wood cracking on new deck - problem ?
she...@apollo.hp.com
We had a deck built at the end of June 1996 - only about 3 months ago.
The deck is pressure treated lumber, but all the posts and many of the
floor boards are cracking -- some have especially large cracks along
the lengths. Is this typical or is something wrong with the wood?
Also, each floor board and railing is installed so that the sides are
curved up -- like a U shape, rather than like an upside-down U. Is
this the way they should be installed? The rainwater puddles up on
all the boards.
Tracy Milkay
"she...@apollo.hp.com" <she...@apollo.hp.com> wrote:
Don't know about your first question (did you waterproof the deck? - I
like CWF) but as far as your second question, my home improvement book
and any home improvement show I have seen involving deck installation
says to put the boards so they are bowed up in the middle. This is
because in time, the boards will straighten themselves out under the
weight put on them in the middle. I think you are in for trouble with
the way yours have been installed....
Just my $.02.
Tracy MIL...@IDX.com
Michael Lamb
she...@apollo.hp.com wrote:
>
> We had a deck built at the end of June 1996 - only about 3 months ago.
> The deck is pressure treated lumber, but all the posts and many of the
> floor boards are cracking -- some have especially large cracks along
> the lengths. Is this typical or is something wrong with the wood?
>
> Also, each floor board and railing is installed so that the sides are
> curved up -- like a U shape, rather than like an upside-down U. Is
> this the way they should be installed? The rainwater puddles up on
> all the boards.
Hi,
Who ever built the deck sort of ripped you off. The cracking is typical
of most grades of treated lumber however, the cupped floor boards is a
big mistake. Take them up and (if possible) flip them over so that the
cup faces down.
Good luck.
ML .)
John Ongtooguk
she...@apollo.hp.com (she...@apollo.hp.com) wrote:
: We had a deck built at the end of June 1996 - only about 3 months ago.
: The deck is pressure treated lumber, but all the posts and many of the
: floor boards are cracking -- some have especially large cracks along
: the lengths. Is this typical or is something wrong with the wood?
It's typical of fir which seems to be commonly used for
PT lumber, I don't know about southern pine, and cedar
is perhaps least prone to 'checking' among the softwoods.
I think it's caused by the wood drying out too quickly,
one often sees large sprinklers being used on logs at
lumber mills, but to minimize the problem on decks and
such you should carefully seal the wood, especially the
ends, to slow down the drying process. Sealing will also
minimize water soaking into the wood which will make it
prone to checking during dry spells. I sealed our deck
fairly well when I replaced the floor boards last fall
but some of the boards still checked during an extended
cold snap that we had last winter, as the humidity was
very low during the spell.
I replaced some posts in the crawl space as some were very
badly checked, some splits running 2/3rds the length of the
post, and I used an acrylic sealer that is available
locally as I didn't want to deal with the fumes from
solvent based sealers. The posts have displayed almost
no checking after a year, even after drying and sealing
up the crawl space, while some of the scrap ends that
were left in the garage unsealed have checked badly.
There is better stuff for exterior use, but more
important is to use whatever as often as needed.
John Ongtooguk (jo...@vcd.hp.com)
Michael butkus
I'd have to agree. The planks should have been curved down. I put on
the Thompsons Wood Saver, the oil stuff about a month after I did my
deck. Your post will crack and so will the boards. Wood does that!
In article <5119to$m...@news.idx.com>, mil...@idx.com says...
>
>"she...@apollo.hp.com" <she...@apollo.hp.com> wrote:
>
>>We had a deck built at the end of June 1996 - only about 3 months
ago.
>>The deck is pressure treated lumber, but all the posts and many of
the
>>floor boards are cracking -- some have especially large cracks along
>>the lengths. Is this typical or is something wrong with the wood?
>
Mark Kepke
Cracking most often happens as the boards dry out. PT wood is notorious
for being sold dripping wet (green). The builder is then forced to
sticker the lumber & dry it before installation or install it wet.
Wood shrinks as it dries, so some boards will split as the lumber tries to
shrink despite the nails or screws holding it in place.
Boards should be installed convex side up, so the boards don't hold
water. Unfortunately this sometimes exposes the pith which disintegrates
or rots very quickly.
IMO: choose your lumber carefully and try it for 3-4 weeks before
installing. Or have your builder warrant the construction.
>>"she...@apollo.hp.com" <she...@apollo.hp.com> wrote:
>>We had a deck built at the end of June 1996 - only about 3 months
>>ago.The deck is pressure treated lumber, but all the posts and many of
>>thefloor boards are cracking -- some have especially large cracks along
>>the lengths. Is this typical or is something wrong with the wood?
>>
>>Also, each floor board and railing is installed so that the sides are
>>curved up -- like a U shape, rather than like an upside-down U. Is
>>this the way they should be installed? The rainwater puddles up on
>>all the boards.
--
My opinions, etc.