Get away with 5/4“ cedar decking across a 24” span in a children’s play structure

deckingdesignstructuralsupport

I am currently in the process of designing/building a play structure for my son. The structure will include a 5' high elevated deck, that is 6'x4'. The supports for the decking will be 24" center-to-center.

Reading through load tables, it is recommended to use 2×4 or 2×6 stock as the decking, if one is spanning 24". To use 5/4" decking, requires 16" or smaller spans.

The plan for this play structure is, it is for kids, with the occasional "mom or dad wants to play too!" So, in this case, would using 5/4" decking be appropriate? The 2×6 decking seems to be a bit overkill for a kids play set, and the trap-door/ladder I am planning to incorporate would get quite heavy for little guys to manipulate.

Best Answer

Before writing anything else, let me warn you that I'm not a structural engineer, and I don't claim any competence in these matters. I'm just some random guy on the Internet.

Because I couldn't find a good load table (at least not quickly), I tried to calculate deflection and bending stress, and I can't see anything wrong with using 5/4" x 6" cedar boards (actual dimensions 1" x 5.5") across a 24-inch span:

Decking load calculations

Perhaps I did something wrong in my calculations? Do you have a load table that you trust?