nailing or screwing.

NOTE: Make sure you select the best side to be on top. When applying the finish, use a stain brush and scrub the wood with a polyester scrub pad. The second coat should be applied when the deck is in place.

2nd NOTE: This should not be done in bright/direct sunlight.

It’s that easy!