Flipping Deck Boards
Flipping Deck Boards | This is an example of cupping. You're looking at the end grain of a long piece of decking. The Before drawing is a piece of flat-grained decking as it comes from the mill. It's nice and flat. But once installed, the decking board will start to curl where the center of the board is lower than the edges. This is cupping. It will hold water, that's the blue color in the After drawing, and bad things happen when you have standing water on deck boards. The red dashed line represents what the deck board shape was when it was fresh and flat from the mill. It's best to install flat-grained decking boards with the grain humps facing up so the boards have a slight hump that drains the water to the edges. So in this case, the Before decking board should be FLIPPED over when installing it
Flipping Deck Boards - Be Careful About Wood Grain
Patrick McNeill, who is revitalizing his deck in Woodstock, GA asks:
"Can I flip my deck boards instead of replacing them. They are treated lumber."
You bet you can flip them.
There's no harm in doing so. While you're at it, be sure to clean off any debris from the top of the support joists and check for rot at those locations.
If you have cracked treated wood, you should read that column too.
CLICK or TAP HERE to get FREE BIDS from local contractors that can flip deck boards for you.
Should I Use Deck Joist Tape?
You should install deck joist tape on top of the joists. The tape prevents joist rot. Watch this video:
What is the Best Deck Board Spacing?
The best deck-board spacing is 1/4 inch. When reinstalling the decking, keep at least 1/4-inch spacing for ventilation and easy cleaning in the future.
What is the Best Cleaner for Wood Decks?
Be sure to clean the wood with Certified organic oxygen bleach like my Stain Solver.
What is the Best Sealer for Wood Decks?
Then use a medium-pigmented penetrating wood sealer to prevent future splitting and sun damage. Watch this video to see what I used on my wood boat dock panels:
Different Decking
Speaking of wood decks, David’s a subscriber who lives in Aveyron, France. He sent me a fascinating article about upside down decking in England. CLICK HERE to read his email.
You didn't mention how to get the screws out. I tried that and either the heads broke off or it just spun. They have been in there 15 years so some of them have rusted. Any ideas of an easy way to do this?
Cut them off with a reciprocating saw equipped with a metal blade.
I guess I'm lost. If I went under the board that I want to turn over to cut off the screws wouldn't the saw mar up the board as the screws were being cut? My screws go in from the top.
Use a Dremel w/ cutting wheels. Get some wood filler and a good pry bar. Some of the boards will break, split etc...Keep the pieces, get some Liquid Nails, clamps...Oh, and a good pair of gloves!
Even better, when buying deck boards, look for quartersawn boards. This may be difficult, as there might only be a few in a typical bundle. I told a guy at the Lowes service desk they should stock quartersawn deck boards at double the price of flatsawn. I'm not sure if he knew what I was talking about.
A slight cousin to the 'cupping issue.' A younger brother, a wood worker his 70 years, he pointed out a stack of scaffoling (sp) wood and asked, "Look at the paint stripes on the boards, what do you think that means?" I, not a clue, he said, "To place the boards the same way every time or else flipping them will weaken their strength."
This is a great idea. Saves on the cost of lumber and extends the life of the deck.