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This would make it tough on pets....

I'm not sure if the newer stuff is made better now,just stating that ours has faded,and is exposed to the elements.

That's good to know. I don't know anyone who's had composit more than a year or two so I'm curious how it holds up. I know I get 1-2 years out of solid stain, about the same out of transparent over fir. Solids a pain to strip and repaint every year so I'm done with that. I think redwood should go a couple years between coats of oil and that's just a quick spray job.

Redwood would be a good choice. My folks have a small bridge (~25') built out of Redwood. At 60 years old, it's on it's last legs and finally needs to be replaced. You might also consider cedar as well.

Norm,

I painted professionally for about 25 years, 14 of that here in the Flathead. Decks are a pain in the a$$. Laying flat collecting water, snow, sun etc.etc throughout the year eventually wreaks havoc on what ever you lay down. I've used stains both semi and solid, expensive oils from Australia advertised as the "best" ever (and cost like it was) and they all had issues at one point or another. I have not used/worked with the synthetics like trek but have seen some that were twisted and noodly from the constant exposure.

I've come to the conclusion the most cost effective way in the long run is to go with a medium to light colored wood that has some rot resistance, laid down with counter sunk screws that can be easily removed at a later date for easy board replacement and for oil go with something that is petroleum based and thin without pigment or natural oils like linseed oil(boiled or otherwise).

Eventually the pigment, even in semi solid stains builds up after re-coat and begins to flake and the linseed oil creates a food source for mold to grow and that starts working on the wood. In the past I've told customers that even something as cheap as Thompsons Water Seal, if applied every spring after cleaning the decking off will be as good as anything, won't leave a pigment to scrape and brush off and goes on fast like water when rolled and brushed. It might only last a year or two but has no build up and doesn't feed mold and is cheaper per gal. than most. If you don't like it it's easy to switch to something else the following spring since there is no color to it. It takes no time to apply a product like TWS and a 500 sqft. deck could be done in an hour or two with roller and brush.

Dailys Seafin Teak Oil might be an option too since it has the same consistency of the Thompsons' and was developed for the wood and bright work on ocean going boats. I use it on my wood stocked rifles and unpainted exterior wood doors. More expensive I'm sure but might be worth a try as well.

Either way, some options to try.

How about log oil?
I see a lot of older log homes around the Flathead that have been taken care of and look just fine.
What is the most common oil they are using on those?

I have a Teak Oil test going on a deck here in Florida right now, it looks great but is way to early on to speak of how it's going to do in the long run.
I sure am expecting it to hold up as well as it does on my boat trim and some teak deck chairs I have treated with it over the years...but we'll see.

Just couriuos with things like redwood would any bugs be an issue,even while sprayed ,wonder about the underside?

Thanks, I think you might be right on the money for this area. I'll probably pull boards and re-stain the frame, then lay down redwood or cedar deck with a transparent oil. Summers are too short to be staining decks every year.

Both Redwood and Cedar are highly bug-resistant.

Here’s another option

https://www.advantagelumber.com/cumaru_decking.htm

class A builders don't use 18" centers.......

Thank you,
I probably have more experience that 50% of the members put together, in deck and construction.

It's been common knowledge for decades that when using 5/4" lumber(1" nominal)that 12" joist spacing is the industry standard, when using 2" lumber(1 1/2" nominal) that 16" is sufficient. Anyone thinking that the composite material is more structurally sound than lumber, should quit reading the sales brochures.

Soooo, let's look at the common products available today


Removing substantial material from the bottom must help in strength right ? lol,,,,sure, ignore the 12" joist pattern and save yourself $50 on framing lumber. I'm sure it will pay rewards in deck longevity and help eliminate warping issues lol.

Now let's look at Trex 2018 vs Trex 2019 in the same version/model....the 2019 version is on top, must be even stronger huh ? lol


How about the correct mounting clips ?, the appropriate way to mount composite fascia boards ?, how bout butt and side plank spacing ?, planning on running a border strip, that's different mounting and product. Anybody that drives a deck screw through the face of a bonded composite deck product, is looking at failure. Steps ?, that's another conversation.

Fragile as all heck.

A kid can knock a chunk out of it in no time.

Concrete. Holds up well around here. Had my fill of wood decks and all the upkeep.

That won't work around my above ground pool. Unfortunately - because I do believe it's the best choice.

A snow shovel will scratch the heck out of it first time its used

Vertical walls are a lot easier to deal with, especially under eaves. They just don't get the constant moisture and uv that most exposed decks do. As far as what's used most, I ca't tell you because I've been out of the loop for 15 years. I used sikkens on a couple log buildings and it looked good and seemed to last but not cheap and as I recall a little finicky wrt application.

I hear you on the the summer maintenance, a pain, but those thin clear oils can go on fast.

When I worked in Colorado the issue their was UV at high altitude and dry air. Here it is a whole nuther ball of wax. In some ways we can have some of the most harsh weather in the western half of the country because extremes between the hot summers, cold winters and amount of water we get from the PNW.

Glad I don't sling a brush any more, about drives a guy insane.

Link


Bear Board

Link

Light Weight, Dense, Dimensionally Stable, Weather and Insect Proof


Phil

Try reading my initial post......
We were REPLACING decking boards from a 10 year old deck, not building new and not replacing joist too.
The 'class A builder' didn't build the deck, he helped with the REPLACEMENT due to our having to support a 10' X 12' roof while removing and replacing the boards.

And to man up[myself], I mislicked on the 18", was thinking 16"[but it's been 10 years and a couple thousand beers so they may well be on 12's]. I was just letting the man know how our Trex boards held up over the time period he asked.
But hey, I'm just a nobody and clearly you are the only pro here.