Loading…
26
Update: the old timer at the lumber yard called my pressure treated deck framing "disposable" and now I can't stop second guessing myself
Last Thursday I was loading up 2x8s at the yard off Route 20 and a guy who has been in the trade since the 70s looked at my cart and said I was building a deck that would be gone in 12 years. He swears by cedar or even composite joists for anything touching the ground, says the new treatment chemicals just do not soak in like the old CCA did. I told him I have seen pressure treated hold up 20 plus years here in our wet winters if you tape the joists and flash it right. Now I am stuck between two camps, the guys who say modern PT is fine if you detail it, and the guys who say skip it and pay double for cedar. I have a client deck going in next month and I do not want to be the guy who ate the callback. What are you all actually using for joists and posts these days, and how long is it lasting in your area?
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
west.henry2d ago
Taped my own PT joists with butyl on top and they are still solid going on 18 years here in the soggy PNW. The trick is buying from a yard that stores it under cover, because big box PT sits in the rain and starts rotting before you even frame with it.
7