There are many different species of woods used on decks today. All though real wood requires continuous maintenance, many people enjoy the natural warm feeling and textures available in real wood. Many types and grades are available depending on your budget, wants, and needs. Heartwood, the tight-grained, slow growing tree, is rot resistant and can last as long as three decades. Faster Growing light colored sapwood has less natural rot resistance and durability. Dense woods are more difficult to cut and often require pre-drilling, but the denser the wood, the better it will stand up to foot traffic and weather. As always in natural woods, make sure to select “old growth” or first growth vs. “new growth” or second growth plantation trees. Old Growth trees are traditionally much larger in size and contain more durable heartwood than new growth which is mostly smaller logs and prodimently sapwood. The most common types for wooden decks today are Pressure Treated wood, Brazilian hard woods or (Ipe), cedar, redwood, and mahogany.

Pressure Treated Wood

Pressure Treated Wood or “treated lumber” as most commonly referred to is probably the most used product in decking today. Among its many advantages is its 20 year plus lifespan under the harshest conditions, inexpensive, and completely impervious to all vermin, insects, and fungus.

What is it?

Pressure Treated wood is typically made from several different types of sapwood and chemicals infused into the wood.

Beginning with the species of wood, Trees / logs from which commercial wood is cut have a number of different layers. The two primary layers are called heartwood and sapwood. Heartwood provides most of the “structural” strength to the living tree while the sapwood transports the sap from the base of the tree up to the leaves.

Wood preservatives penetrate sapwood easier than heartwood. As a result, wood species such as Southern Pine, which have a high percentage of sapwood, are predominatly used in pressure treating.

Next comes the pressure treating. Pressure treating is a process that forces a chemical preservative deep into the wood. The wood product is placed into a humongous cylindrical holding tank, and the tank is depressurized to remove all air. The tank is then filled with the preservative under high pressure, forcing it deeply into the wood. The tank is then drained and the remaining preservative reused. The wood is removed from the tank and prepared for shipment to your local lumberyard.

Until 2003, the preservative most commonly used in residential pressure –treated lumber was chromate copper arsenate (CCA), an extremely toxic chemical. This preservative proved very poisonous and too dangerous in residential use so in 2003 the industry agreed to voluntarily eliminate use of CCA for residential use. Most local home stores or lumberyards now sell lumber treated with less toxic alternatives such as amine copper quat (ACQ) and copper azone (CA).

Maintanence

Pressure treated lumber is shipped to the lumberyard in stacks that are tightly bundled and damp, sometimes even wet. Once exposed to the sun and air, the lumber will begin to dry thus causing the lumber to shrink, warp, and crack.

Applying a preservative slows drying, so less shrinkage occurs and the surface of the wood remains smoother longer. The preservative should be applied immediately upon completion of the project. Stains and paints are also acceptable however, never paint a fresh pressure treated wood. The preservative needs time to weather before applying paints.

Brazilian Hard Woods (Ipe)

Ipe , as a deck wood is next to perfect, a beautiful exotic wood from S. America. Ipe decks and all Ipe wood decking structures are hard, strong, and naturally resistant to rot, abrasion & weather. Ipe lumber is almost twice as dense as mot woods and up to 5 times harder.

Here are a few of the many natural benefits of Ipe wood decking……

1. Ipe wood decking carries a Class A fire rating, the same rating given to concrete & steel. No other natural wood decking product on the market offers a Class A fire rating.
2. Ipe wood is dark in color, like a mahogany, so not only lasts a very long time but has the beauty of a fine interior wood.
3. Ipe wood is extremely hard and dense
4. Ipe has the highest natural rating for rot & insect resistance with NO treatment – rated by the US Forest Lab for 25 + years!
5. Fastens with stainless steel screws or nails. Will not pull loose or pop up.
6. Solid hardwood look with little or no knots, long lengths, very refined look. Resistant to shrinking, splintering, twisting, cupping, and checking. Turns to a soft silver patina with time. Little to no maintenance is required.

Cedar

The “Tree of life” is what the first residents of the Pacific Northwest called the stately Western Red Cedar. It’s natural durability made cedar perfect for building just about anything. Cedar, which is a member of the cypress family, is a richly colored with heartwood and can last anywhere from 9 to 30 years. It’s natural resistance to moisture, decay and insect damage make it an ideal choice for a surface that is exposed to sun, rain, heat, and cold all year round. Today’s sustainable forestry practices ensure a perpetual abundance of cedar from North America’s forests. As a natural product, cedar is fully biodegradeable. Unlike other natural products used in decking, Western Red Cedar decks are firm but resilient underfoot, not hard and unyielding.

Options and Grades

The two most common types of cedar are Western red cedar which weathers rapidly to a beautiful deep glow and Port Orford cedar which is lighter in color than red cedar or redwood and allows more options for staining, and is rated for 20 years of wear. Among these two types are 4 common grades……

	Architect clear – The ultimate in durability and appearance. All aspects of manufacturing and quality control are performed to the highest standards of the lumber industry. Available seasoned or unseasoned.
	Custom Clear – A quality product that combines the stability and durability of Western Red Cedar with a sophisticated clear appearance. Its finely machined surface shows limited characteristics which do not detract from its natural good looks.
	Architect Knotty – Durable and rustic. Has limited knots and imperfections for a more rustic look.
	Custom Knotty – The most popular and widely used by homeowners and builders, this category combines the high manufacturing standards required for deck boards with a hole free knotty appearance.

Redwood

Redwood has a deep reddish brown color that deepens with age. It is fairly tight-grained and knot free, lightweight yet strong. Redwood resists splintering and is less damaged by weathering than other woods with heartwood that can last over 30 years.

Options and Grades

Select Heart and Construction Heart are the optimal grades for redwood decking. In the South, where deck climates are harsher, sapwood lasts about 15 years while the heartwood lasts for over 20 years! The four other grades available, Select Structural, No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3, allow sapwood and should only be used if pressure treated before installation.

Mahogany

There are many different species and sub species of Mahogany. Colors can range from white and yellow to light and dark red. Meranti, a Philippine mahagony, comes in all colors and even has a dark red variety that looks like teak. Each Meranti color variety has its own faults and a wide range of decay resistance. It must be maintained with water repellant to protect it and keep its dimensional stability. Meranti is not as durable or dimensionaly stable as real American Mahogany, which comes from the West Indies, Mexico, and Central and South America. American mahogany has a beautiful, dark red appearance that will last for decades.

For more information please visit the following websites:

www.wrcla.org

www.calredwood.org

www.cedar-deck.org

www.awpa.com

www.nadra.org