It's a great option if you like the look of wood but not the maintenance. Green wood will shrink as it dries. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website. Longer boards, up to 16 feet, reduce the number of seams and butt jointsmajor avenues for water wicking and wood rot. Having heated my home for years on firewood alone [DJF], and split and stacked a lot of wood, it's easy to understand the argument. Gibson, Scott. ISBN 0-670-75907-4 [copy on file - Ed.]. Forestry 4, no. Use a carpenter's pencil or a . "The shrinkage of wood is not the same in the three directions of the grain. But these sealants do require reapplication every few years. Seldom does a week pass when I dont hear reasons why deck boards should be installed either bark-side up or bark-side down. The problem with that is the pith side of the board can delaminate the annual rings of wood and cause a real tripping hazard, as well as a splintering hazard. Crown up is the preferred installation method, despite the potential for bark side down deck boards to experience shelling. As I don't want to face-screw, I think the best option at this point is to let it fully cure, rent a floor sander, sand it level and re-treat. I have designed and constructed many decks, and have taken note of the advantages and disadvantages. All other boards will be cut after they have been installed. Listen to a heartfelt tearful. Just wet a new deckboard & set it on a hard surface, it'll cup whether oith of bark side is up. The inner layer of each growth ring (closest to the center of the tree) is formed during the early part of the growing season. Deck boards should crown up bark side down. 4. [5] "Are Functional Handrails Within Our Grasp" Jake Pauls, [16] Falls and Related Injuries: Slips, Trips, Missteps, and Their Consequences, Lawyers & Judges Publishing, (June 2002), ISBN-10: 0913875430 ISBN-13: 978-0913875438, [18] Slips, Trips, Missteps and Their Consequences, Second Edition, Gary M. Bakken, H. Harvey Cohen,A. - http://www.ipedepot.com/compare.htm. Which side should go "Up" when placing wood deck boards, stair treads? Sapwood is easy to treat. My experiences, I have herd a bunch of different things like for instance, in woodworking when your making a table top "they" say to alternate the rings to keep the top flat, kinda makes sense. 2 (1993): 95-114. Below we explain why. Im somewhat amazed by the intense and frequent discussions surrounding this question. The board adjacent to the house has no overhang, so it can be ripped down if necessary. The best snow shovel ever isnt made for snow. Lay the first deck board at the end of the deck that is opposite of the house. To prevent these issues, its best to take the time to ensure that you put each board down in the right direction crown up or bark side down. 6 (1991): 405-413. This issue occurs within the two parts of the growth ring latewood or earlywood. So when you install pressure treated, flat sawn, wood decking, do you face the bark side up (left in photo) or bark side down (right in photo)? Start nails into the deck board. Repair as needed. This is more important when you are using harder or stronger woods that have greater pulling power as they dry out. When nailing into the end of deck boards, turn the nail over . Galow Consulting Services [Website galowconsulting.com ] , 914-204-1749, email: Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the. This made it easy to start at one end of a deck board and work the crown out from the concave side of the board while tacking it with a deck screw on every other beam. At SLIPPERY STAIRS, WALKS, ROOFS we discuss the SCOF (static coefficient of friction) for wet algae-covered surfaces. Please note: This older articleby our former faculty member remainsavailable on our site for archival purposes. Forest Products Laboratory, "The Wood Handbook". PVC deck boards (like the TimberTech AZEK line) are made of 100% synthetic materials for the best moisture and pest resistance. "Cone calorimeter tests of wood-based decking materials." This moisture difference seems to dominate wood board cupping outdoors or inside even though wood experts often describe a different effect: tangential shrinkage and movement that leads the outer edges of flatsawn boards to cup towards the outside of the tree (towards the bark) and away from the heart, adding that the smaller the original tree and the closer to the tree's heart from which a flatsawn board was cut the more extreme will be its tendency to cup. In this illustration, adapted from the cover of Hoadley's book cited just below, our yellow annotations point out some of the features of wood using Hoadley's cross-section of a tree. A dry piece of lumber installed bark-side-up will cup to shed water from its surface as it gains moisture because if the growth rings straighten out as wood dries they will curve as the wood becomes wet. The top layer now shrinks, but to a slightly smaller dimension as it was compressed (think crushed)(and restrainded from shinking by the underlying fibers). Wood Science and Technology 27, no. 7 (2003): 553-558. But bark side down exposes the two split sides of a roughly triangular split firewood log or a semi-circular split half-log to having its freshly cut and split side up and possibly exposed to more airflow. I have heard that some carpenters install the deck boards with the bark side of the deck board facing up. We did. February 12, 2021 Installation Anyone who has the experience and knowledge can build decking. Securely fasten the deck boards and apply an annual coating of water repellent., In 1995 researchers in Wood Surface Chemistry at the USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Lab, R.Sam Williams and Mark Knaebe drafted The Bark-Side / Pith-Side Debate Most of the points they make about wood behavior supports orienting deck boards bark-side up however at the end they state These factors, although important, can be overridden by a third factor-the quality of the pith side compared to that of the bark side. Analyses indicated that the microfibril angle in S2 was a prime factor in influencing both longitudinal and volumetric shrinkage reactions; proportion of thick-walled fibres in the tissue, thickness of S2 relative to S1, and variations in lignification also were involved. The wider gaps of light colored wood are summer wood, a less dense growth of cellulose cells. We also provide an ARTICLE INDEX for this topic, or you can try the page top or bottom SEARCH BOX as a quick way to find information you need. Such was the case when I spotted this cool real wood retaining wall. Securely fasten the deck boards and apply an annual coating of water repellent. This company's web page provides properties of IPE wood deck boards and compares them with other decking alternatives including Douglas Fir, SYP or pressure treated pine, California Redwood, Western Cedar, and Philippine Mahogany. Heartwood is often more resistant to decay than sapwood of the same species. Depending on from where in the tree a board is cut and whether it is flat sawn or quarter sawn, the board's future weather and water exposure, it may absorb more water in its wider, center tree-growth rings, expanding more in the center, tending to "cup" (towards the bark side) and so if the board's bark side had been "arched" upwards, it might flatten out. Proper wood deck board spacing is 1/4-inch to 3/8-inch. Get complete site access to expert advice, how-to videos, Code Check, and more, plus the print magazine. Wood Science and Technology 11, no. He writes about home improvement and tools for national magazines and websites, and teaches hands-on clinics for other remodeling professionals. Pine decks that have boards triple nailed fair far better than two. These pieces have centralized growth rings, creating a dimensionally identical cut. But who cares and what do we hope to gain by orienting deck boards a particular way? Get daily tips & tricks to help make your best home, Wood deck boards on 15-foot by 15-foot square deck, Attach Wood Deck Boards (Hidden Fasteners), How to Restore a Weathered Deck so It Looks Like New, How To Replace a Section of Decking Boards, 13 Types of Screws for Metal, Plastic, and More, How to Build a DIY Privacy Fence on a Tight Budget, How to Install a DIY Board and Batten Wall, 33 wood deck boards, two-by-six or 5/4 x 6, 1,000 decking screws, 3-inch or 2-1/2-inch. That is, a low deck's under-side may remain more-wet longer than its upper surface. And that's how customers judge the work- visuals. Perhaps risking an oversimplified answer to all of this: use composite decking. Around here it is mostly yellow pine but not of the grade of years ago. The New York Times reported (February 2013) that the bark-side up or down debate rages unresolved in a related venue, the stacking of firewood by Norwegians. Hence, I put the good side up. If installing in rainy or humid weather, make sure to minimize the space between the deck boards because they will contract over time. advises bark side up as does Georgia Pacific installation information for pressure treated lumber. say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." Find out how deep you need to dig your footings in your area. From products to process, tools to techniques, they are all branches of the home improvement tree. Choosing rounded edges rather than square edges minimizes splintering. Unusually thick-walled fibres were associated with visco-elastic strain recovery effects, which could form a substantial part of dimensional changes apparently attributable to shrinkage. More shrinkage (as wood dries) wants to occur in the center of the board than in its edges. There has been conversation about this amongst deck builders for years. "Wood fluorescence of commercial timbers marketed in Mexico." Sometimes you see bark still clinging to an edge. For decks that require cutting, snap a chalk line on the end of deck boards that need to be trimmed. You want any arched boards to have the arch pointing "up" and the concave or cupped side "down". Video! 6 (2001): 436-442. It is not dimentionally stable and will cup no matter what you do to it. - M.K. I can confidently I knew that the rings should have been concave side down, but most boards had a good and a bad side. It's easy to do. The winter wood (more dense) is marked by the darker growth rings in the board. Here are a few issues that can occur from the crown down. Space them out so that they rest on different joists. Cupping will usually show the concave side of the cup facing the more dry side of the board - which is usually "up" on a deck. How to fix a vinyl fence gate that doesnt close, Book review: We Are The Light is set at our towns movie theater, Hands-On Review: LiteBand Pro 1500 Multi-Beam Headlamp, What you need to know about installing cable railing. Learn about the types of redwood decking at Decks.com. If the pith side is clearly better, place this side up.. I'm no professional carpenter by a long shot, although I've done all the carpentry work around our place for years. see SLIPPERY STAIRS, WALKS, ROOFS for details. Find out what to do if your deck footing holes fill up with water. Forest Products Laboratory, "The Wood Handbook", [1] Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, by Steven Bliss. Knowing whether to install decking boards with the rings (crown) up or down isnt as important as ventilation and decking width when building a backyard deck that you want to last for a long time. A common way to install wood deck boards is by driving screws vertically, down through the faces of the boards. Check that the deck's structure of joists, beams, rim joists, and blocks are in good condition. As the wood dries, it will shrink, leaving a small gap between each board. During our last rainstorm, I inspected a deck that I had built 3 years ago. At the most I'll be taking 1/4" off an edge A full gut remodel brought new life to an 1821 home that had undergone several misguided renovations. Once the first board is in place, measure and mark the locations of the other boards. Lay deck boards so that the best-looking face is facing up! Whats your take on crown up or down? Learn about capped composite at Decks.com. I not only build decks but I maintain thousands of decks built by just as many people. In the radial (p) direction dp/dm is usually about half this value, while in the longitudinal direction [shrinkage] is much smaller, amounting to about 1/50th of the tangential.". For nominal 6-inch boards (with a true width of 5-1/2 inches), the maximum overhang would be 1-3/4 inches. 2016/02/16. So if they cup, atleast the top side or inner part of the tree gets a bit of a dome or crown to it and this actually encourages water to drain to the side of the board. It's common practice to install green deck boards with no or little space since the boards will shrink over time. The influence of ray cells on the shrinkage of wood." Ipe is an exotic hardwood that is naturally resistant to rot and decay, is 8 times harder than California Redwood, and is guaranteed for 20 years without preservatives!" I built a deck out of pressure treated next to our garage several years ago and just for grins I bought a 'deck book' at the local big box store. Then the sun comes out and dries it out. Check out our recent how-to blogs below, or search our site for the how-to help you need. According to IPEDepo,t a cubic foot of IPE weighs 69 pounds - it would sink in water. Our photo shows a pre-cut treated wood deck stair tread board. 1 (2014): 125-141. How? Since you want your deck boards to drain well and not retain water on the walking surface, you'd flip this board over - put the bark side DOWN when building a wood deck or an exterior stair tread. The wet clothing has been squeezed until you couldn't get more water out of it - that clothing is at its fiber saturation point. It's now dried to a 1/4 gap and about 25% of the boards are cupping UP. MyFixitUpLife Real Wood Playset Edition Part 3, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Joplin Real Wood Playset: Day 1, MyFixitUpLife @ Remodeling Show and Deck Expo 2011, Designing a playground for the kids of Joplin: Dream, Play, Love, MyFixitUpLife talk show: Vacation House Hunters w/ Taniya Nayak, MyFixitUpLife talk show: Live from New York its MyFixitUpLife, MyFixitUpLife talk show: Fall into Remodeling, MyFixitUpLife talk show: The 200th Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, MyFixitUpLife talk show: Playtime at the Craftsman Experience, MyFixitUpLife talk show: 2011 HGTV Dream Home, https://myfixituplife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Promo-MFIUL.mp3. (even less desirable) So get out the sealer! Viking Penguin, (1969). Start your subscription today and save up to 70%. Remote Sensing of Environment 36, no. Two end-to-end deck boards will rest on the same joist, creating a butt joint. Another way to install wood deck boards is by driving screws at a 45-degree angle, rendering the fasteners nearly invisible. Theres' no clear option. But I've left the orthodox religion of his teaching behind over the years. Free water on or in wood dries quickly but bound water within wood cells takes much longer to dry or requires kiln drying or other measures for its removal. "Opportunities for wood/natural fiber-plastic composites in residential and industrial applications." Wood shrinks and swells twice as much in the direction parallel to the growth rings as it does perpendicular to the growth rings. And White (2007) points out a range of densities among woods classified as "IPE". 0 By Mark Build It Decks How-to Knowing whether to install decking boards with the rings (crown) up or down isn't as important as ventilation and decking width when building a backyard deck that you want to last for a long time. It's best to install wood deck boards in dry, warm weather. Ask ten people and half will likely say 'bark-side-up,' a few will say 'bark-side-down' and the rest will shrug their shoulders. Especially with pressure-treated wood that may have been soaked unevenly, boards may be quite warped when you are using them in construction. Really? What is capped composite decking? For a board to have a crown, the edges of the wood must arch downwards rather than curling up referred to as cupping. This process is fairly drastic and overrides a flatsaw boards natural cupping towards the bark side. We make an exception when flooring a deck or porch, especially outdoors, if a board is already so extremely cupped that it's not likely to flatten out if nailed with its cup facing up. This technique will orientate the visible growth rings in a downward arc like a dome to eliminate any protruding corners and allow water to run off the boards. For instance, boards often get more soaked and more swollen at the top or exposed side than at the bottom. In some cases, you may have to cut the end of the board to reveal the grain pattern. Ring shanks are better than standard screws for several reasons. Since then, Ive read several scholarly pieces on the issue; most were intended for wood science peers and so technical I could barely make heads or tails out of them. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google. Flat grain boards will warp in the direction opposite of the curved growth rings. The direction the boards twist determines if your boards will cup or crown. The effective water conductivity was generally higher in the radial direction than in the tangential direction in a ratio varying from 1/1 to 25/1 depending on moisture content and temperature. When I was working as a carpenter's helper on my first deck I was taught this. Stack the firewood so that it has good air circulation, and cover the top of the woodpile. A crowned deck board means that the sides of the wood turn down, creating better drainage that helps the wood stay in good condition longer. The long arcing of winter wood (red arrows) occur in the center of the board and arch upwards towards the bark side of the tree. The formation of an arch crown occurs when the wood bends in the opposite direction of the bark side. With a header to the house and the deck was built 6, I'm putting a swim spa into an inground concrete bunker and will build a deck around it. Observe the manufacturer's safety instructions for using these tools. You will need to decide on a lot of things. When the bark side has a poor appearance, I take Paul Fisettes advice and flip the board over throwing caution to the wind. [38]. Check out his book, The Carpenters Notebook. Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox, I agree with Mike . Be sure to use the proper fastening techniques (face mount) top-down screw method with two 3 screws per end and two screws for each joist, placed near the outside. Drive one fastener on each side of the board. Our Comment Box is provided by Countable Web Productions countable.ca, Click to Show or Hide Citations & References, BUTT JOINT CURLING in FIBER CEMENT SIDING, ARTICLE INDEX to BUILDING DECKS & PORCHES, THE ELIMINATION OF UNSAFE GUARDRAILS, A PROGRESS REPORT, HOME INSPECTION EDUCATION COURSES (Canada), HOME INSPECTION EDUCATION: HOME STUDY COURSES. For boards that are prone to splitting, start with a pilot hole. So the top surface shrinks dry quicker and more often than the bottom in doing so it curls the boards. Transactions of the Faraday Society 37 (1941): 535-547. "Hypothesis on the role of cell wall structure in differential transverse shrinkage of wood." ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, Hardcover: 320 pages, available from Amazon.com and also, [2] Decks and Porches, the JLC Guide to, Best Practices for Outdoor Spaces, Steve Bliss (Editor), The Journal of Light Construction, Williston VT, 2010 ISBN 10: 1-928580-42-4, ISBN 13: 978-1-928580-42-3, available from Amazon.com, [3] America's Favorite Homes, mail-order catalogues as a guide to popular early 20th-century houses, Robert Schweitzer, Michael W.R. Davis, 1990, Wayne State University Press ISBN 0814320066 (may be available from Wayne State University Press), [4] American Plywood Association, APA, "Portland Manufacturing Company, No.
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