That client who insisted I build a deck with pressure treated lumber that was still wet from the store

Three months ago in Denver I framed a 16x20 deck with green lumber straight from the lumberyard and now half the joists have twisted so bad the deck boards are cupping, has anyone else dealt with a homeowner who wouldn't wait for the wood to dry?

3 comments

3 Comments

piperb9318d ago

Oh man, that is brutal. Green lumber straight from the yard for a deck frame? That's just asking for trouble (and apparently, you got it). Denver's dry climate probably made those joists twist even faster as they dried out. I gasped when I read "wet from the store" - that's the kind of thing that keeps contractors up at night, right? Did the homeowner actually see the wood and still say "yeah, build it now"?

kai_park18d ago

Green lumber's a gamble everywhere, but I see this same rush everywhere now... people want everything done yesterday, no patience for the basics. It's like we forgot materials need time to settle, wood needs to breathe before you nail it down. That homeowner probably saw the wet wood and figured it'd dry in place, which is just asking for trouble later. There's a bigger pattern of short cuts winning over doing it right, and decks are just the most visible example.

mark36117d ago

Denver's actually pretty dry, so that green lumber probably warped faster than it would in a humid climate.