I bought 12-foot-long 5/4 x 6 in pressure-treated pine deck board from Home Depot. Not until I laid them down did I notice that the boards' width tapers significantly toward the ends of each board. See the picture below. My deck is finished (as of last night—yay!), but just so I know for next time: is this kind of variation in width something I have to expect? Or was I just unlucky with what Home Depot had this week? Or can I avoid this buy shopping elsewhere?
Best Answer
I've never noticed that before, but Home Depot sources their lumber from different mills, so they may vary slightly from batch to batch. It may also even out a bit as the wood dries.
One thing I did find, at least in my area, is that the 5/4 deck boards from Home Depot are significantly different than the ones at Lowes. The Lowes ones are slightly narrower but a bit thicker and the depot ones are thinner but slightly wider. Was very annoying when I got some boards from one place and more later from another only to find that they weren't really the same dimensions.