Lumber choice for porch decking? Oak, Birch, SYP?

[Dave Cav]

I'll put in another vote for synthetic. I had a cedar deck in the pacific northwest. As soon as the deck was finished, maintenance started. Pressure wash, stain, repeat annually, five years later, replace rotted boards. 15 years was enough; my new house has a Timber Tech front deck. Pressure washed it three times in 16 years and that's it.

[roger wiegand]

In New England the traditional standard is fir, installed with a slight slope away from the house (boards typically running perpendicular to the length of the porch, so the opposite of most modern deck construction). This seems to hold up quite well, with lifespans of many decades. Interestingly you can buy really nice fir decking with very tight growth rings even at the HD around here-- it's the best lumber they sell, I think. That said, if I were installing a new porch I'd use synthetic unless it were a house with historic significance.

I used KDAT SYP on a house in Missouri and it was terribly splintery, couldn't walk barefoot on it. Cedar was almost as bad.

[Jim Finn]

I have built decks made of "Trex" and would recommend it. I put the "boards" at a 45° diagonal to the house and it looked great!

[Bob Michaels]

Bob, if memory serves me correct the T&G boards were at right angles to the house so that if any water was collected it would not be trapped, theoretically.
Rick

Rick, that's correct. Floor joist run parallel to front of house and porch flooring runs perpendicular to fromt of house, for the reason you mention. BTW, I mistyped the width of the T&G fir decking...it is 2 1/4" wide.

[Randall J Cox]

I'm in central Calif and just bought some good quality white oak at $4.89 a board foot for some furniture projects. Of course it had to be shipped from across the country where it grows. Where are you located? Don't use redwood, to soft.

[Rick Malakoff]

Redwood, tight knot con common is all we ever used since I moved here in 1977. Just don't stain, paint or water prof them and they will last forever.
That's my story and I'm stickin to it!
Rick

[John Gulick]

Cumaru, in the past 40 years I have tried just about everything. SouthAmerican teak gets my vote. You will never do it again

[Bert Pohl]

Where in the world do you live. are those prices in US Dollars. Is snow and ice a issue or is heat and sun. It would help if we knew something about your climate. Lots of houses here in California have a cast concrete porch deck with a wooden support framed into the house.
Bill

I'm situated in Arkansas, so quite a bit of heat/cold variation. We have quite a few mountain red-neck sawmills dotted about, hence the price. The (US)$0.35/board foot is for green oak timber thick enough to make decking boards... Main motivation at the moment is a low-ball budget. Present deck is rotted out & I figured I can start drying out the green lumber with the expectation of replacing it in a year. I agree that artificial boards would last the best, presently labor isn't an issue, price is. House foundation is a rough stone/mortar mix, joist supports are piles of layered rock, no mortar (!). House is over 100yrs old.

[Kelly Hanna]

I have built about a dozen in SYP. Common for covered porches in Texas. I would say if yours is not covered [most porches are] then I would opt for something other than T&G as others have stated. SYP works well if dried and holds up well as long as they are stained or painted before or right after installation. They make treated SYP flooring but it's not a good idea no matter if it's covered or not.

[Wayne Cannon]

I would strongly consider Ipe/ironwood. It is so dense that it doesn't splinter. It is so strong, you can use thinner boards (e.g., 5/4 instead of 8/4) and wider joist spacing (e.g., 24" instead of 16") and still have less flex than traditional materials -- ultimately making it very comparable in cost. I'm super happy my neighbor/contractor talked me into it.