My deck rebuild forced me to choose between pressure treated and cedar...

Tbh I went with cedar even though it cost me $450 more for the lumber, and after this winter's rain I'm glad I did because the pressure treated stuff my neighbor used is already warping. Has anyone else dealt with cedar cupping after a dry summer?

2 comments

2 Comments

danieltaylor1mo ago

Wait, so you're saying hidden fasteners actually stopped the cupping long term? I used to think the whole "let the wood acclimate" thing was mostly marketing hype, you know, just a way to sell more expensive lumber. But honestly after seeing my neighbor's pressure treated deck warp like crazy and hearing your story, it kind of changes my mind about the whole process. The pilot holes from underneath sounds like a pain but totally worth it if it keeps everything flat through the seasons. I might have to try that end sealing trick too, because the ends on my boards are the first places I notice checking and curling.

nina1801mo ago

Oh man, I feel your pain on the cupping issue. I built my deck back in 2019 and went with cedar too, but my first summer was brutal. I had three boards cup pretty bad by August because I didn't let them dry out enough before installation. What finally worked for me was taking them all down, drilling some hidden pilot holes from the bottom, and screwing each board down with two hidden fasteners per joist instead of just one. That kept the boards locked flat even through the next dry spell. I also started sealing the ends of every board with extra stain before I put them up, which stopped the ends from soaking up moisture and warping unevenly. It was a pain to redo but my deck's been solid for four years now with no more cupping.