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Assuming this area is uncovered, I’ve never heard of T and G being using for an outside deck. Doesn’t seem as if this would drain water very well.
Nothing but ground contact treated wood regularly maintained and spaced to drain rainfall stands a chance of lasting very long in my two environments. Composite may cost more but it’s less work and longer lived.
2X decking material requires fewer support joists. Again, I haven’t seen 1X material used for deck boards.
Assuming this area is uncovered, I’ve never heard of T and G being using for an outside deck. Doesn’t seem as if this would drain water very well.
Nothing but ground contact treated wood regularly maintained and spaced to drain rainfall stands a chance of lasting very long in my two environments. Composite may cost more but it’s less work and longer lived.
2X decking material requires fewer support joists. Again, I haven’t seen 1X material used for deck boards.
Agree...I'm installing mine with a 1/8" drop per foot, which does drain....and it will be a covered wrap around porch, with one section uncovered for sunbathing...I will use composite for that.
In October 2023 we had a 375 sq ft deck built with pressure treated wood. It was what we could afford. Had a 'shed' roof installed over it (we were redoing the roof at the same time). Screw piles were set as the foundation underneath. Local gentlemen did all the work. Deck was $15K with everything. Roof was another $20K. All needed to be done.
Not sure why I can't repost a picture which I did a while back in another thread (maybe someone can explain that to me?)
oh wait, found a photo I hadn't used.
Agree...I'm installing mine with a 1/8" drop per foot, which does drain....and it will be a covered wrap around porch, with one section uncovered for sunbathing...I will use composite for that.
yes!! I had our guy keep the outside section of the deck uncovered for me and my plants to get some sun! Happy I did so.
Hi, all! So my contractors are FINALLY coming back this summer to start building my front porch -- a project I've been wanting since I moved into this house in 2012!
I do time & materials with this contractor, normally having the materials delivered to my house (this has been EXTREMELY cost-effective with this contractor).
Is the contractor local? Why not ask them what they recommend, based on their experience in doing porches in your area?
Also, are you sure your contractor can not get a better price on the material than you can ?
Hi, all! So my contractors are FINALLY coming back this summer to start building my front porch -- a project I've been wanting since I moved into this house in 2012!
I do time & materials with this contractor, normally having the materials delivered to my house (this has been EXTREMELY cost-effective with this contractor).
The porch will be about 34' wide by 9-10' deep so up to 340 square feet of decking (plus extra for waste). I will stain whatever I get, but I see lots of boards come up from 1x to 2x lumber and 5/4, etc.
Pros/cons of each? HELP!
The stain you get is as important as the wood you choose. I would opt for cedar given your climate as pine can be too prone to swelling and contracting which creates wear faster. For stain Thompson's Waterseal carries a six year guarantee on decks. https://www.thompsonswaterseal.com/e...or-wood-sealer
Hi, all! So my contractors are FINALLY coming back this summer to start building my front porch -- a project I've been wanting since I moved into this house in 2012!
I do time & materials with this contractor, normally having the materials delivered to my house (this has been EXTREMELY cost-effective with this contractor).
The porch will be about 34' wide by 9-10' deep so up to 340 square feet of decking (plus extra for waste). I will stain whatever I get, but I see lots of boards come up from 1x to 2x lumber and 5/4, etc.
K'ledgeBldr, do you have any links to pressure treated T&G? Did you mean something like this? https://www.homedepot.com/p/1-in-x-6...8817/100062545 . ETA: well, I SEARCHED for pressure-treated and that came up, but it looks like it's mostly for interiors.
No! That's for interior walls-
If I can find some for exteriors, that would definitely make installation go faster (and my contractor's rates have close to doubled since they were last at my house, but he has lots of terrific workers so he's worth it).
AND AGAIN ETA: found this online -- https://www.vintagewoodworks.com/yel...-flooring.html -- and it looks good and not even THAT much more expensive than the regular deck/porch flooring I was seeing on HD. Hmmm ... Any thoughts on this type?
Yes! That is the material I was referring too.
Also: any suggestions on piers for the footings? The frost line is, alas, 48" deep in my area. I was going to go with these -- https://www.homedepot.com/p/EZ-Tube-...UBE5/300649621 -- but my contractor said there are better alternatives. He's coming to my house next Thursday to get a closer look at the front porch area and the front-of-the-house repair (from when a DIFFERENT contractor ripped out the concrete stairs when doing sewer work, then didn't fix anything) and I will ask him what he means, but I'd like to do some research beforehand.
Back in 2018 when I was GOING to have the porch done, I had a guy come who sells piers that his company also installs -- at that time, they were 2.5 times the price of the EZ-tubes (which were then $109 each, now $204 each). Of course, now I can't find his contact info. If the ratio still holds, though, they'd be about $500 each now so $2,000 for the 4 that I will likely need. They would save a huge amount of digging and concrete work for the foundation, though.
And P.S.: it was actually very fortunate that I didn't have the porch done in 2018 or 2019 -- I had to have major sewer work on my 1960 house in 2020 or 2021 and my new porch would have had to be at least half destroyed!
There also seems to be some confusion on some minds here- When you say "porch" (and by by size you had previously stated) I assumed a typical "southern porch"... COVERED! Like with a roof/support columns/flat ceiling painted sky blue/lights/ceiling fans... are we on the same page(?)
That "back in the day" the T&G was actually "heart pine"- and you're not finding that at your typical lumberyard! I certainly wouldn't use atypical "decking boards" for a "front porch"- regardless of the species!
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If the ratio still holds, though, they'd be about $500 each now so $2,000 for the 4 that I will likely need. They would save a huge amount of digging and concrete work for the foundation, though.