I'm looking at needing to rebuild my back deck and researching my options. The way the deck is currently rotting It appears that it is at the seams where two adjacent boards share the same joist it is the most likely place to degrade.
The deck is about 15' long while the boards are about 8', so we have seams in the middle of each run (it's offset so the seams aren't all in the middle, but there are still cuts).
Is there any reason I should avoid using boards that run the entire length of the deck? (I'd think not, but I'm starting to realize that there might be non-obvious gotcha's here.)
Best Answer
I've done a few decks, including my own, and have always spanned the entire deck with the planks. This depends on the length of the deck and if the size is available. For DIY's, hauling the longer boards could be a problem but sistering the joists where a smaller lengths would be connected is more of a chore in my humble opinion.